Father involvement in child care and household work in common-law dual-earner and single-earner Jamaican families

Abstract

The division of chile care and household labor and beliefs about the roles of mothers and fathers were examined in 86 low-income dual-earner and single-earner Jamaican couples in common-law unions. Analysis revealed that there was a markedly gender-differentiated pattern of involvement in child care and household tasks by parents and that they held very traditional conceptions of the roles of mothers and fathers. Both mothers and fathers were more likely to spend time playing with rather than feeding or cleaning their babies. Involvement in child care did not differ as a function of the gender of the infant, but involvement in child care and household work did vary by mother's employment status. Jamican men's participation in child care and household activities was quite similar to what has been reported for men in other cultural groups. The data are discussed in terms of the commonly accepted notion of the “marginal” role of Jamaican men in the family and in the context of gender roles.