Fathers Of Children Research Articles

Father involvement is a protective factor for maternal mental health in Western Kenya

Depression is a major global health concern especially among mothers of young children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). While various risk and protective factors have been well-established, the role of fathers in potentially mitigating maternal depression remains understudied. This study aimed to investigate the association between father involvement and maternal depressive symptoms in rural Western Kenya. We used cross-sectional baseline data collected in February–March 2023 from a cluster-randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of a community-based parenting program for improving early childhood development. Primary caregivers with children 0–18 months of age were enrolled into the trial across 51 villages in Nyamira and Vihiga counties. We analyzed data from 413 mothers who were in a relationship with a male partner (i.e., father of the young child). Maternal depressive symptoms were measured using the CESD-10. Father involvement was reported using a multidimensional measure of men's engagement in childcare activities, household chores, early learning activities, and affection towards their child. We used multilevel regression models to estimate the adjusted associations between father involvement (overall score and by specific domains) and maternal depressive symptoms. We also conducted exploratory subgroup analyses to assess whether this association differed by child age. Overall, greater father involvement was associated with fewer maternal depressive symptoms. Specifically, fathers' engagement in household chores and childcare activities had the strongest protective associations. Exploratory subgroup analyses revealed larger associations for mothers with younger children under 6 months. Our findings suggest that father involvement is a protective factor for maternal mental health. Engaging fathers in early childhood interventions and encouraging men's involvement in caregiving activities may potentially benefit maternal well-being.

Developing the first Arabic quality of life for parents of children with autism (QoLA) scale: translation, cultural adaptation and psychometric validation

PurposeIn this research, the first Arabic quality of life (A-QoLA) measure for the mothers and fathers of children with autism is translated and validated. While there have been several translations of the QoLA scale, to the best of our knowledge, there are no Arabic version of this scale.MethodTo translate and validate the QoLA, 407 family members (mostly parents) participated in this research. Item total correlation and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used for the scale validation process.ResultsThe results show that like QoLA, all the items in Part A of the A-QoLA were positively correlated with the total score except items 2, 4, 17, and 22 (which were deleted). In addition, the Part B outcome of the item total correlation showed that all the items had a positive correlation with the overall score. The CFA results show high internal validity and consistency confirmed the two-domain structure for QoLA after it was translated into Arabic.ConclusionOur results have very important implications as autism is quite common in the Arab world, and the scale can be used across several Arabic-speaking countries to understand the impact of autism on families.

Differences in maternal and paternal pressure to eat and perception of household responsibilities.

Controlling feeding practices, such as pressure to eat, are associated with a child's disinhibited eating and extremes in bodyweight. We aimed to explore which factors are associated with parent dyads' pressuring feeding practices, including how mothers and fathers perceive the sharing of household tasks such as mealtime and child feeding responsibilities. In this cross-sectional study, parent dyads (mother and father) of healthy preschool-aged children completed an identical questionnaire consisting of measures of picky eating (food fussiness subscale of Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire), parental concern for undereating, and pressure to eat (Child Feeding Questionnaire). We used separate multivariable linear regression models for mothers and fathers to assess correlates associated with pressure to eat subscale score, including slowness of eating and enjoyment of food, child BMI z-score and race/ethnicity, and household income. Separate unadjusted linear regression models for mothers and fathers were used to report the association of pressure to eat with household responsibilities. Parents (N = 88) had similar mean picky eating, concern for undereating, and pressure to eat scores; more fathers had high pressure to eat scores (36% vs 27%). Higher pressure to eat was significantly associated with lower income, non-Hispanic Black or Black race/ethnicity, slow eating, and lower enjoyment of food. Pressure was not associated with household responsibilities. While there were similar maternal and paternal perceptions of child eating behaviors, more fathers reported pressuring their child to eat. Identifying differences in parental feeding practices may assist in intervention development to improve feeding practices.

Hostile interparental conflict and parental discipline: Romantic attachment as a spillover mechanism.

This study examined parental romantic attachment security as a mediator of prospective associations between hostile interparental conflict and parental discipline (i.e., power-assertive, permissive, and inductive discipline) for mothers and fathers of young children. Furthermore, this study utilized a novel, automatic assessment of romantic attachment security in examining whether romantic attachment assessed at controlled (i.e., self-reported) and automatic (i.e., a rapid word-sorting task) levels of representation differentially serve as spillover mechanisms. Participants included 235 mothers (62% White), fathers (55% White), and a target child between the ages of 2 and 4 (Mage = 2.97; 55% girls) recruited from a moderate-sized metropolitan area in the Northeastern United States. Families were assessed annually across three waves of data collection. Results from autoregressive structural equation model analyses revealed that romantic attachment operated as spillover mechanism for mothers. In particular, hostile interparental conflict was associated with power-assertive discipline through changes in mothers' automatic romantic attachment security. We also found that hostile interparental conflict was associated with inductive discipline through changes in mothers' romantic attachment avoidance. Neither controlled nor automatic romantic attachment representations served as spillover mechanisms for fathers. Findings are discussed within family systems and attachment frameworks. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Food parenting and Children's eating behaviour: Exploring the role of coparenting

Parents have primary influence over the development of their children's eating behaviours, however less attention has been given to whether or how their coparenting plays a role in this association. The aim of this study was to investigate the cross-sectional associations between mothers' and fathers' food parenting practices and children's eating behaviour and examine whether coparenting quality moderates or confounds these associations. Parents (222 mothers and 167 fathers) with children 18 months to 5 years completed an online survey that assessed their food parenting practices and coparenting quality. One parent per family (91% mothers) also reported their children's food approach behaviours. We used linear regressions with generalized estimating equations to examine the associations between food parenting practices and children's eating behaviours. To explore moderation by coparenting quality, we included an interaction term in each model (coparenting quality x food parenting practice). To explore confounding, models were adjusted for coparenting quality. All models were stratified by parent gender and included parent educational attainment, child age, and child BMI z-scores as covariates. Among both mothers and fathers, we found that structure and autonomy support food parenting practices were inversely associated with children's food responsiveness, and desire to drink, while coercive control practices were positively associated with these food approach behaviours. We found the opposite direction of association between these food parenting practices and children's enjoyment of food. Among mothers, autonomy support was inversely associated with children's emotional overeating, while coercive control was positively associated with this eating behaviour. Coparenting quality did not moderate or confound the associations. Future studies should continue to explore these associations among families with young children and consider feeding coparenting in the association.

Parenting a child with a disability: Fathers’ perceptions of the couple relationship

Parents of children with a disability experience elevated levels of stress compared to parents of typically developing children, which represents a risk for their couple relationship. Research on families where a child has a disability is principally based on mothers. More knowledge is needed about the paternal perspective. We conducted semi-structured interviews with seven fathers (aged 36–54 years) of children with a disability (primary school age to early twenties). We analyzed the material using qualitative conventional content analysis, focusing on participants’ descriptions of couple relationships. We categorized the participants’ descriptions in two main categories: Couplehood and Co-parenting. Throughout the material, partners were described as romantic partners, co-parents, and collaborators. Participants described that couple communication and emotional expression within couples were affected by parenting a child with a disability. Moreover, participants described influence by cultural masculinity norms on their involvement as partners and parents, and on the dynamic within their couple relationships. An uneven division of labor was described. A practice implication is that communication and emotional expression styles within the parental couple should be a key focus when working with families of children with a disability. The findings also suggest more active involvement of fathers in children’s health care.

Sensemaking Process of Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Identification of Specific Clusters of “Sense of Grip”

AbstractAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) represents a pervasive neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by persistent atypicalities in social communication and social interactions across different domains of life, often with restricted, repetitive, stereotyped patterns of behaviors, interests, and activities. A large corpus of previous research shows that parental involvement in caregiving is perceived as stressful and challenging, in many cases resulting in poorer parental quality of life. The authors present a quali-quantitative mixed method research on sensemaking process of 34 parents (16 mothers and 18 fathers) of children with ASD. The interviews were collected and analyzed according to the “Sense of Grip” (SoG) methodology. SoG indeed refers to the sensemaking processes that a person realizes to manage the relationship with diseases or disorders by organizing several degrees of flexibility, differentiation, and adaptation to the variability of experiences and contexts of life. This construct of health psychology—semiotically and clinically oriented—is based on specific narrative functions (i.e., temporal, integrative, emotional, sharing, and agentive functions). The cluster analysis procedure allowed to identify three different SoG profiles: (a) enterprising (parents who are able to construct flexible and dynamic familiar routines), (b) opposing (parents who experience the ASD disorder as a deep unacceptable crisis, hindering the rest of familiar and professional activities), and (c) condescending (parents who organize family life completely on adherence to medical prescriptions and care protocols). These profiles show interesting implications for clinical practice and support as showing specific aspects of treating, managing, and sharing children conditions within family and relational contexts of life.

A qualitative study on perspective of parental stress and lower marital quality among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifetime neurodevelopmental condition. It affects not only the child but also the members of the family and parents particularly. The current study was qualitative in nature, designed to explore the experiences of parents, raising a child with ASD in Pakistan. The sample of the study comprised 15 mothers and 13 fathers of children with ASD. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data and five stages of stress and six major themes (Child management and diagnosis, Treatment and financial challenges, Social suffering, Emotional and psychological pain, Marital discord and Coping mechanism) emerged from the data. In the current study, parents of children with ASD reported lack of guidance, high fee demands, lack of awareness, family pressure, high level of stress and stigmatization. Parents also suffered from unbearable distress and marital discords including conflict, disharmony, lack of communication, and lack of spousal support. Parents deemed these challenges as never ending and it had a great impact on their wellbeing and on their abilities to cope or manage things in their daily life. This research project has wide implications in the fields of counseling psychology, educational psychology, and mental health.

A new look at parenting through the cultural context: Development and initial psychometric evidence of the Interculturally Sensitive Parenting Scale (ISPAS)

This study aimed to evaluate the measurement characteristics of a newly developed scale to assess interculturally sensitive parenting for mothers and fathers of children and adolescents ranging from 4 to 18 years of age. The development of the Interculturally Sensitive Parenting Scale (ISPAS) ended up with five separate samples, with a total of 1522 parents (884 mothers and 638 fathers), in a five-step process. In the first phase, we generated a pool with 28 items and received input from content experts (n = 5) and cognitive interviews (n = 10), resulting in 23 items. In Study 2 (n = 602), which included inter-item and item-total correlations, eigenvalues, exploratory factor analysis, scree plots, and parallel analysis, six more items were excluded from the item pool, resulting in a one-dimensional construct with 17 items. In Study 3 (n = 607), along with parenting role (mother and father) invariance, confirmatory factor analysis supported the single-factor construct with 17 items, with excellent internal consistency with a high Cronbach's alpha. In Study 4 (n = 303), the analyses indicated that the ISPAS with a one-dimensional construct had good discriminant and convergent validity. Lastly, the 4-week test-retest reliability analysis of the ISPAS in Study 5 (n = 204) supported the stability of the measure. Taken together, the findings validated the usage of the 17-item ISPAS in reliably assessing mothers' and fathers' interculturally sensitive parenting. We hope academics from different disciplines, practitioners, mental health professionals, and educators will benefit from the assessment of the ISPAS presented in this study.

PEWARISAN RUGAE PALATINA ORANGTUA PADA ANAK SEBAGAI SARANA IDENTIFIKASI ODONTOLOGI FORENSIK PADA ETNIS BANJAR

Background: Rugae palatine is a forensic organ that can survive and not be altered by any trauma such as from burns. Rugae palatina is one of the organs in the oral cavity that is unique in that there is no same pattern between individuals. This pattern also has peculiarities between individuals and gender. Palatine rugae can also be inherited from parents to children. Purpose: To analyze the inheritance of palatine rugae from parents to children in Banjar Ethnicity. Method: The method used in this research is analytic research with cross sectional method. This study was conducted on 32 families or 96 people whose number of students was divided into 16 men and 16 women. This study was conducted with photographic techniques using fullframe cameras and lenses, occlusal mirrors, LED lights. The results of photography are carried out in the editing stage in the photoshop application with the pentool feature. The data obtained and analyzed using the contingency coefficient correlation test. Results: The results showed a correlation in palatal rugae patterns. The father-offspring and mother-offspring contingency coefficient scores (0.708, 0.760) respectively which indicated a strong correlation in shape patterns between offspring and their parents. These correlations were statistically significant (p value ≤ 0.05). Conclusion: There is a strong and significant inheritance of palatine rugae between father and mother in children. Fathers and mothers have an equal chance of inheriting palatine rugae.Keywords : Banjar Tribe, Forensics, Inheritance, Palatine Rugae, Personal Identification.

A sense of coherence (SOC) among the fathers of children with chronic illnesses.

This study focuses on the fathers of children with chronic illnesses in an effort to clarify how the stressor and the father's sense of coherence (SOC) influence their mental health and how the father's SOC is associated with the social support. Cross-sectional study. We conducted a self-reported questionnaire survey of 137 respondents (51 fathers of children with chronic illnesses, 86 fathers of healthy children) were statistically using ANOVA. The fathers' stressor was significantly related to their SOC. Furthermore, the SOC of the fathers majorly influenced their mental health, while having a buffering effect on the stressor with respect to depression. And their SOC was significantly positively associated with the social support. Our findings underscore that father's SOC has a buffering effect on self-mental health and is important for maintaining mental health and enhancing SOC to reduce the stressors of these fathers with respect to depression.

Gender differences in predictors of quality of life for parents of children with Autism Spectrum disorder in Saudi Arabia

PurposeFew researchers have examined gender differences in the quality of life (QoL) of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in diverse cultural contexts. The purpose of this study was to identify how ASD severity, affiliate stigma, perceived social support, family functioning, and coping strategies differentially predict the QoL of mothers and fathers of children with ASD in Saudi Arabia. Design and methodsBased on a cross-sectional research design, data were gathered between April and July 2023 from a convenience sample of 376 parents (220 mothers and 156 fathers) of children with ASD in Saudi Arabia. Welch's t-test and regression were used to achieve the study purpose. ResultsMothers of children with ASD reported lower QoL, perceived social support, and family functioning than fathers. Mothers relied on emotion-focused coping strategies, whereas fathers used problem-focused coping strategies. Furthermore, affiliate stigma, perceived social support, and family functioning significantly predicted the QoL of mothers and fathers of children with ASD. However, the severity of ASD affected only the QoL of the mothers. Problem-focused coping significantly predicted fathers' QoL but not mothers' QoL. ConclusionsThe results highlight gender differences in the factors that predict the QoL of parents of children with ASD in Saudi Arabia. Practice implicationsHealthcare professionals should consider parents' gender when providing support and interventions to improve parental QoL.

PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF FATHER'S INFLUENCE ON CHILDREN'S EDUCATION IN THE FAMILY

This in the proverb in the family father and children between relationship, in the family fatherposition children education of influence psychological characteristics of the father's child's personality formation effect, father and of the child mutually cooperation attention is focused. In the family a child education socio-psychological features open given, modern in the family fathers and children between of relationships to himself typical features analysis will be done. Your child psychological in development your father influence. In the family and in parents’ fatherhood role features father forthe child existence and his together to the activity attraction to be done such as factors with is determined Also in the article of the child psychological in development your father effect light up given.

Obowiązek wyjaśnienia przeznaczenia środków uzyskanych ze świadczenia wychowawczego. Glosa krytyczna do Wyroku WSA w Gliwicach z 7 lipca 2021, II SA/Gl 47/21

The child-raising benefit is intended to partially cover expenses related to the child's upbringing. Beneficiaries may include in particular the mother or the father of the child, provided that both parents live together with the child. If the parents are divorced and have alternating custody of the child, the benefit may be claimed and received by the one who actually exercises custody over the child. In the judgement under consideration, the custody of the child was actually exercised by the father. Nevertheless, the benefit was claimed by the mother who, on the basis of an unofficial agreement with the child's father, transferred to his bank account a relevant share of the benefit for the periods during which the child was in the care of the father. This solution is not consistent with a strict interpretation of the applicable provisions. The court accepted it, arguing that it would only be necessary to clarify whether the benefit received was used in accordance with its intended purpose.

부⋅모⋅자녀의 스마트 기기 의존, 가족과 함께하는 시간의 양, 아동 집행기능 곤란의 구조적 관계 탐색

Objectives The purpose of this study was to explore the structural relationships among fathers', mothers', and children's smart devices dependence, the amount of family time spent together, and executive functioning difficulties.
 Methods Data from 548 pairs of parents and children who responded to all relevant factors in the 13th Korean Child Panel Survey(2020) were analyzed. Reliability analysis for scales, correlation analysis between variables, and descriptive statistics analysis were conducted. Validity was confirmed through measurement model validation, and structural model analysis was conducted by applying the maximum likelihood method (MLB) to the theory-based research model. Afterward, a mediation effect test based on bootstrapping and an individual indirect effect test using phantom variables were conducted.
 Results The results showed that mothers' dependence on smart devices increased children's dependence on smart devices, and the amount of family time spent together reduced both dependence on smart devices and executive functioning difficulties. In addition, children's smart device dependence increased executive functioning difficulties and mediated the relationship between maternal smart device dependence and children's executive functioning difficulties.
 Conclusions Exploration of the structural relationships among the study variables confirmed that maternal and child dependence on smartphones and the amount of family time spent together influenced children's executive functioning difficulties.

아버지의 공감능력이 유아의 사회적 유능성에 미치는 영향: 가족건강성의 매개효과

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between father's empathy ability and infant's social competence and to verify the mediating effect of family strength. For this purpose, a survey was conducted targeting 549 fathers of children attending a public daycare center in G-si, Gyeonggi-do.
 The collected data were subjected to reliability analysis, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and hierarchical regression analysis using SPSS 23.0, and the Sobel Test was conducted to ensure the significance of mediation verification.
 First, the results of the study showed that there was a statistically significant correlation between the father's empathy ability and the infant's social competence, the empathy ability and family strength, and the infant's social competence and family strength. Second, family strength played a partial mediating role in the effect of father's empathy ability on infant's social competence.
 The results of this study are valuable in that they were able to reveal that the father's empathy ability and family strength are factors that affect the social competence of infants, and support is provided to improve fathers' parenting capabilities to increase the social competence of infants.
 It is significant that it suggests that a solution is needed.

생부의 친생부인권과 임시출생신고에 관한 입법론

In this article, the author proposes legislation that would recognize the biological father’s right to deny paternity for a child born within wedlock, and allow the biological father to seek a provisional birth registration for such a child. The main points of the proposed legislation can be summarized as follows:
 On the biological father’s rights to deny paternity:
 1. Ⓐ Within 2 years from the date of the child’s birth, or Ⓑ within 1 year from the date the plaintiff discovers that he is the biological father, provided there is no social parenthood between the legal father and the child, and if the adult child consents to the denial themselves, the biological father may file for the denial of paternity against the legal father and the child/the mother with parental authority.
 2. Although the above requirements are met, the court may dismiss the biological father’s request for denial of paternity if such denial significantly harms or is likely to harm the welfare of the child.
 3. Any person who files for denial of paternity while aware that he is not the biological father will be subject to criminal punishment.
 On the provisional birth registration by biological father of the child:
 1. The biological father who has already filed for denial of paternity may apply for a provisional birth registration listing himself as the father of the registered child, by attaching test results conducted through scientific methods proving that he is the biological father.
 2. A provisional birth registration has the same effect as a formal one, except for matters regarding the child's legal father. Even if a provisional birth registration is made listing himself as the father of the registered child, the child’s legal father remains the mother’s husband until the court’s judgment denying the presumed paternity of the husband, and confirming the biological father's acknowledgment of his paternity is finalized.
 3. Upon finalization of the judgment in the lawsuit filed by the biological father for denying paternity, or termination of the legal proceedings for other reasons, the legal father and mother responsible for the birth registration, and the biological father who applied for the provisional birth registration are obligated to correct the provisional birth registration in accordance with the final judgment or parental law.

Survival costs and benefits of reproduction: A register-based study in 20th century Estonia.

Patterns of individual variation in lifespan and senescence depend on the associations between parental survival and reproductive rates. We studied the associations between parity and survival among 579,271 Estonians born between 1905 and 1945 and in a cohort with a completed lifespan born in 1905-1927. For this cohort, selection for increased lifespan operated on both sexes, but it was stronger in men than in women. However, the median lifespan increased between the subsequent cohorts in women but stagnated in men. Selection for longer lifespan was caused by the below-average lifespan of individuals with no or single offspring. Despite a general positive selection for lifespan, survival costs of reproduction were also detected among a relatively small proportion of individuals with high parities, as mothers of two and fathers of two and three children had the highest median lifespans. Fathers of more than six children had better survival than fathers of few children in their reproductive age, but this association reversed after age 70. The reversal of this association between survival and parity at old age indicates that relative mortality risks between those with lower versus higher parities change across ages, as predicted by the antagonistic pleiotropy theory of aging.

Gut microbiota profiling in obese children from Southeastern China.

Childhood obesity not only has a negative impact on a child's health but is also a significant risk factor for adult obesity and related metabolic disorders, making it a major global public health concern. Recent studies have revealed the crucial role of gut microbiota in the occurrence and development of obesity, in addition to genetic and lifestyle factors. In this study, we recruited 19 normal-weight children and 47 children with varying degrees of obesity. A questionnaire survey was conducted to inquire about the family background, lifestyle habits and dietary composition of the 66 children. Findings indicate that fathers of obese children tend to be obese themselves, while children with highly educated mothers are more likely to maintain a normal weight. Furthermore, overweight children tend to spend more time on electronic devices and less time on physical activities compared to their normal-weight counterparts. Obese children exhibit significant differences in breakfast and dinner dietary composition when compared to children with normal weight. Additionally, the gut microbiota of these 66 children was analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing. Analysis of gut microbiota composition showed similar compositions among children with varying degrees of obesity, but significant differences were observed in comparison to normal-weight children. Obese children exhibited a reduced proportion of Bacteroidota and an increased proportion of Firmicutes, resulting in an elevated Firmicutes/Bacteroidota ratio. Moreover, Actinobacteriota were found to be increased in the gut microbiota of children with varying degrees of obesity. PICRUSt analysis indicated significant metabolic differences in the microbiota functions between obese and normal-weight children, suggesting the composition of gut microbiota could be a crucial factor contributing to obesity. These findings provide valuable insights for the treatment of childhood obesity.

ASD-Modified Interaction Therapy: Effects on Fathers’ and Mothers’ Responsiveness, Affect, and Attachment

This study evaluated the effects of short-term manualized autism spectrum disorder (ASD)-modified “interaction therapy” (IT) for 42 parents, comprising both fathers and mothers of 21 preschoolers with ASD, while comparing father and mother outcomes. Intervention features included parents’ focus on self-reflection and “here-and-now” investigation of live parent–child interaction, both parents’ equal participation, spousal observation, and nonhierarchical parent-therapist collaboration. Pretest and posttest data included analysis of videotaped father–child and mother–child interactions to assess parental responsiveness and affect, and questionnaires on parents’ perceived attachment to child. Results following ASD-modified IT showed both parents’ increases in responsiveness and affect during parent–child interaction, with a larger increase in mothers’ affect. No change emerged in father’s perceived attachment, but mothers increased their perceived attachment quality and pleasure from interaction. Findings extended prior research, which had mostly examined mothers’ improvements following caregiver-mediated intervention, by pinpointing the ASD-modified IT’s efficacy for promoting not only mothers’ but also fathers’ responsive and affective interaction abilities.