Differences In Father Involvement Research Articles

A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effectiveness of the TYRO Dads Program

AbstractObjectiveTo examine whether fathers who attend TYRO Dads class report greater satisfaction in their relationship with their child and increased engagement in activities with their child than nonparticipants and, if so, whether parenting efficacy, parenting role identity, and coparenting relationship with the child's mother account for differences in father involvement between the intervention and control groups.BackgroundDespite the growing number of fatherhood intervention programs, limited experimental research has been conducted to evaluate their effectiveness.MethodA randomized controlled trial was conducted with a sample of 252 fathers randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. Both groups completed a pretest survey and were followed up at the end of intervention (posttest) and 3 months after the intervention (follow‐up). Latent growth curve models were used to estimate both intervention and dosage effects.ResultsThe intervention group fathers reported significant improvement over time in the level of satisfaction of the relationship with their child. This finding may be partly because program participants became more confident in their parenting role, had their parenting role identity enhanced, or felt better about their relationship with their child's mother. These results were more pronounced among those who attended eight out of 10 sessions.ConclusionIn this study, the TYRO Dads program was an effective intervention helping low‐income fathers boost their confidence as a father and enhancing fathers' perception of their relationship with the child's mother.ImplicationsResponsible fatherhood programs should make an intentional effort to incentivize participation to increase attendance and the likelihood of completing the program.

Father Involvement and Education in the GCC

This policy brief builds on a larger father involvement study that encompasses 10 countries in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region to identify some of the key challenges of father involvement in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Using mixed methods with a modified Fatherhood Scale survey and life history interviews, the study found notable differences in father involvement in education across geographic, gender, and generational factors. Overall, fathers in GCC countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) tend to be perceived as more encouraging of their children’s education, especially for their daughters, but are less engaged in the types of quality involvement that are key to educational achievement. Based on the findings of this study, this policy brief highlights some of the key challenges of GCC fathers’ involvement. We conclude by offering recommendations to create and support an education environment in the GCC that values quality father involvement.

Father Involvement and Education in the GCC

This policy brief builds on a larger father involvement study that encompasses 10 countries in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region to identify some of the key challenges of father involvement in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Using mixed methods with a modified Fatherhood Scale survey and life history interviews, the study found notable differences in father involvement in education across geographic, gender, and generational factors. Overall, fathers in GCC countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) tend to be perceived as more encouraging of their children’s education, especially for their daughters, but are less engaged in the types of quality involvement that are key to educational achievement. Based on the findings of this study, this policy brief highlights some of the key challenges of GCC fathers’ involvement. We conclude by offering recommendations to create and support an education environment in the GCC that values quality father involvement.

The differences in father involvement in parenting and the anxiety level of 7-8 year-old children experiencing sexual abuse in South Tangerang City, Indonesia

This study aimed to identify the relationship between father’s involvement in parenting and children anxiety level. The variables of this research were the father’s involvement in parenting (X) and the anxiety level of children (Y) using a descriptive quantitative approach. The sampling technique used was purposive sampling which consisted of children within the age range of 7-8 years old who experienced sexual abuse, having biological parents, and living in South Tangerang City. A total of 14 children were taken as the samples based on the sampling technique. Data collection was carried out through the scale of father’s involvement in parenting and the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale. Simple linear regression was used to test the relationship between the father’s involvement in parenting and children anxiety level. The results showed that the significance score 0.000 < 0.05, it means that father’s involvement influenced the anxiety level of children experiencing sexual abuse.

Fathers' involvement with their children in the United Kingdom: Recent trends and class differences

BACKGROUND Many studies of Western societies have documented an increasing involvement of fathers with their children since the 1970s. The trend reflects changes in the meaning of fatherhood and contributes to child well-being and gender equality. New policies in the United Kingdom might have further encouraged father involvement in the new millennium. Differences in father involvement between socioeconomic groups have caused concern since they contribute to inequality in resources available to children. OBJECTIVES This paper examines the recent trends and social differences in father involvement with children in the United Kingdom. METHODS Data from the UK Time Use Surveys 2000-2001 and 2014-2015 are analysed using regression models. RESULTS Fathers' overall involvement in childcare in the new millennium has been stable but differences emerge when looking at specific childcare activities, in particular on weekend days. In 2014 fathers were less likely to provide interactive care and active fathers provided on average fewer minutes of physical care than in 2000. Fathers from higher SES groups offset some of these trends by increased participation rates in physical care in 2014 compared to 2000. CONCLUSIONS The stability of fathers' involvement signifies a stalling of the transformation of the father role and progress towards gender equality in the home in large parts of the population. Father involvement on weekend days continues to diverge between high and low status groups. CONTRIBUTION This is the first comprehensive analysis of trends in father involvement in the new millennium using time-use data. It is the first analysis that finds no further increase of father involvement in the United Kingdom.

Work-Life Balance, Couple Satisfaction, and Father Involvement: A Cross-Cultural Study

The goals of the study were to identify: (a) the differences in father involvement level between fathers in the United Kingdom and Asia; (b) the differences in father involvement between fathers within Asia (Indonesia and Hong Kong); and (c) the factor that contributed to father involvement the most: work-life balance or couple satisfaction. By using snowball sampling, 256 fathers (51 from the United Kingdom, 106 from Indonesia, and 99 from Hong Kong) participated in the study via an online survey that measured their level of involvement, couple satisfaction, and work-life balance. Results revealed a statistically significant difference in father involvement between fathers from Indonesia and Hong Kong (t = 6.307, p < .000, 95% = 16.286, 31.101), but not between fathers from the United Kingdom and Asia (t = - .487, p = .627, 95% = - 8.003, - 4.841). Couple satisfaction was directly correlated to father involvement and also acted as the mediating factor between work-life balance and father involvement meaning that father involvement was influenced by a larger system that was interconnected with wider society as well as the couple relationship.

Parenting in On/Off Relationships: The Link Between Relationship Churning and Father Involvement.

Family systems theory points to the interconnected nature of dyadic relationships within the family unit, arguing for attention to how the parental relationship shapes their ties to and interactions with their children. Grounded in family systems theory, we consider how relationship churning-defined as being in an on-again/off-again relationship with the same partner-is associated with father involvement. We use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine how father involvement among relationship churners compares with father involvement among those in three other relationship types (measured during the first five years of the focal child's life): stably together relationships, stably broken-up relationships, and repartnered relationships. First, we find that churning fathers remain more involved with their 9-year-old children than do parents who stably break up or repartner, but they are less involved than those who are stably together. Second, lower relationship quality among churners-and, to a lesser extent, repartnering and childbearing with a new partner-explains some of the differences in father involvement between churners and the stably together. Third, these differences are most apparent among parents not living together when father involvement is measured. Taken together, the focus on relationship churning extends prior research on the association between relationship transitions and father involvement by separating relationship instability from partner change.

Fathering Despite Perpetual Penalties: Examining Fathers’ Involvement Amidst the Collateral Consequences of Previous Criminal Justice Involvement

Background: The role that fathers play in the lives of their families, particularly, the lives of children, is vitally important. Research has found positive associations between father involvement and factors, such as infant cognitive outcomes, children’s school-readiness where levels of mothers’ supportiveness are low, better socioemotional, and academic functioning in children. Black males, many who are fathers, are disproportionately overrepresented within the criminal justice system. High incarceration rates have significant economic and social impacts on families and communities. Objective: This article examines differences in father involvement among Black fathers with criminal records and explores relationships between fathers’ involvement, the amount of time served in jail, fathers’ employment status, and fathers’ education levels. Method: Secondary analysis of the third wave of Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing (FFCW) public-use dataset was used for this article. The FFCW study follows a panel or cohort of 4,700 children born to unwed (3,600) and married (1,100) parents. The Fragile Families study employed a stratified random sample of 75 hospitals across 20 U.S. cities with populations over 200,000. Findings: The results of the analyses found (a) that the time served in jail had no effect on fathers’ involvement, (b) no statistically significant differences in fathers’ involvement based on fathers’ education level, and (c) fathers who were working were more engaged in the lives of their children, as compared to fathers who were not working and under correctional supervision. Conclusion: This article’s exploration of differences and relationships between father involvement and socioeconomic variables among Black fathers with criminal records further demystifies the complexities of fragile family compositions and circumstances while informing future policy, practices, and research.

Unique contributions of fathering to emerging self-regulation in low-income ethnic minority preschoolers

Self-regulation ability is an important component of school readiness and predictor of academic success, but few studies of self-regulation examine contributions of fathering to the emergence of self-regulation in low-income ethnic minority preschoolers. Associations were examined between parental child-oriented parenting support and preschoolers' emerging self-regulation abilities in 224 low-income African American (n = 86) and Latino (n = 138) children observed at age 30 months in father–child and mother–child interactions to determine unique predictions from fathering qualities. Child-oriented mothering but not fathering predicted greater simple response inhibition for both African American and Latino children. Fathering but not mothering quality uniquely predicted greater complex response inhibition, but only for the African American children. The culture-specific fathering effects could not be explained by differences in father involvement.

A Better Deal for Cohabiting Fathers? Union Status Differences in Father Involvement

We use investment theory to study the trajectory of father involvement over time as a function of union status and union transition. Data on 4,311 mother-father pairs are from the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study. Fathers who remain in a continuous co-residential union, who transition from cohabitation to marriage, or who transition from a non-coresidential state to a co-residential union experience the highest levels of father involvement. Fathers who are continuously nonresident exhibit the lowest levels of involvement. Cohabiting fathers exhibit higher levels of father involvement than married fathers. A positive coparenting relationship is associated with higher levels of involvement. We discuss the place of cohabiting families in light of our findings.

Latino Immigrant Differences in Father Involvement with Infants

The relationship between Latino fathers’ immigrant status and their involvement with their 12-month-old infants was examined using the Fragile Families data set, a longitudinal birth cohort study. We examined differences among 787 immigrant and nonimmigrant Latino fathers along three dimensions of father involvement— accessibility, engagement, and caretaking, as reported by both mothers and fathers. First generation immigrant fathers were more accessible to their infants, but showed lower levels of engagement with and caretaking of their children compared to nonimmigrant fathers, controlling for numerous background factors. Immigrant fathers’ lower level of engagement was partially mediated by fathers’ traditional attitudes. Findings indicate that there may be some culturally different norms for immigrant fathering. Culturally-relevant measures of fathering should be included in future large-scale studies, including constructs such as familism and acculturation.

Father Involvement with Children Following Marital and Non-Marital Separations

Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study, the present study examines levels of father involvement with children between married and cohabiting couples post-separation. Differences in father involvement were analyzed using three hypotheses and one research question—repartnering, traditional values, human capital, and relationship quality. Multiple regression analysis revealed that previously cohabitating fathers were more involved with children than previously married fathers, although not all measures of involvement were significantly related to prior marital status. Findings point to several policy implications for low income couples with children.

Family Structure, Father Involvement, and Adolescent Behavioral Outcomes

Research has shown that living away from one's biological father is associated with a greater risk of adverse child and adolescent outcomes; yet, the role of the father‐child relationship in understanding this association has not been directly investigated. This study uses data on biological fathers’ relationships with their children from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (N = 2,733) to assess whether father involvement mediates the relationship between family structure (i.e., father absence) and four measures of adolescent behavior. Differences in father involvement are shown to account for a sizeable fraction of the variance in outcomes by family structure. Father involvement does not affect boys and girls differently but is more beneficial when the father lives with the adolescent.

Race/Ethnic Differences in Father Involvement in Two-Parent Families

This article examines the contribution of economic circumstances, neighborhood context, and cultural factors to explaining race/ethnic differences in fathering in two-parent families. Data come from the 1997 Child Development Supplement to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, a nationally representative sample of children younger than age 13. Black children’s fathers exhibit less warmth but monitor their children more, Hispanic fathers monitor their children less, and both minority groups exhibit more responsibility for child rearing than White fathers. Economic circumstances contribute to differences in paternal engagement and control, and neighborhood factors contribute to differences in warmth and responsibility. Cultural factors, such as intergenerational fathering and gender-role attitudes, contribute to explaining differences from Whites in control and responsibility on the part of both Blacks and Hispanics.