Father Involvement in Different Family Systems Across Cultural Communities

This chapter discusses paternal involvement in diverse living arrangements in high-, middle-, and low-income countries and their implications for childhood development. Men’s ideas about fathering roles and responsibilities are changing noticeably in the high-income countries but at a far slower pace in the rest of the world. This is a major hindrance to engaged fathering. Despite the prevalence of masculine norms in most regions of the world, men display levels of warmth toward children that are comparable to that of mothers, and in a few instances fathers exceed mothers in the display of affection to children. An area in which fathers seem to lag behind mothers is in their engagement in cognitively rich language and numeracy activities with children. This is particularly so in the low- and middle-income countries. Ultimately, the associations between father engagement and childhood outcomes are more consistent for families in high-income than low-income countries, and the associations are sometimes tempered by family union status, the quality of partner relationship, and material resources.

Longitudinal Associations Between Early Risk, Father Engagement, and Coparenting and Low-Income Fathers’ Engagement With Children in Middle Childhood

The current investigation examined the longitudinal associations among low-income, urban fathers’ risk factors, engagement with children, and coparenting support during early childhood and paternal engagement with children at age 9 years. Using Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing data ( N = 2104), the results showed that additive individual and family risk when children were infants and preschool-age negatively predicted father engagement at age 9. Father engagement with toddlers and preschoolers positively predicted later paternal involvement with children, but coparenting support during early childhood did not predict father engagement at age 9. There was one significant moderation effect: fathers who were highly engaged with toddlers reported lower levels of engagement during middle childhood when they experienced a higher level of risk factors at age 5. Implications for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers are discussed.

Determinants of Paternal Engagement: Investigating Low-Income Fathers’ Caregiving, Play, and Verbal Engagement With Infants

Extant research highlights the importance of early paternal engagement for children and families. Thus, there is strong support for the exploration of predictors of low-income father engagement. Informed by Belsky’s process model of parenting, this study explores contextual determinants of father–infant engagement (i.e., verbal engagement, physical play, and caregiving) including the unique contributions of the child, the father, and the broader social context. We utilized survey data from a sample of 183 non-residential, cohabitating, and married low-income fathers of infants participating in a home-visiting intervention. Results demonstrated that infant age was associated with increased caregiving and verbal engagement, fathers’ total work hours were negatively correlated with verbal engagement, fathers’ depressive symptoms were linked to increased physical play, and the quality of the coparenting alliance was related to physical play and caregiving. Findings may inform programs designed to promote paternal engagement during infancy.

Father Presence, Father Engagement, and Specific Health and Developmental Outcomes of Mongolian Pre-School Children

This study explored father involvement as a social determinant of child health within the context of macro-environmental changes in Mongolia. Using data for children aged 3–4 from UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, this cross-sectional analysis examined the association between father presence and engagement with child health and educational outcomes. Multivariate regression modeling was employed to identify associations between father presence, engagement, and child outcomes including fever, respiratory illness, diarrhea and preschool attendance. In unadjusted analyses, father engagement was associated with higher odds of preschool attendance (Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.12; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.04–1.20) but not with child illness (OR = 1.04; 95% CI 0.95–1.14). Father engagement was no longer associated with preschool attendance after controlling for potentially confounding variables (ORadj = 0.95; 95% CI 0.88–1.03). Unadjusted and adjusted analyses showed that father presence was not associated with acute illness or preschool attendance. Results also suggest that a larger proportion of children were engaged in activities by their mother compared to their father or other adults. Data indicate that father presence and engagement were not associated with child illness or preschool attendance. Factors such as maternal education, household wealth, and region of residence are stronger predictors of preschool attendance and should continue to be considered for promoting child health and development in Mongolia.

Antecedents of Pregnancy Intention and Prenatal Father Engagement: A Dyadic and Typological Approach

Prior research indicates that unintended pregnancy is associated with poorer maternal well-being, decreased relationship stability, and compromised child health and development, whereas prenatal father engagement is linked to lower maternal stress and enhanced infant health. Here we extend such research, considering unintended pregnancy and prenatal father engagement in typological perspective to (1) identify different types of (prenatal) families; (2) explore whether problematic antecedent factors predict family type; and (3) whether family type forecasts postnatal parenting attitudes, father involvement, and marital conflict. Latent-class analysis using a subsample of participants from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort ( n = 6100) revealed four types of families: High Pregnancy Intention/High Father Engagement (22.6%), Low Pregnancy Intention/High Father Engagement (14%), Average Pregnancy Intention/Average Father Engagement (58.2%), and Low Pregnancy Intention/Low Father Engagement (5.2%). Associational findings indicated having a highly involved father prenatally mitigates potential risks associated with an unintended pregnancy vis-à-vis family functioning.

“Why Don’t You Reach Out to Dad?”: Involving Fathers in Therapy

Purpose: The literature indicates that engaging fathers in family therapy improves children’s mental health outcomes; however, clinicians are generally ill prepared for this challenge. Method: This qualitative study applies multiple case-study design to focus group data addressing social worker’s training experiences and attitudes toward involving fathers in therapy. Results: From an analysis of qualitative data from 14 social workers in training, three themes are discussed: (1) clinician exposure to nonresident fathers and their perceptions of the role of fathers in families, (2) barriers experienced in engaging fathers in the therapeutic process, and (3) training to work with nonresident fathers. Discussion: The themes are discussed with sample responses from representative participants and training areas. The findings suggest areas of focus for clinician training and practice such as modeling in session strategies, providing supervision and consultation, adjusting institutional policy, and offering additional course work and seminars that encourage and scaffold father engagement.

Father Presence, Father Engagement, and Child Outcomes in Mongolia

This study explored father involvement as a social determinant of child health within the context of macro-environmental changes in Mongolia. Using data for children aged 3-4 from UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, this cross-sectional analysis examined the association between father presence and engagement with child health and educational outcomes. Multivariate regression modeling was employed to identify associations between father presence, engagement, and child outcomes including fever, respiratory illness, diarrhea and preschool attendance. In unadjusted analyses, father engagement was associated with higher odds of pre-school attendance (OR=1.12; 95% CI 1.04-1.20) but not with child illness (OR=1.04; 95% CI 0.95-1.14). Father engagement was no longer associated with pre-school attendance after controlling for potentially confounding variables (ORadj = 0.95; 95% CI 0.88-1.03). Unadjusted and adjusted analyses showed that father presence was not associated with acute illness or preschool attendance. Results also suggest that a larger proportion of children were engaged in activities by their mother compared to their father or other adults. Data indicate that father presence and engagement were not associated with child illness or pre-school attendance. Factors such as maternal education, household wealth, and region of residence are stronger predictors of preschool attendance and should continue to be considered for promoting child health and development in Mongolia.

Child Development Knowledge and Father Engagement: The Mediating Role of Parenting Self-efficacy

Early father engagement is associated with numerous positive child outcomes including cognitive development, emotional regulation, and fewer problem behaviors. Various fathering programs attempt to encourage father engagement through teaching fathers about young children’s development and needs. This study examined 181 low-income fathers’ child development knowledge (self-perceived and objective) as predictors of father engagement (verbal stimulation, caregiving, and physical play) with infants. Additionally, parenting self-efficacy (PSE) was examined as a mediator. Results revealed that fathers’ self-perceived child development knowledge positively predicted engagement with infants (verbal stimulation and caregiving), but objective knowledge did not. PSE did not mediate the relationship between self-perceived knowledge and father engagement. These findings yield important implications for fathering research and interventions, suggesting that it may be particularly beneficial to increase fathers’ confidence in their ability to understand and meet their child’s needs rather than exclusively focusing on improving fathers’ knowledge of child development.