Kari Adamsons

Kari Adamsons is an associate professor of human development and family studies at University of Connecticut. She is a nationally recognized expert on fathers, including father-child relationships, co-parenting, shared parenting and couple relationships. Adamsons is a co-author of Family Theories: An Introduction'

As an undergraduate, Adamsons studied psychology, graduating in 1996 with a B.A. from College of William and Mary. Subsequently, she enrolled at the human development and family studies program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, obtaining first a master's degree in 2002 followed by a doctoral degree in 2006. After one year as a postdoctoral fellow she became a faculty member at the University of Connecticut in 2007.^[1]

Adamsons is most known for her work on fathers and father-child relationships, especially during transition to fatherhood and during and after divorce or separation. She has shown that quality time with their non-custodial fathers is very important for the well-being of children whose parents have divorced.^[2] She has further concluded that it is not only the quality but also the quantity of time that matters.^[3][4]

Adamsons other important research areas include family theory, identity theory, bioecological theory and couple relationships.^[1]

• White JM, Martin TF, Adamsons K. Family theories: An introduction. Sage Publications, 3rd edition, 2018.

• Adamsons K, Pasley K. Coparenting following divorce and relationship dissolution. Handbook of divorce and relationship dissolution. 2006:241-61.
• Adamsons K, Buehler C. Mothering versus fathering versus parenting: Measurement equivalence in parenting measures. Parenting: Science and Practice. 2007 Jul 30;7(3):271-303.
• Adamsons K, Pasley K. An ecological approach to father involvement in biological and stepfather families. Fathering. 2007 Mar 22;5(2):129-48.
• Adamsons K. Using identity theory to develop a midrange model of parental gatekeeping and parenting behavior. Journal of Family Theory & Review. 2010 Jun;2(2):137-48.
• Adamsons K, Johnson SK. An updated and expanded meta-analysis of nonresident fathering and child well-being. Journal of Family Psychology. 2013 Aug;27(4):589.
• Palkovitz R, Trask BS, Adamsons K. Essential differences in the meaning and processes of mothering and fathering: Family systems, feminist and qualitative perspectives. Journal of Family Theory & Review. 2014 Dec 1;6(4):406-20.
• Adamsons K. Quantity versus quality of nonresident father involvement: Deconstructing the argument that quantity doesn't matter. Journal of Child Custody. 2018 Jan 2;15(1):26-34.

• Adamsons K. Commonalities and Diversities of Fathering - Overall Commentary on Fathering, Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development, 2016.

• Kari Adamsons, Human Development and Family Studies, University of Connecticut.
• Kari Adamsons publications indexed by Google Scholar