Fathers’ Role Model Perceptions

Abstract

Qualitative interview data are used to explore fathers’( N = 24) perceptions of their own fathers and others as influential parental role models and associations between fathers’ role model perceptions and their involvement with their own children. In fathers’ descriptions of their parental role models, three themes emerged: types of models that fathers identified as role models for them as parents, affective evaluations the fathers ascribed to the models, and content that the fathers perceived learning from the models. Highly involved fathers were more likely to cite peer parents than to specifically cite their own fathers as influential role models for them and infrequently cited their spouses as models. Low-involvement fathers more often attributed positive affective evaluations to their models than did highly involved fathers.