Understanding and increasing father involvement in Mainland China

Abstract

Fathers play a vital role in families and in the lives of children. Fathers’ active and regular involvement with their children is associated with fewer behavioural problems and better educational and social-emotional competence outcomes in children. However, father involvement with children is generally low in Mainland China, both when compared with mothers and fathers in other countries. Although research has increasingly focused on fatherhood over the last three decades, there is a relative paucity of empirical research on Chinese fatherhood. This thesis aims to advance understanding Chinese father involvement and evaluate a parenting program that seeks to improve positive father involvement in Mainland China.This thesis is comprised of six chapters, including a general overview of relevant literature, four sequential empirical studies, and an overall discussion. Chapter 1 reviews the research on Chinese fatherhood and family, the impacts of fathers on child adjustment, predictors of father involvement, and parenting programs for fathers, which provides an introduction and rationale for the thesis.Chapter 2 presents a manuscript (Study 1) that aims to understand the impact of Chinese fathers on their children. The effects of father involvement, fathering practices, and father-child relationships on child adjustment were examined using a cross-sectional survey of 609 Chinese mother-father dyads with at least one child in preschool, aged 3 to 7 years. Results indicated that higher paternal inconsistency, higher paternal coercive parenting, and poorer father-child relationship were significantly associated with higher child behavioural and emotional problems. Higher father involvement, higher positive encouragement, and better father-child relationship were significantly related to better competencies in children (positive child behaviours). Moreover, paternal inconsistency and father-child relationships moderated the relationship between father involvement and child behavioural and emotional problems. Increased father involvement with consistent parenting was related to fewer behavioural and emotional problems in children. Conversely, increased levels of involvement in conjunction with inconsistency or poor father-child relationships were related to higher levels of child behavioural and emotional problems. The findings highlight the importance of considering both the quantity and quality of fathering in child development.Building on Chapter 2 emphasizing the importance of Chinese father involvement, Chapter 3 presents an empirical paper (Study 2) identifying the predictors of Chinese father involvement, using the data set collected in Study 1. Based on Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler’s (1995) model of the parental involvement process, fathers’ beliefs about parental roles, fathering self-efficacy, and maternal gatekeeping (maternal gate-opening and gate-closing) were hypothesized as unique predictors of father involvement. The findings partially supported the hypotheses. Fathering self-efficacy and their beliefs about parental roles directly predicted father involvement in parenting. Maternal gate-opening had both direct and indirect associations with father involvement via fathers’ beliefs and fathering self-efficacy, but maternal gate-closing was not associated with father involvement. The results will inform the adaption and implementation of a parenting program for improving positive father involvement.Chapter 4 presents a qualitative study (Study 3) that explores how involved Chinese fathers are with their children, what roles they play in their child’s life, and what factors facilitate or hinder their involvement, which is an essential complement to the two preceding quantitative studies. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the semi-structured interviews with 35 Chinese fathers. The findings indicated the considerable variation in levels of father involvement and multiple roles fathers play in their child’s life, including companion, educator, disciplinarian, caregiver, teammate of the mother, provider, and supporter. Additionally, the influences of father involvement included intrapersonal, familial, and social factors. These results provide rich insight into Chinese fathers’ complex roles in childrearing.Chapter 5 presents a manuscript of a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) evaluating the effects of an adapted version of a Group Triple P – Positive Parenting Program for improving father involvement, parenting practices, and child adjustment (Study 4). Modifications to the Group Triple P was informed by the understanding of Chinese fatherhood gained in the first three studies. Surprisingly, the only beneficial outcome was found on mothers’ parental consistency. No other short-term or long-term intervention effect was found on parents’ beliefs and behaviours and child outcomes. Challenges in the implementation and the possible reason for the nonsignificant intervention outcomes are discussed to inform further research.The final chapter concludes the thesis by integrating the key findings and discussing implications for research and practices, strengths, limitations, and directions for future studies. This thesis contributes to our understanding of Chinese father involvement, which emphasizes the importance of both the quantity and quality of fathering on child adjustment and highlights the multiple factors that influence father involvement in the Chinese context. The implementation and evaluation of the parenting program for Chinese fathers indicated the difficulties and challenges in increasing Chinese father involvement and more research on Chinese fatherhood that is required.