Father Involvement and Coparenting Behavior: Parents' Nontraditional Beliefs and Family Earner Status as Moderators
- PMID: 22328861
- PMCID: PMC3274773
- DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-6811.2010.01287.x
Father Involvement and Coparenting Behavior: Parents' Nontraditional Beliefs and Family Earner Status as Moderators
Abstract
This study investigated relations between father involvement in caregiving and play and coparenting behavior using self-report and observational data from 80 two-parent families of preschool-aged children, and examined parents' nontraditional beliefs about fathers' roles and family earner status as moderators of these relations. Results indicated that greater father involvement in caregiving and play was associated with less observed undermining coparenting behavior in dual-earner families. Conversely, greater father involvement in caregiving was associated with less perceived supportive and greater perceived undermining coparenting behavior in single-earner families. Father involvement in play was not related to coparenting behavior among single-earner families. This study highlights the importance of considering parental employment patterns and the multidimensional nature of fathering behavior when studying fathering and coparenting.
Figures




References
-
- Aiken LS, West SG. Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage; 1991.
-
- Allen SM, Hawkins AJ. Maternal gatekeeping: Mothers’ beliefs and behaviors that inhibit greater father involvement in family work. Journal of Marriage and the Family. 1999;61:199–212.
-
- Amato PR. Father-child relations, mother-child relations, and offspring psychological well-being in early adulthood. Journal of the Marriage and the Family. 1994;56:1031–1042.
-
- Beitel AH, Parke RD. Paternal involvement in infancy: The role of maternal and paternal attitudes. Journal of Family Psychology. 1998;12:268–288.
-
- Belsky J, Putnam S, Crnic K. Coparenting, parenting, and early emotional development. In: McHale JP, Cowan PA, editors. Understanding how family level dynamics affect children’s development: Studies of two-parent families. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass; 1996. pp. 45–55.
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources