Paternal distress and child behavior problems in low-SES families: Quality of father–child interactions as mediators.

Abstract

This study examines, in low-income families, whether fathers' distress is associated with behavioral problems in preschool children and if the quality of father-child interactions mediates this association. Participants were 81 children between the ages of 3 and 5 years and their parents who were receiving social welfare. Quality of father-child interactions was assessed during a free-play situation and a toy cleanup task, fathers' parenting stress and psychological distress were self-reported, and children's behavior problems were assessed by both parents. Results showed that the quality of father-child interactions during free play, but not during cleanup, partially mediated the link between father distress and child internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Our findings point to the role of the father-child relationship in the intergenerational transmission of risk in the preschool period. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).