What Gets Dad Involved? A Longitudinal Study of Change in Parental Child Caregiving Involvement (original) (raw)
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A model of fathers' behavioral involvement in child care in dual-earner families
Journal of Family Psychology, 1999
Fathers and mothers (n = 120) of preschool-aged children completed 2 measures assessing fathers' behavioral involvement in child care (i.e., the amount of time that the father was the child's primary caregiver and the number of child-care tasks performed). The results reaffirm the findings from previous studies that father's long work hours can be a barrier to greater participation in child care but that mothers' extended work hours serve to increase father participation in child care. Women's perception of their husbands' competence as parents and marital satisfaction also explain fathers' involvement. Fathers' gender role ideology and attitudes about the fathers' role appear important for fathers' involvement in child care, and findings indicate that men's involvement may be more self-determined than previously believed.
Factors associated with fathers' caregiving activities and sensitivity with young children
Journal of Family Psychology, 2000
A multifactorial model was used to identify child, sociodemographic, paternal, and maternal characteristics associated with 2 aspects of fathers' parenting. Fathers were interviewed about their caregiving responsibilities at 6, 15, 24, and 36 months, and a subset was videotaped during father-child play at 6 and 36 months. Caregiving activities and sensitivity during play interactions were predicted by different factors. Fathers were more involved in caregiving when fathers worked fewer hours and mothers worked more hours, when fathers and mothers were younger, when fathers had more positive personalities, when mothers reported greater marital intimacy, and when children were boys. Fathers who had less traditional child-rearing beliefs, were older, and reported more marital intimacy were more sensitive during play. These findings are consistent with a multifactorial and multidimensional view of fathering. In the last 2 decades, one of the major themes in child developmental research has been the
Fathers' caregiving and breadwinning: A gender congruence analysis
Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 2006
Maurer, Pleck, and Rane's Gender Congruence Theory was further expanded via Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory and tested to predict parenting behaviors in fathers and mothers. Results provided some support for the revised theory for fathers: Both perceived expectations from their wives for caregiving behavior and the perceived caregiving behaviors of other fathers positively predicted their own caregiving behavior, whereas no independent variables were able to predict their breadwinning behavior. Results provided little support for the revised theory for mothers: Only the perceived caregiving behaviors of other mothers positively predicted their own caregiving behavior, and no independent variables predicted their breadwinning behavior. Role Identity was not a significant predictor of behavior in either role for fathers or mothers.
Family Flexibility in Response to Economic Conditions: Fathers’ Involvement in Child-Care Tasks
Journal of Marriage and Family, 2016
Recession-related increases in men's child care are well documented, but supporting evidence describes the last several decades of the 20th century. Changes in family life and in the association between families' economic conditions and the macro economy provide reason to question the continued existence of a "recession effect." This article evaluates the frequency of married and cohabiting fathers' engagement in the day-today tasks of child care during the so-called Great Recession, using data from male respondents to the 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth. Results indicated an increase in men's frequency of engagement in physical care and feeding, starting in 2008 and continuing into 2010. The share of men engaged in daily play fell sharply at the recession's onset but rebounded in subsequent years. These results suggest that, even with a narrowing of the gen-dered division of domestic labor, room remains for families to respond flexibly to economic shifts. In 1993, Martin O'Connell reported that the share of preschool children cared for by their
Correlates of Fathers' Participation in Family Work: A Technical Report. Working Paper No. 106
1983
This study addresses the nature, extent, antecedents, and consequences of father-s' participation in child care and home chores. Data was collected from 160 families with children in kindergarten and fourth-grade classes. The sample was equally divided between the two grade levels and within each grade level by sex. Within each of the four groups thus formed, half the mothers were employed. Dimensions of fathers' participation selected for analysis included total, proportional, and solo interaction time; solo performance of specific child care tasks; and performance of traditionally feminine household chores. Antecedents thought to influence fathers-' participation included mother's and father's employment status and pattern, demographics, family structure, parental attitudes, and parental socialization. Consequences of fathers' participation were conceptualized as involving role strain and well-being. Children's sex role-related beliefs and values were measured by assessing attitudes concerning children's activities, adult occupational roles, and adult family roles, and by addressing several dimensions uithin each domain. Results provide descriptive data on each of the five father participation variables, correlational data describing the relationship between antecedents and the five father participation variables, consequences of fathers' participation for parents, descriptive data concerning children's sex role attitudes, and consequences for children of fathers' participation. A four-page reference list and 28 tables are appended.
In the Middle: Parental Caregiving in the Context of other Roles
The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 1998
Objectives. Parental caregiving has been conceptualized as both a source of role strain and of role enhancement. To assess support for each of these perspectives, this article examines the relationship between concurrent multiple roles (as spouse, parent, and employed worker) and the perceived stress and physical and emotional ill health of parental caregivers. Methods. Multivariate regression analyses (OLS) are conducted using data drawn from a Canadian probability sample of 687 caregivers to parents and parents-in-law. Results. Although the vast majority of parental caregivers are confronted with multiple roles, only weak and inconsistent relationships are evident between particular roles or combinations of roles and caregivers' perceptions of stress and physical and emotional health. Discussion. Little support is found for either a role strain or role enhancement hypothesis. Inconsistencies in the findings point to a need to go beyond simplified expectations of either role strain or role enhancement and examine the meanings assigned to particular roles and the contexts within which they are enacted.
The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 2009
This analysis draws on longitudinal, qualitative interviews with disadvantaged mothers and fathers who participated in the Fragile Families Study (a U.S. birth cohort study) to examine how issues related to men's employment, social support, skills, and motivation facilitated their care of young children in different relationship contexts. Interviews with parents indicate that while some motivated and skilled men actively chose to become caregivers with the support of mothers, others developed new motivations, skills, and parenting supports in response to situations in which they were out of work or the mother was experiencing challenges. These findings suggest that disadvantaged men who assume caregiving responsibilities take different paths to involvement in the early years after their child's birth. Policies that overlook paternal caregivers may not only miss the opportunity to support relationships that benefit at-risk children but also unintentionally undermine this involvement.
Acceptance and Caregiving of Married and Divorced Custodial Mothers and Fathers
Marriage and Family Review, 2018
The study examined whether differences in gender and family status affect parental caregiving disposition and acceptance of children among parents of children in mid-childhood. The number of participants were 122 divorced-custodial fathers, 107 married fathers, 85 divorced-custodial mothers, and 82 married mothers (n ¼ 398). A comparison among four groups of parents revealed the following gender differences: mothers scored higher on anxious caregiving and parental acceptance than fathers, and lower on avoidant caregiving. Regression analysis indicated that the higher the caregiving avoidance or anxiety, the lower the parental acceptance. Family status moderated parental acceptance, as avoidant caregiving was associated with reduced parental acceptance among married parents, but not among divorced custodial parents. The finding that avoidant caregiving was not associated with reduced acceptance among divorced custodial parents implies that their parental acceptance behaviors toward their children are affected by their parental status as sole custodial parent, and the associated responsibilities, rather than by gender.
Husbands at home: Predictors of paternal participation in childcare and housework
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1993
Predictors of paternal participation in childcare and housework are examined. A longitudinal sample of 66 couples expecting their 1st child completed extensive questionnaires during the wives' last trimester of pregnancy and 3-8 months after birth. Regressions were conducted in which paternal participation in childcare and housework were regressed on variables pertaining to each of 4 models of paternal participation: relative economic resource, structural, family systems, and sex role attitude. Composite models of paternal participation in housework and childcare were then developed. Fathers' involvement in childcare is best explained by mothers' work hours and fathers' feminism. Fathers' contribution to housework seems best explained by discrepancies in income between spouses, wives' occupational prestige, and dynamics in the marriage. Differences in the determinants of fathers' contributions to childcare and housework are discussed. The benefits of increased paternal involvement in childcare for fathers, children, and mothers have been identified in previous studies. Fathers who are highly involved in childcare report increased closeness with their children (Hood & Golden, 1979; Russell, 1982), greater feelings of competence as fathers (Baruch & Barnett, 1986), more positive attitudes toward child rearing, and greater satisfaction with parenting (Easterbrooks & Goldberg, 1984). Moreover, children with highly involved fathers adopt fewer sex role stereotypes (Carlson, 1984), demonstrate more productive problem-solving behavior (Easterbrooks