Children's Affection Toward Fathers: A Comparison between Japan and the United States

Abstract Previous studies on fatherhood have focused primarily on the extent of paternal involvement from fathers' point of view and the impact of such involvement on children. These studies report that the level of paternal involvement varies depending on such factors as the fathers' ages, and the mothers' employment hours and income, and that the active participation by fathers has a positive impact on children's emotional and cognitive development. The current study not only focuses on paternal involvement but also on questions rarely addressed in the previous studies. How do children perceive the extent of fathers' involvement with them? Are their perceptions highly correlated with the report made by fathers? Further, how does paternal involvement influence children's affection toward fathers? In this paper, these questions are examined using a cross-national data collected in Japan and the United States. The major findings of the survey indicate that the levels of paternal involvement perceived by children and fathers are not as strongly correlated as were expected both in Japan and the United States. In both countries, children who spend more time with their fathers and who are younger and girls express more affection toward fathers. A cross-national difference was found with respect to the impact of social network on children's affection toward fathers.     

Planned Gay Father Families in Kinship Arrangements

The current study examined whether there are differences between gay father families (n = 36) and heterosexual families (n = 36) on father‐child relationship, fathers' experiences of parental stress and children's wellbeing. The gay fathers in this study all became parents while in same‐sex relationships. They donated sperm to lesbian couples and then shared the child‐rearing with them in kinship arrangements. It was also examined whether aspects that are related specifically to gay fathers (i.e., experiences of rejection, having to defend their family situation, with whom the children live, and conflicts with the children's mothers) are also related to the father‐child relationship, parental stress and children's wellbeing. Data were collected by means of questionnaires filled in by the fathers. No significant differences between the family types were found on emotional involvement and parental concern in the father‐child relationship, parental burden (as an aspect of parental stress) or the children's wellbeing. However, gay fathers felt less competent in their child‐rearing role than heterosexual fathers. For gay fathers especially, experiences of rejection and the feeling that they have to defend their situation were significantly related to father‐child relationship, parental stress and children's wellbeing.     

Long Hours and Longings: Australian Children's Views of Fathers' Work and Family Time

Using two waves of paired data from a population sample of 10‐ to 13‐year‐old Australian children (5,711 father–child observations), the authors consider how the hours, schedules, intensity, and flexibility of fathers' jobs are associated with children's views about fathers' work and family time. A third of the children studied considered that their father works too much, one eighth wished that he did not work at all, and one third wanted more time with him or did not enjoy time together. Logistic regression modeling revealed that working on weekends, being time pressured, being unable to vary start and stop times, and working long hours generated negative views in children about fathers' jobs and time together. The time dilemmas generated by fathers' work devotions and demands are salient to and subjectively shared by their children.     

Comparing Father and Mother Reports of Father Involvement Among Low‐Income Minority Families

Currently available data and concerns about the validity of reports by mothers significantly truncate the ability of researchers to address a myriad of research questions concerning the involvement of fathers in families. This study aimed to inform this concern by examining predictors of father involvement and father‐mother discrepancies in reports of involvement within a low‐income, predominantly minority sample of families with both resident and nonresident fathers (n= 228). Paired hierarchical linear models were used to control for the interrelation between pairs of reporters. The results indicate that although fathers' and mothers' reports are similar, mothers consistently report lower levels of involvement than do fathers. Parental conflict, fathers' nonresidence, and fathers' age, as well as mothers' education and employment, predicted larger discrepancies between fathers' and mothers' reports.     

Working at the Weekend: Fathers' Time with Family in the United Kingdom

Whereas most resident fathers are able to spend more time with their children on weekends than on weekdays, many fathers work on the weekends spending less time with their children on these days. There are conflicting findings about whether fathers are able to make up for lost weekend time on weekdays. Using unique features of the United Kingdom's National Survey of Time Use 2000 (UKTUS) I examine the impact of fathers' weekend work on the time fathers spend with their children, family, and partners (N = 595 fathers). I find that weekend work is common among fathers and is associated with less time with children, families, and partners. Fathers do not recover lost time with children on weekdays, largely because weekend work is a symptom of overwork. Findings also reveal that even if fathers had compensatory time, they are unlikely to recover lost time spent as a family or couple.     

Explaining fathers' involvement in childcare: an ecological approach

The study was conducted among a sample of 113 Israeli fathers, and aimed to examine the variables that explain paternal involvement in care of children between the ages of one and six. Based on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological approach, the study examined the contribution of variables representing three ecological systems of the fathers: the ontogenic system – the fathers' background variables, and their childhood experiences with paternal involvement; the microsystem – children’s characteristics (age and temperament); and mothers' characteristics (education, hours of work outside of the home, and fathers' assessments of maternal gatekeeping); and the macrosystem – type of community of residence (rural or urban). Maternal gatekeeping most significantly explained paternal involvement in most of the domains of childcare that were examined. Fathers living in urban communities who assessed their wives' maternal gatekeeping as high tended to be more involved in the domain of physical care than their counterparts living in rural communities. The child’s temperament explained paternal involvement in the domains of showing love and playing with the children, whereas the fathers' childhood experiences with paternal involvement were related to their involvement in the domain of physical care. The implications of the findings for families and communities are discussed.     

An Appraisal of Fathers' Perspectives on Fatherhood and Barriers to Their Child Welfare Involvement

The present study provides insight into the extent and rationale of fathers' involvement with their children and the child welfare system. This qualitative study explored 12 child welfare–involved fathers' perceptions of fatherhood and factors that facilitate and inhibit case planning involvement. The findings indicate that most fathers strongly desired to stay involved with their children but felt they needed to overcome social workers' negativity, unfair agency policies and practices, and economic difficulties in order to complete their case plan goals and remain in their children's lives. Recommendations are provided for child welfare policy, practice, and research.     

Family Experiences of Competition and Adolescent Performance

The authors examined how mothers' and fathers' feelings of competition at home and work affect their relationships with their daughters and sons using time‐diary data from a national sample of 220 families. Multivariate analyses revealed 3 relationships between parents' feelings of competitiveness at work and home and feelings of competition experienced by their children at school and home: (a) parents' and adolescents' competitiveness varied across home, work, and school—with mothers and fathers reporting similar levels of competition at work but daughters feeling more competitive at school than sons; (b) parents' competition at work was associated with similar activities; however, daughters' and sons' competition at school varied by activities; and (c) mothers' competition was associated with strategies for college enrollment and varied by gender, most notably with respect to daughters' academic progress. The results suggest how parents' competitive disposition may motivate their children's academic performance, especially between working mothers and their daughters.     

Child protection fathers' experiences of childhood,intimate partner violence and parenting

Research on mothers in child protection families has revealed that they often have a history of childhood abuse. Research has also shown that a considerable proportion of child maltreatment co-occurs with intimate partner violence (IPV) towards the mother. However, there is a dearth of research on the childhood histories and IPV victimization experiences of fathers in child protection families. To address these gaps in the literature this exploratory mixed method study of 35 men associated with a parenting program in Australia investigated fathers' childhood experiences, exposure to IPV and concern for their children's safety. Although this study was conducted with a specific group of fathers screened for serious personal problems, the findings suggest that, similar to mothers in child protection families, there are some fathers within typical child protection populations who have histories of childhood abuse and IPV victimization. In addition, many of the fathers in this study tried to protect their children from maltreatment related to the other parent. The main implication of the findings is that child protection fathers who have histories of abuse and IPV victimization should be afforded the same support and assistance as mothers in similar situations.     

Fathers' Investments of Money and Time Across Residential Contexts

Fathers' roles in family life have changed dramatically over the past 50 years. In addition to ongoing breadwinning responsibilities, many fathers are now involved in direct caregiving and engagement with children. Yet there is considerable variation in what fathers do, especially depending on whether they live with or away from their child. In this article, the authors use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 3,869) to describe how fathers' economic capacities (money) and direct involvement with children (time) are associated over child ages 1 to 9 for resident versus nonresident fathers, net of confounding factors. They found suggestive evidence that money and time investments operate differently across residential contexts: Resident fathers experience a trade‐off between market work and time involved with children. In contrast, nonresident fathers' higher economic capacities are associated with more time involvement, underscoring the greater challenge for such fathers to remain actively involved.     

Father Involvement and Childhood Injuries

Unintentional injury is the leading cause of death for children in the United States. Parental supervision is a key factor in preventing injuries, but little is known about the role of fathers. Today, one quarter of children live with a single mother, and another third live with a mother and her new partner, resulting in tremendous diversity in the amount and type of paternal involvement in children's lives. The authors examined the effects of involvement by resident biological, nonresident biological, and resident social fathers on the risk of injury among children from birth to age 5 using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 4,352). They found that living with a social father and social fathers' more frequent engagement with children increase risk of injury, but only for the youngest children. Higher levels of fathers' cooperative parenting reduce children's risk of injury regardless of fathers' biological or residential status.     

Evening and night work schedules and children's social and emotional well-being

ABSTRACT

An emerging body of evidence shows that parents’ non-standard work schedules have a detrimental effect on children's well-being. However, only a limited number of studies have investigated mediating factors that underpin this association. Likewise, only a few studies have examined the impact of fathers’ non-standard work schedules on children's well-being. Based on data from the Families in Germany Study (FiD), this study aimed to address these research gaps. The sample consists of parents and their children at ages 7–8 and 9–10 (n?=?838 child observations in dual-earner families). The data were collected in the years 2010–2013. Non-standard work hours were defined as working in evenings and or at night (every day, several times a week, or changing as shifts). Children's social and emotional well-being was measured with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The findings show that both mothers’ and fathers’ evening and night work schedules are linked to an increase in children's externalizing and internalizing behavior and that this association is partially mediated by mothers’ and fathers’ harsh and strict parenting, with a stronger mediation effect for fathers parenting.     

Parents' Involvement in Adolescents' Peer Relationships: A Comparison of Mothers' and Fathers' Roles

The goals of this study were to compare mothers' and fathers' direct involvement in adolescent girls' versus boys' peer relationships and to examine the links between parents' involvement and the qualities of adolescents' friendship and peer experiences. Participants were mothers, fathers, and firstborn adolescents (mean age = 15 years) in 187 working‐ and middle‐class families. Data were collected during home visits and a series of seven nightly telephone interviews. Parents' direct involvement was measured by parents' reports of their peer‐oriented activities, parents' knowledge about adolescents' peer experiences, and parents' time spent with adolescents and their peers. Findings revealed that mothers were more knowledgeable about adolescents' peer relationships than were fathers, that mothers with daughters reported the most peer‐oriented activities, and that both mothers and fathers spent more time with same‐sex adolescents and their peers. Parents' direct involvement was differentially related to girls' versus boys' peer experiences. Discussion highlights the role of parents' and adolescents' gender in shaping this dimension of family life in adolescence.     

Paternal Incarceration and the Housing Security of Urban Mothers

High rates of imprisonment among American fathers have motivated an ongoing examination of incarceration's role in family life. A growing literature suggests that incarceration creates material and socioemotional challenges not only for prisoners and former prisoners but also for their families and communities. The authors examined the relationship between fathers' incarceration and one such challenge: the housing insecurity of the mothers of their children. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 4,125) and a series of longitudinal regression models, they found that mothers' housing security was compromised following their partners' incarceration, an association likely driven in part, but not entirely, by financial challenges following his time in prison or jail. Given the importance of stable housing for the continuity of adult employment, children's schooling, and other inputs to healthy child development, the findings suggest a grave threat to the well‐being of children with incarcerated fathers.     

Student Perceptions of Inappropriate Parent Behavior on “Moms” and “Dads” Weekends

Undergraduate students reported whether they had ever seen or heard about mothers and fathers engaging in each of four behaviors during “moms” and “dads” weekends: drinking too much, dancing inappropriately, flirting with students, and kissing students. A substantial percentage of students reported observing and hearing about parents engaging in drinking, dancing, and flirting, with significantly higher percentages reported for mothers than fathers. Findings suggest the need to further examine parents' inappropriate behaviors, the motivations underlying them, and student responses to these behaviors during mothers' and fathers' weekends. The article concludes with implications for programming for family weekends on college campuses.     

Family Structure,Parental Involvement,and Academic Motivation in Latino Adolescents

Self-report data from 594 Latino adolescents about parental involvement (general support, monitoring, academic support, and educational aspirations) and academic motivation were examined across three family structures (intact, stepfather, single-mother/nonresident involved father). Significant differences were found in fathers' but not mothers' involvement depending on the family structure. Dominance analyses showed that the form of mothers' involvement that explained the most unique variance in academic motivation follows: monitoring for youth in intact and single-mother/nonresident involved father families and academic support for youth in stepfather families. The form of fathers' involvement that explained the greatest unique variance in academic motivation follows: monitoring for youth in intact families, academic support for youth in stepfather families, and academic aspirations for youth in single-mother/nonresidential involved father families.     

Promoting Fathers' Engagement With Children: Preventive Interventions for Low‐Income Families

Few programs to enhance fathers' engagement with children have been systematically evaluated, especially for low‐income minority populations. In this study, 289 couples from primarily low‐income Mexican American and European American families were randomly assigned to one of three conditions and followed for 18 months: 16‐week groups for fathers, 16‐week groups for couples, or a 1‐time informational meeting. Compared with families in the low‐dose comparison condition, intervention families showed positive effects on fathers' engagement with their children, couple relationship quality, and children's problem behaviors. Participants in couples' groups showed more consistent, longer term positive effects than those in fathers‐only groups. Intervention effects were similar across family structures, income levels, and ethnicities. Implications of the results for current family policy debates are discussed.     

Mothers' empowerment and father involvement in child health care in Bangladesh

With the advent of a couple-approach to health, particularly in the arena of reproductive health and child health, father involvement in child health care has become an important focus of preventative health. This study assesses the association between mothers' empowerment variables and father involvement in childcare in Bangladesh using data from a subsample of 903 women from the Couples Dataset of the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2011. Father involvement in child health care was measured as a count variable enumerating the number of specific events during which the father was present: child's last doctor's visit, child's immunization, and birth. Poisson regression was conducted to assess the association between empowerment and demographic variables and father involvement. Results indicated that mothers' household decision-making power and age above 45 years, and fathers' age, fathers' education, and family wealth were significantly associated with father involvement. The study concludes that older and more educated fathers with family wealth and whose wives denied having household decision-making power were more likely to be involved in their children's lives than their counterparts.     

Father Involvement with Their Nonmarital Children

SUMMARY

The expanding consensus about the advantages of two-parent families, together with the rising number of children growing up without the presence of both parents, has stimulated policy-makers to look for ways of increasing fathers' involvement. This paper examines two sets of questions relevant to these policy initiatives. The first concerns the patterns of involvement between fathers and children born outside of marriage. The paper defines father involvement as a continuum ranging from no visitation, to frequent visitation, to co-residence with the child, and to co-residence along with marrying the mother. We examine this involvement in specific years and over time. One key finding is that most fathers of nonmarital children in their late twenties and early thirties are highly involved with at least one of their nonmarital children. In addition, we find that cohabiting relationships and frequent visitation are often unstable, sometimes changing toward lower involvement, while in other cases changing toward higher degrees of involvement. A second question we address in this paper is whether father involvement leads to increased earnings. We find a positive relationship between increased involvement of fathers and their subsequent hours of work and earnings.