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Infants learn language through the back-and-forth interactions with their parents where they serve by uttering sounds, gesturing, or looking and parents return in prompt (i.e., close in time) and meaningful (i.e., semantically relevant to the object of interest) ways. In a sample of 9-month-old infants (n = 148) and their mothers and fathers (n = 296 parents) from ethnically and socioeconomically diverse backgrounds, we examined the associations between serve and return (SR) parent-child interactions and childrens language skills at 18 and 24 months. We also examined the moderation effects between maternal and paternal SR interactions on language outcomes. SR interactions were transcribed and coded from videotaped parent-child toy play activities during home visits. We report three findings. First, mothers who provided more meaningful responses to their childs serves at 9 months had children with higher expressive language scores at 18 months. Second, fathers prompt responses (i.e., within 3 s) at 9 months were associated with higher receptive language scores at 18 months, but their meaningful responses were negatively associated with receptive language scores at 24 months. Third, the negative association between fathers meaningful responses and childrens receptive language scores was reduced (compensated) when mothers meaningful responses were high. Findings show that infants in ethnically and socioeconomically diverse families engage in frequent SR interactions with both mothers and fathers, who make unique contributions to infants language development. We discuss implications for programs and policies that aim to promote early language development and reduce gaps in school readiness.

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IntroductionFather-adolescent talk about sex can protect adolescents from sexual risk behaviors. However, few studies explore how family members view fathers' talk with adolescents about sex and relationships. An understanding of how fathers, mothers, and adolescents view fathers' roles in talk with adolescents about sex and relationships can help to guide fathers' talk with adolescents and inform programs to provide targeted support for father-adolescent communication about sex and relationships.MethodsThis study investigates family perceptions of father-adolescent communication about sex and relationships by triangulating data from fathers, mothers, and adolescents using content analysis to conduct between-family analysis and within-family approaches with 15 families (n = 45 individuals) with high school-aged adolescents from across the U.S.ResultsAnalyses showed agreement on the importance of fathers' roles in family talk about sex. The findings showed shared recognition of the importance of fathers' roles in family talk about sex. Between-group analyses showed that fathers, mothers, and adolescents view fathers' roles as emotional supports and open communicators with their adolescents about sex and relationships and as educators and advisors for their adolescent children. Within-family analysis showed that families often agreed that there were gender differences in how fathers talked with their sons and daughters, but family members expressed different views on how adolescents' gender impacts father-adolescent communication about sexual topics.DiscussionThese findings may encourage fathers who are uncertain about the value of their roles in talking with their adolescent children about sex and relationships. They also highlight the importance of examining how fathers' messages to their adolescents about sex and relationships may continue to follow patterns of gender stereotypes. This is the first study to qualitatively triangulate perspectives of fathers, mothers, and adolescents on father-adolescent communication about sex and relationships. Since fathers are often less involved than mothers in parent-adolescent communication about sex and relationships, an understanding of how mothers and adolescents see fathers' roles and messages can help provide a pathway for fathers' engagement which works within a family system.

A significant proportion of African American (AA) fathers live in households apart from their young children. This living arrangement can have detrimental effects for children, families, and fathers. One hundred seventy-eight (n = 178) AA fathers, not residing with their 2-6-year-old children, were enrolled in a randomized trial to test the Building Bridges to Fatherhood (BBTF) program against a financial literacy comparison condition. BBTF is an intervention that was developed collaboratively with a fathers advisory council of AA fathers who oversaw all aspects of program development. Based upon advisory council feedback, short video scenes captured fathers interacting with their children, their childrens mothers, and other fathers. These video scenes were used to jump start the discussion around fatherhood, parenting, communication, and problem solving during the intervention group meetings. The actors in the video scenes were recruited from the community. Two trained group leaders, using a standardized group leader manual, delivered the intervention. The Money Smart Financial Literacy Program (MSFLP), which served as the comparator, was also delivered by AA men. Program satisfaction was high in both conditions. Even so recruitment and retention challenges influenced the ability to detect father and child outcomes. This study informs the participation of vulnerable urban AA fathers in community-based fatherhood intervention research and provides insight into bolstering engagement in studies focused on this population.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate perceptions of fatherhood among fathers of high-risk neonates and their confidence regarding neonatal care. Methods A study was conducted of 100 fathers whose neonates had been admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for at least 48 hours. Perceptions of fatherhood, neonatal characteristics, and fathers' confidence regarding neonatal care were measured using a self-reported questionnaire. The survey took approximately 10 minutes to complete and was completed anonymously. The factors that affected fathers' confidence regarding neonatal care were analyzed using multiple regression. Results The scores for positive and negative perceptions of fatherhood were relatively high at 4.27 and 3.42 out of 5 points, respectively. A positive perception of fatherhood was found to influence fathers' confidence regarding neonatal care. Conclusion NICU nurses should encourage fathers to effectively perform their parenting roles by implementing educational programs and interventions to promote positive perceptions of fatherhood and fathers' confidence regarding neonatal care after discharge.

S U M M A R Y: Purpose: The study aimed to translate the Paternal Postnatal Attachment Scale (PPAS) into Korean and to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Korean version of the PPAS (K-PPAS). Methods: The PPAS was translated, back-translated, and reviewed by 12 experts and 5 fathers following the World Health Organization's guideline. A convenience sample of 396 fathers with infants in their first 12 months participated in this study. For construct validity, an underlying factor structure and model fit was assessed with an exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Convergent and discriminant validity and reliability of the K-PPAS were evaluated. Results: The construct validity of the K-PPAS with 11 items was identified by two-factor structures: healthy attachment relationship, and patience and tolerance. The final model fit was shown acceptable with the normed chi-square = 1.94, comparative fit index = .94, Tucker–Lewis index = .92, root mean square error of approximation = .07, and standardized root mean square residual = .06. This model had acceptable convergent and discriminant validity for each construct with the values of the composite reliability and heterotrait–monotrait ratio at a satisfactory level. Discriminant validity with known groups showed that fathers with no postnatal depression had significantly higher scores on the K-PPAS than those with postnatal depression. Cronbach's α and McDonald's omega coefficient of the K-PPAS was .84 and .83. Conclusions: The K-PPAS would be beneficial to measure postnatal attachment among fathers with infants aged 12 months or younger in Korea. However, further studies are suggested to evaluate the applicability of the scale considering the various family structures, such as single or foster parents and multicultural families that exist within the Korean population.

Developmental theories and previous research have emphasized the significance of cooperation and self-control in middle childhood. The present study extends previous research by examining (a) the growth of cooperation and self-control as well as the relations between them in middle childhood (third to sixth grade) and (b) the extent to which mothers' and fathers' parenting during early childhood (54 months and first grade) was associated with children's cooperation and self-control. The sample included 705 children (51% female, 86% White) and their mothers, fathers, and teachers in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD). Children, on average, exhibited increases in self-control but not cooperation from third to sixth grade though the increases were smaller for children who had higher self-control or cooperation at third grade. Children who exhibited higher self-control at third grade tended to exhibit higher cooperation at third grade; similar positive associations emerged for the changes in self-control and cooperation over time. In addition, if a child exhibited higher self-control at one time point relative to their typical average level, they tended to also exhibit higher cooperation at the same time point relative to their typical average level. However, these relative deviations within person were not associated over time. Lastly, maternal and paternal sensitive and stimulating parenting in early childhood was positively associated with children's cooperation and self-control in middle childhood. Overall, our findings shed light on the growth of and the relations between cooperation and self-control in middle childhood and highlight the role of maternal and paternal parenting in early childhood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

This study investigates the determinants of paternal investment by birth fathers and stepfathers. Inclusive fitness theory predicts higher parental investment in birth children than stepchildren, and this has consistently been found in previous studies. Here we investigate whether paternal investment varies with childhood co-residence duration and differs between stepfathers and divorced birth fathers by comparing the investment of (1) stepfathers, (2) birth fathers who are separated from the child's mother, and (3) birth fathers who still are in a relationship with her. Path analysis was conducted using cross-sectional data from adolescents and younger adults (aged 17–19, 27–29, and 37–39 years) from the German Family Panel (pairfam), collected in 2010–2011 (n = 8326). As proxies of paternal investment, we used financial and practical help, emotional support, intimacy, and emotional closeness, as reported by the children. We found that birth fathers who were still in a relationship with the mother invested the most, and stepfathers invested the least. Furthermore, the investment of both separated fathers and stepfathers increased with the duration of co-residence with the child. However, in the case of financial help and intimacy, the effect of childhood co-residence duration was stronger in stepfathers than in separated fathers. Our findings support inclusive fitness theory and mating effort theory in explaining social behavior and family dynamics in this population. Furthermore, social environment, such as childhood co-residence was associated with paternal investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As fatherhood education programs become more common and as the United States becomes increasingly diverse, efforts are needed to ensure that programs reach underrepresented groups. Using a mixed-method evaluation approach, this study examined the programmatic impacts and experiences of Latino fathers (n = 156) who participated in fatherhood education programs. Quantitative analyses indicated that participants showed improvements in father-child relations, decreases in partner conflict, and more positive perceptions of employability from pretest to posttest. Qualitative analyses revealed that the programs were largely positively received, with participants reporting greater knowledge of several targeted concepts. Overall, findings suggest that Latino fathers derive perceived benefits from participation in fatherhood education programs. Practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Healthcare professionals, especially nurses, play a central role in supporting parents during their stay in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Fathers often have their own support needs; however, studies have shown that these needs are rarely met to the same degree as those of the mothers. We developed a "father-friendly NICU" with the aim of providing good-quality care to the entire family. To evaluate the impact of this concept, we adopted a quasi-experimental design; using the Nurse Parent Support Tool (NPST), we investigated the differences in the fathers' (n = 497) and mothers' (n = 562) perception of the nursing support received on admission and discharge between before and after the intervention. In the historical control and intervention groups, the fathers' median NPST scores at admission were 4.3 (range, 1.9–5.0) and 4.0 (range, 2.5–4.8), respectively (p < 0.0001); at discharge, these scores were 4.3 (range, 1.6–5.0) and 4.4 (range, 2.3–5.0), respectively (difference not significant). In the historical control and intervention groups, the mothers median NPST scores at admission were 4.5 (range, 1.9–5.0) and 4.1 (range, 1.0–4.8), respectively (p < 0.001); at discharge, these scores were 4.4 (range, 2.7–5.0) and 4.4 (range, 2.6–5), respectively (difference not significant). The parental perception of support did not increase after the intervention; however, the parents reported a high level of staff support both before and after the intervention. Further studies should focus on parental support needs during the different phases of hospitalization (i.e., admission, stabilization, and discharge). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A diverse sample of 239 primarily low-income couples participated in a random controlled trial of the Supporting Father Involvement couples group intervention. In this report, we examined the value of adding measures of fathers' attachment style and parenting to mothers' measures in order to explain variations in children's behavior problems. We also tested the hypothesis that the link between intervention-induced reductions in couple conflict and reductions in anxious/harsh parenting can be explained by intervention effects on parents' attachment insecurity or on anxiety and depression. Fathers' attachment security and parenting behavior added significantly to mothers' in accounting for children's internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors. Fathers' anxious attachment style and anxiety/depression mediated the link between post-intervention reductions in parental conflict and anxious/harsh parenting. For mothers, only improvements in attachment security accounted for those links. The findings support the need for attachment researchers to consider the contributions of both parents to their children's development.

Fathers are more than social accidents. Research has demonstrated that fathers matter to children's development. Despite noted progress, challenges remain on how best to conceptualize and assess fathering and father–child relationships. The current monograph is the result of an SRCD-sponsored meeting of fatherhood scholars brought together to discuss these challenges and make recommendations for best practices for incorporating fathers in studies on parenting and children's development. The first aim of this monograph was to provide a brief update on the current state of research on fathering and to lay out a developmental ecological systems perspective as a conceptual framework for understanding the different spaces fathers inhabit in their children's lives. Because there is wide variability in fathers’ roles, the ecological systems perspective situates fathers, mothers, children, and other caregivers within an evolving network of interrelated social relationships in which children and their parents change over time and space (e.g., residence). The second aim was to present examples of empirical studies conducted by members of the international working group that highlighted different methods, data collection, and statistical analyses used to capture the variability in father–child relationships. The monograph ends with a commentary that elaborates on the ecological systems framework with a discussion of the broader macrosystem and social-contextual influences that impinge on fathers and their children. The collection of articles contributes to research on father–child relationships by advancing theory and presenting varied methods and analysis strategies that assist in understanding the father–child relationship and its impact on child development.

Abstract Background Infant mental health represents a significant public health issue. The transition to parenthood provides optimal opportunities for supporting parenting competence. Especially parental mentalization, i.e. the caregiver’s ability to notice and interpret the child’s behavior in terms of mental states, is important in infancy where the caregiver-infant communication is based solely on the infant’s behavioral cues. Methods This study evaluates the efficacy of the intervention Understanding Your Baby (UYB) compared to Care As Usual (CAU) in 10 Danish municipalities. UYB aims at promoting parental competence in new parents by supporting them in noticing their infants’ behavioral cues and interpreting them in terms of mental states. Participants will be approximately 1,130 singletons and their parents. Inclusion criteria are first-time parents, minimum 18 years old, living in one of the 10 municipalities, and registered in the Danish Civil Registration Register (CPR). Around 230 health visitors deliver the UYB as part of their routine observation of infant social withdrawal in the Danish home visiting program. During an interaction between the health visitor and the infant, the health visitor articulates specific infant behaviors and helps the caregivers interpret these behaviors to mental states. The study is a controlled parallel group study with data obtained at four time points in two phases: First in the control group receiving the publicly available postnatal care (CAU), secondly in the intervention group after UYB implementation into the existing postnatal services. The primary outcome is maternal competence. Secondary measures include paternal competence, parental stress, parental mentalizing, and infant socioemotional development. Analysis will employ survey data and data from the health visitors’ register. Discussion Results will provide evidence regarding the efficacy of UYB in promoting parenting competences. If proved effective, the study will represent a notable advance to initiating the UYB intervention as part of a better infant mental health strategy in Denmark. Conversely, if UYB is inferior to CAU, this is also important knowledge in regard to promoting parenting competence and infant mental health in a general population. Trial registration https://ClinicalTrials.gov with ID no. NCT03991416. Registered at 19 June 2019—Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03991416

Abstract Growing separation and divorce rates have attracted scholars’ attention to the association between relationship breakup and the relations between fathers and their minor children. Pre-separation life course events and characteristics may influence this relationship. One important characteristic to be considered is the type of union in which ex-partners were in. In this article, we study the association between previous union type and post-dissolution father–child face-to-face contact and father’s satisfaction with the relationship, before and after controlling for factors related to selection into a cohabiting union. Using pooled data from the first wave of the Generations and Gender Survey for 11 European countries, it is shown that, models that do not control for characteristics typically connected with selection into different union types suggest that previously cohabiting fathers have less intensive contact with their child(ren) and are less satisfied with the relationship with their minor children. Taking into consideration the main socio-demographic father and child’s characteristics, this difference turns out not to be statistically significant. This research suggests that union type does not make a difference, confirming most previous studies of single European countries.

Objective: This study provides the first systematic longitudinal analysis of the influence of paternal involvement in family life—across childhood and adolescence—on the gender‐role attitudes of children by the age of 14 or 15. Background: Recent research suggests that, in post‐industrial societies, paternal involvement in family life is increasing. Although previous studies of paternal involvement have considered paternal influences on children's cognitive or socio‐emotional development, such studies have not yet addressed paternal influences on children's attitudes toward gender. Relatedly, previous studies on the intergenerational transmission of gender attitudes have analyzed maternal influences, but have neglected the significance of paternal influences. This study engages both strands of the research by analyzing the effects of paternal behaviors on children's attitudes toward gender roles. Method: Multivariate linear regressions models were estimated on data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC); a survey with biannual observations over 10 years for 2796 children born between 1999 and 2000. Results: Fathers' time spent on childcare during childhood was associated with gender‐egalitarian attitudes in children by the age of 14 or 15. The most powerful predictor of children's gender‐role attitudes, however, was the amount of time fathers spent on housework during children's adolescence, both absolute and relative to the amount of time mothers spent on housework. Fathers' unpaid labor at home was as relevant for children's gender‐role attitudes as mothers' paid labor in the workforce. These results held after controlling for maternal domestic behaviors and for the gender‐role attitudes of both parents. Conclusion: Father involvement in childcare and housework during childhood and adolescence play an important role in shaping children's gender‐egalitarian attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlike the mother-daughter bond, the father-daughter relationship has received little attention in eating disorders (ED). This study with clinical-qualitative method aimed to understand how parents of young people with ED experienced the bonds with their parental figures during childhood/adolescence and, later, with their wives and daughters. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five parents whose daughters were in treatment. The results were analyzed using the Clinical-Qualitative Content Analysis and the Psychoanalysis of Linking Configurations. The fatherdaughter relationship was marked by affective closeness in childhood, although with little involvement in caregiving tasks. The affective distancing, starting in the daughter's pubertal period, contributed to weaken the paternal bond. The results provide subsidies for the inclusion of fathers in the treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This study examined the effects of an educational program for fathers on improving father-infant interactions, child-rearing knowledge, and attachment. Methods In this quasi-experimental study, the participants were recruited by convenience sampling among fathers with infants (2-6 months of age) residing in three districts of Seoul. Fifteen participants in the experimental group and 17 participants in the control group completed the follow-up investigation. A 5-week online and offline intervention program with five sessions was provided to the experimental group. The data were analyzed using generalized estimating equations (GEEs). Results There was a significant difference in the change in father-infant interaction scores of the experimental group, especially in the caregiver aspect with a significance level of .100 in time and group-to-group interactions (B=6.46, p=.051, 95% confidence interval [CI]=-0.02-12.94). The changes between the groups and times were not statistically significant when it came to infant development knowledge and father-infant attachment. Conclusion We conclude that hybrid online and offline education should be implemented as an effective method to improve fathers’ interactions with their children based on accurate knowledge about infant development.

A quality father-child relationship is important for the child’s social and emotional development, which may affect one’s self-efficacy in the future. Research showed that fatherhood attitudes change over time. In the current study, individuals in generations X, Y and Z evaluated their relationships with their fathers retrospectively and their own general self-efficacy and it was examined whether participants’ perceived fatherhood attitudes and general self-efficacy levels varied according to their gender and generation they were in. The study data were obtained through survey from 516 participants aged 18-58 living in Türkiye. Participants between the ages of 18–23 were considered as generation Z, 24-43 as generation Y and 44-58 as generation X. The data was collected between April 2023 and May 2023 through scales in an online survey platform. According to the results of MANOVA analyses, perceived fathers’ negative emotional approach and father communication attitude differed between generations. Accordingly, perceived fathers’ negative emotional approach of generation Z was significantly higher than the score of generation X. On the other hand, the perceived father’s communication attitude score of generation Z was significantly lower than the scores of generation X and generation Y. In addition, perceived fatherhood sub-dimensions did not differ by gender. As for self-efficacy, some dimensions of self-efficacy perceptions of generation Z were also found to be lower than generations X and Y. Resistance dimension of self-efficacy was also found to differ by gender. Accordingly, men’s resistance scores were significantly higher than women’s scores. The results of the study were discussed by considering the general characteristics of the generations and evaluating gender roles. In addition, the possible limitations of the participants' retrospective assessment of their relationship with their fathers were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When speaking to infants, mothers often alter their speech compared to how they speak to adults, but findings for fathers are mixed. This study examined interactions (N = 30) between fathers and infants (Mage  ± SD = 7.8 ± 4.3 months) in a small-scale society in Vanuatu and two urban societies in North America. Fundamental frequency (F0 ) and speech rate were measured in infant-directed and adult-directed speech. When speaking to infants, fathers in both groups increased their F0 range, yet only Vanuatu fathers increased their average F0 . Conversely, North American fathers slowed down their speech rate to infants, whereas Vanuatu fathers did not. Behavioral traits can vary across distant cultures while still potentially solving similar communicative problems.

Background: Exposure to fathers' positive parenting has been associated reducing mental disorder symptoms during adolescence, evidence on the mechanisms underlying this association is lacking. One potential mechanism linking fathers' positive parenting and mental disorders is environmental sensitivity (ES). Here we studied whether the increased positive behaviors of both parents (1) separately, (2) relatively, (3) and jointly predict reduced depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, suicidal ideation (SI), and increased well-being in Chinese adolescents. Additionally we investigated (4) whether ES moderates these relationships., Methods: This study involving 7010 Chinese adolescents (55.6 % girls) aged 15 to 18 from six junior high schools in Shaanxi, China was conducted at four timepoints. ES was assessed using the Highly Sensitive Child (HSC) scale at ages 15 and 16, parental positive behaviors using the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) at ages 16 and 17, and psychopathology symptoms using the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation (PANSI) Inventory at ages 17 and 18., Results: (1) Multilevel analyses revealed that increased positive parenting predicted reduced psychiatric disorder symptoms and improved well-being; (2) trend interaction indicated that the compensatory effect of fathers' positive parenting was stronger in alleviating mental problems in adolescents than that of mothers'; (3) Simple slope analyses suggested that both high levels of fathers' and mothers' positive parenting predicted fewer subsequent psychiatric disorder symptoms, particularly for sensitive adolescents., Limitations: This study was limited to its generalizability to the Western Chinese adolescents., Conclusions: Substantial differences in the effects of positive paternal and maternal parenting highlight the important role of fathers' positive parenting in mental development, especially for highly sensitive adolescents., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest All authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Parent involvement strongly correlates with children's educational attainment. Sociocultural shifts in parenting roles and shared responsibilities have driven an increase in the need for involvement of fathers in activities to support their children's educational development. Several factors are thought to influence father involvement in children's education; however, the most salient factors remain unclear., Aims: To examine which variables correlate with father involvement in their children's education using a combination of demographic, parent-related and employment-related variance., Sample: A total of 166 fathers of at least one child aged 6-17 years and residing across five industrialized Western countries participated in an online survey., Method: Hierarchical multiple regression analysis (HMRA) was performed to examine the total and incremental variance using regression models including demographic, parenting- and employment-related variables linked to educational involvement., Results and Conclusions: The variables included in the current study could explain a large and statistically significant 34% of the variability in fathers' educational involvement. Of these variables, only four were statistically significant in the final model. Specifically, fathers were more likely to be engaged in their children's education when their children were younger, and when parent self-efficacy, positive work-to-family interface and financial anxiety were high. The study's findings indicate that a positive work environment can help fathers better support their children's education, offering a new focus for future interventions and policies. This includes those focused on targeting work-related constructs to optimize family functioning., (© 2024 The Author(s). British Journal of Educational Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Psychological Society.)

Background: Father involvement, defined in terms of both the quantity and quality of ways in which fathers may be involved, affects the child's development. How specifically father involvement links to emotion regulation during early childhood (0-5 years) is, however, less clear., Methods: This literature review synthesizes research on the links between father involvement and emotion regulation during early childhood, as well as the measurement methods used to assess them. Ten relevant studies were identified via four databases (up to August 2023)., Results: Results showed no significant direct links, but significant links appeared between high father involvement and more adaptive emotion regulation when moderated by variables related to the assessment of father involvement and emotion regulation, as well as the characteristics of the father and the child., Conclusions: Future research should continue to use observational measures of father behaviors and child emotion regulation, increase the use of physiological measures of emotion regulation, and consider the influence of maternal and family variables., Competing Interests: Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate Not applicable. Consent for publication Not applicable. Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: This study aims to examine the association for paternal care and father-child screen use with early childhood development and children's temper tantrums., Method: Study file included questions about paternal characteristics, child care, father-child screen habits, and utilized the UNICEF Early Childhood Development Index (ECDI). Factors influencing ECDI-on-track status and children's responses when screen use was restricted were investigated with Chi-square test and multiple logistic regression., Results: The study included 464 fathers having children aged 3-4 years. The findings showed that 89.7% of the children were on track in three out of the four ECDI subgroups. When screen use was restricted, 55.6% of the children engaged in another activity, while 44.4% reacted by crying. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that the father's education level, the child's age and gender, the starting age for screen usage, the child's reaction to screen restriction, and having three or more books were associated with ECDI. Furthermore, the child's reaction to screen restriction was related to the child's and father's screen time, the presence of three or more books, the adequacy of care, and being on track in the literacy-numeracy ECDI subgroup., Conclusion: Screen usage habits significantly impact early childhood development and children's reactions to screen restrictions. These findings underscore the importance of educating fathers about the effects of their own and their child's media habits, the quality of fatherly caregiving, and the presence of books in fostering positive child development., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objectives: To develop and validate a psychometrically sound self-reported Paternal involvement in Early InfAnCy ScalE (PEACE) for Asian fathers with infants aged 0-12 months old., Methods: This study comprised of three phases: (1) Pilot test among 100 fathers, (2) Exploring and confirming the PEACE's multidimensional structure using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) (n = 200 fathers) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) (n = 200 fathers), and (3) Assessing one-month test-retest reliability of PEACE among 30 fathers. Data was collected from August 2022 to August 2023. The EFA was conducted using principal axis factoring and varimax rotation. The CFA confirmed the factor structure via goodness-of-fit statistics. To assess the PEACE's concurrent validity, paternal involvement was measured using a previously validated paternal involvement scale. Convergent validity was established by examining correlations between PEACE and theoretically related measures of parenting self-efficacy, parent-child bonding, parenting satisfaction, and depression. Test-retest reliability was examined using the intra-class correlation coefficient., Results: The EFA and CFA results supported the five-factor 25-item PEACE. The five subscales were: i) Providing Tangible Support, ii) Meeting Basic Needs, iii) Bonding with Baby, iv) Decision-Making for Baby, and v) Sense of Responsibility and Accomplishment. All subscales reported good internal consistency and weak to moderate one-month test-retest reliability. Correlation coefficients between the PEACE and other scales supported the concurrent and convergent validity of the PEACE., Conclusion: This study provided sufficient evidence to establish the initial reliability and validity of the five-factor 25-item PEACE., Implications to Practice: The PEACE could be used to quantitatively assess paternal involvement in infant care., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Emotions play an important role in fostering positive parenting and healthy child development. This qualitative study explored the affective experiences of racially diverse US fathers with low income across the prenatal, postnatal, and early childhood periods. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 fathers. Interview questions asked about fathers' early parenting experiences that elicit parenting emotions of different valence. Results from thematic analysis demonstrated activation of multiple emotions depending on different proximal and distal experiences. Specific to proximal experiences, fathers reported feeling both excited and anxious about pregnancy and joyful and disappointed at childbirth. Related to distal experiences, fathers reported feeling encouraged by their social support networks that further aid their parenting, but feeling marginalized given systematic barriers (e.g., societal bias, high incarceration rates of Black fathers). Most importantly, fathers' parenting emotions, especially negative ones, led to them resolving to stay involved in their children's lives, gaining a sense of responsibility, and changing behaviors to do right by their children. Fathers resorted to various coping strategies to regulate their negative emotions. Overall, fathers with low income are emotionally resilient. Infant and early childhood health professionals should support fathers' mental health to promote father-child engagement and thus, ultimately, young children's mental health and wellbeing., (© 2024 The Author(s). Infant Mental Health Journal published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.)

A growing body of research suggests that, compared with single parent-child attachment relationships, child developmental outcomes may be better understood by examining the configurations of child-mother and child-father attachment relationships (i.e., attachment networks). Moreover, some studies have demonstrated an above-chance level chance of concordance between the quality of child-mother and child-father attachment relationships, and child temperament has been offered as a plausible explanation for such concordance. To assess whether temperament plays a role in the development of different attachment network configurations, in this preregistered individual participant data meta-analysis we tested the degree to which the temperament dimension of negative emotionality predicts the number of secure, insecure-avoidant, insecure-resistant, and disorganized attachment relationships a child has with mother and father. Data included in the linear mixed effects analyses were collected from seven studies sampling 872 children (49% female; 83% White). Negative emotionality significantly predicted the number of secure ( d = -0.12) and insecure-resistant ( d = 0.11), but not insecure-avoidant ( d = 0.04) or disorganized ( d = 0.08) attachment relationships. Nonpreregistered exploratory analyses indicated higher negative emotionality in children with insecure-resistant attachment relationships with both parents compared to those with one or none ( d = 0.19), suggesting that temperament plays a small yet significant role in child-mother/child-father insecure-resistant attachment relationships concordance. Taken together, results from this study prompt a more in-depth examination of the mechanism underlying the small yet significantly higher chance that children with increased negative emotionality have for developing multiple insecure-resistant attachment relationships. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Male caregivers' participation in eating disorder (ED) treatment for their affected children is less consistent than female caregivers', with unclear effects. To clarify the impact, this scoping review examined literature on male caregiver involvement in ED treatment, focusing on its impact on fathers, treatment processes, and their affected children., Methods: A search encompassing English and French peer-reviewed articles from 1990 to 2022 was conducted. Studies distinguishing between mothers and fathers, addressing Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or International Classification of Diseases ED diagnoses, and involving active interventions were included. From 1651 initially identified articles, 251 were retained after abstract and title review, and 45 met all criteria., Results: Documented outcomes indicated fathers' engagement in ED treatment improved their well-being and family functioning, but these gains were not consistently tied to treatment outcomes. Father attendance, improved caregiving skills, and their expectations of treatment correlated with better outcomes for their affected child., Conclusions: Father involvement in ED treatment remains under-explored. This review emphasises fathers' positive impact while highlighting the need to better understand the link with overall patient outcomes. We call for proactive exploration of how to surmount barriers to fathers' involvement and ensure that paternal contributions are optimised in ED treatment alongside those of female caregivers., (© 2024 Eating Disorders Association and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The present study examined whether internalizing and externalizing symptoms may mediate the association between adolescent-mother and adolescent-father attachment and substance use. The sample included 167 adolescents (47% girls) who were assessed at five time points with approximately 1 year between each assessment, beginning in middle adolescence (M age  = 14.07) and ending in the transition to young adulthood (M age  = 18.39). The adolescents reported their perceived attachment with both their mother and father during middle adolescence (Times 1 and 2), their internalizing and externalizing symptoms during late adolescence (Times 3 and 4), and their alcohol use during the transition to young adulthood (Time 5). The results showed that less secure adolescent-father attachment, but not adolescent-mother attachment, was predictive of heightened externalizing and internalizing symptoms. In turn, heightened externalizing symptoms were predictive of heightened alcohol use. Despite the nonsignificant direct association between adolescent-father attachment and alcohol use, less secure adolescent-father attachment was indirectly predictive of greater alcohol use, mediated through heightened externalizing symptoms. The findings highlight the importance of close and trusting father-adolescent relationships in the development of psychopathology and substance use behaviors. The developmental cascade from a less secure adolescent-father attachment to greater externalizing symptoms and heightened substance use, as well as implications for prevention and intervention of young adult substance use, are discussed. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: The differential pathways from adolescent-mother and adolescent-father attachment to substance use during the transition to young adulthood are not well known. Longitudinal data were used to test whether internalizing and externalizing symptoms may mediate the association between adolescent-mother and adolescent-father attachment and substance use. Less secure adolescent-father attachment predicted heightened internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and less secure adolescent-father attachment predicted greater alcohol use, mediated through heightened externalizing symptoms. The findings suggest that addressing insecure attachment with fathers during adolescence may reduce unhealthy substance use during the transition to young adulthood., (© 2024 The Author(s). Developmental Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Globally, there is mounting evidence about the importance of father involvement for improving child and family wellbeing. However, there are limited measurement tools available for assessing father involvement in low-resource settings globally. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a scale for measuring fathers' engagement in caregiving activities for young children and families in rural Kenya., Methods: We used baseline data collected in February-March 2023 from a cluster-randomized controlled trial of a parenting intervention aimed at improving early child development in Nyamira and Vihiga counties in Western Kenya. The analytic sample comprised 460 primary caregivers of children under 18 months of age (91.3% mothers) who were in a relationship with a male caregiver of the young child (i.e., father). The primary caregiver reported on the 25-item father involvement scale. We conducted exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to determine the dimensionality of the measure and estimated latent variable regression models to assess construct and predictive validity in terms of associations with sociodemographic factors, other paternal and maternal psychosocial measures, and early child development outcomes., Results: The scale had a four-factor structure representing father involvement in (1) childcare activities, (2) play and affection, (3) household chores, and (4) early learning activities. Each factor showed good internal consistency reliability and evidence of multiple forms of validity. The four factors were associated with child and household sociodemographic characteristics and more positive paternal and maternal psychosocial outcomes. Father involvement across all four domains was associated with higher early child cognitive, language, motor, and socioemotional development scores., Conclusions: Our findings highlight the multidimensional nature of fathers' caregiving roles in the lives of young children and their families. We establish a valid tool for assessing father involvement in rural Western Kenya that has potential for use in other similar contexts., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Children spend a significant amount of time engaging in sedentary behaviors, defined as activities that do not increase energy expenditure significantly above resting levels, such as watching TV and playing PC/video games. Increased screen time is a significant public health concern because children are in a developmental stage where lifestyle behaviors predict various health outcomes in adulthood and beyond. This study explores the links between parent-child attachment, ego resilience, and children's screen time., Methods: This cross-sectional correlation study uses 1,163 parents and their children data from the 12th Panel Survey of Korean Children. The study instruments were a modified Armsden and Greenberg scale of parent-child attachment and modified the children's ego resilience scale of the Block and Kremen. Children's screen time was classified as more than 2 h per day spent watching television, playing on computers, or playing video games in their leisure time., Results: Study results show a negative association between father-child attachment and children's screen time (ß = -0.43, p < .001) and a positive association between father-child attachment and ego resilience (ß = 0.24, p < .001). Ego resilience showed a negative link to children's screen time after adjusting for parental attachment (ß =- 0.03, p = .009). Father-child attachment link to children's screen time (ß = -0.36, p < .001) continued even though the association was slightly reduced in magnitude after adjusting for ego resilience., Conclusions: Our findings show the mediating role of ego resilience on a negative path of father-child attachment to children's screen time. This finding emphasizes the importance of fostering solid father-child relationships and enhancing children's psychological resilience as critical strategies for reducing excessive screen time. By addressing emotional support and resilience-building, interventions can more effectively promote healthier behavioral outcomes in children., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

In Baton Rouge, LA, and nationally, youth violence is a serious public health problem affecting the lives of community members. Fortunately, Black fathers have responded to the urgent call to prevent youth violence in Louisiana. In 2021, the SUPPORT project was launched to unearth stories of Black fathers' prevention practices and interventions. Since relationships are embedded within and across various systems, the Social-Ecological Model for Violence Prevention was applied to a semi-structured interview approach to investigate two aims with 12 Black fathers from Baton Rouge: (1) how their experiences with youth violence influence their mental and social health, and their children's violence exposure, and (2) the benefits of addressing youth violence. Using Braun and Clarke's (2021) thematic analysis, the three major themes that emerged related to Black fathers' history with violence were: (1) self-reflexive moments on lessons learned, (2) the impacts of victimization and bullying, and (3) socioemotional responses to youth violence. Related to the second aim, the salutary impact on the neighborhood and improvement of the school community were the major themes that emerged regarding the perceived benefits of addressing youth violence. These findings demonstrate that interviewees are cognizant of how their history of violence led to maladaptive coping mechanisms in response to youth violence and influenced their fathering ideologies; moreover, they were concerned with familial betterment. Further research is needed to deepen understanding of how Black fathers' socioemotional responses to youth violence impact their wellness and fathering practices as their children mature.

ABSTRACT Objectives: to learn about the perception of men in the judicial process due to spousal violence about paternity. Methods: a descriptive, qualitative study with nine men in the judicial process due to spousal violence. Data were collected through interviews; the men validated the data, which were systematized by the categorical thematic content analysis, and analyzed in light of scientific texts that discuss the subject. Results: the study allowed the creation of three categories: the father is the example for the son; the father must provide for the son’s needs; the father corrects the son. Conclusions: that context reveals the need to re-signify paternity to influence children’s education positively.

Background: Infant mental health represents a significant public health issue. The transition to parenthood provides optimal opportunities for supporting parenting competence. Especially parental mentalization, i.e. the caregiver's ability to notice and interpret the child's behavior in terms of mental states, is important in infancy where the caregiver-infant communication is based solely on the infant's behavioral cues. Methods: This study evaluates the efficacy of the intervention Understanding Your Baby (UYB) compared to Care As Usual (CAU) in 10 Danish municipalities. UYB aims at promoting parental competence in new parents by supporting them in noticing their infants' behavioral cues and interpreting them in terms of mental states. Participants will be approximately 1,130 singletons and their parents. Inclusion criteria are first-time parents, minimum 18 years old, living in one of the 10 municipalities, and registered in the Danish Civil Registration Register (CPR). Around 230 health visitors deliver the UYB as part of their routine observation of infant social withdrawal in the Danish home visiting program. During an interaction between the health visitor and the infant, the health visitor articulates specific infant behaviors and helps the caregivers interpret these behaviors to mental states. The study is a controlled parallel group study with data obtained at four time points in two phases: First in the control group receiving the publicly available postnatal care (CAU), secondly in the intervention group after UYB implementation into the existing postnatal services. The primary outcome is maternal competence. Secondary measures include paternal competence, parental stress, parental mentalizing, and infant socioemotional development. Analysis will employ survey data and data from the health visitors' register. Discussion: Results will provide evidence regarding the efficacy of UYB in promoting parenting competences. If proved effective, the study will represent a notable advance to initiating the UYB intervention as part of a better infant mental health strategy in Denmark. Conversely, if UYB is inferior to CAU, this is also important knowledge in regard to promoting parenting competence and infant mental health in a general population. Trial registrationhttps://ClinicalTrials.gov with ID no. NCT03991416. Registered at 19 June 2019—Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03991416 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children's exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious problem that has been increasingly examined during the last four decades. In the case of severe IPV, children are placed with their mothers in shelters for women survivors of domestic violence (SDV). The current study aimed to understand young children's descriptions of relating with their fathers during their stay in SDVs. Interviews were conducted with 32 Israeli children, aged 7 to 12 years. Two main themes and five subthemes were identified through thematic analysis: (1) Atypical visiting arrangements (subthemes: a lack of understanding about the meaning of supervised visitations, inconsistent and unstable visitations); (2) ambivalent attitudes towards the visiting arrangements (subthemes: enjoying fathers' attention and shared family time, worry and guilt following the visitations, controversial messages from fathers). The findings demonstrate the children's subjective views and emphasize the benefit of gathering qualitative data from young children in the context of exposure to IPV. Findings are discussed in light of the cognitive dissonance reduction theory. Limitations of the study are discussed, along with implications for practice, theory and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing separation and divorce rates have attracted scholars' attention to the association between relationship breakup and the relations between fathers and their minor children. Pre-separation life course events and characteristics may influence this relationship. One important characteristic to be considered is the type of union in which ex-partners were in. In this article, we study the association between previous union type and post-dissolution father–child face-to-face contact and father's satisfaction with the relationship, before and after controlling for factors related to selection into a cohabiting union. Using pooled data from the first wave of the Generations and Gender Survey for 11 European countries, it is shown that, models that do not control for characteristics typically connected with selection into different union types suggest that previously cohabiting fathers have less intensive contact with their child(ren) and are less satisfied with the relationship with their minor children. Taking into consideration the main socio-demographic father and child's characteristics, this difference turns out not to be statistically significant. This research suggests that union type does not make a difference, confirming most previous studies of single European countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This study was conducted to explore first-time fathers' experiences during their transition to parenthood in South Korea. Methods Data were collected from September 2019 to February 2020 through in-depth interviews that were conducted individually with 12 participants. First-time fathers with children under 2 months of age were recruited. Verbatim transcripts were analyzed using Colaizzi's phenomenological method. Results Four theme clusters were identified: Preparing to become a father, challenges of becoming a father, motivation to foster familial bonds, and acknowledgement of fatherhood. Conclusion These findings suggest that Korean first-time fathers prepared to practice parenthood through prenatal education, taegyo, and feeling bonds with their new baby. They recognized their identity as fathers and experienced self-growth. These results would be beneficial for health professionals in developing perinatal care programs, and the results provide basic data for studies on fathers and families during the transition to parenthood.

Mothers' feeding practices are associated with their children's weight status, but little is known about the associations between fathers' feeding practices and children's weight status. Moreover, there is a dearth of research on Latino fathers' feeding practices and children's weight status, even though Latino children suffer some of the highest obesity rates in the U.S. We examined the associations between fathers' feeding practices and child weight status, conditional on mothers' feeding practices, within 174 Mexican American families with children aged 8-10 years. Parents completed the Parental Feeding Practices Questionnaire, which consists of four subscales: positive involvement in child eating, pressure to eat, use of food to control behavior, and restriction of amount of food. To assess child weight status, body mass index (BMI) was calculated and converted to age- and gender-specific percentile scores (BMI z-score). We fit four sets of regression models, one set for each of the four parental feeding practices subscales, with child BMI z-score as the outcome variable. Fathers' pressure to eat (b = -0.20, p = 0.04; 95% CI: -0.39, -0.01) and use of food to control behavior (b = -0.36, p = 0.02; 95% CI: -0.65, -0.07) were associated with lower child BMI z-score, and restriction of amount of food (b = 0.56, p

To address the problem of fathers' absence from children's lives and the difficulty of paternal engagement, especially among lower income families, government agencies have given increasing attention to funding father involvement interventions. Few of these interventions have yielded promising results. Father involvement research that focuses on the couple/coparenting relationship offers a pathway to support fathers' involvement while strengthening family relationships. Relevant research is reviewed and an exemplar is provided in the Supporting Father Involvement intervention and its positive effects on parental and parent-child relationships and children's outcomes. The article concludes with policy implications of this choice of target populations and the need to develop new strategies to involve fathers in the lives of their children.

ObjectiveParental depression influences family health but research on low-income African American fathers is limited. The primary goal of the present study was to examine the role of paternal risk factors and resilience resources in predicting depressive symptoms in the year after birth of a child in a sample of African American fathers. We hypothesized that paternal risk factors (low socioeconomic status [SES], perceived stress, negative life events, racism, avoidant coping style) and resources (social support, self-esteem, collective efficacy, approach-oriented coping style) would predict depressive symptoms in fathers at 1 year postbirth controlling for depressive symptoms at 1 month postbirth.MethodAfrican American fathers (n = 296) of predominantly low SES from 5 U.S. regions were interviewed at 1 and 12 months after birth of a child regarding potential risk factors, resilience resources, and depressive symptoms.ResultsDepressive symptoms were low on average. However, hierarchical linear regression analyses revealed that avoidant coping style and experiences of racism predicted more depressive symptoms in fathers nearly a year after the birth of a child controlling for symptoms at 1 month.ConclusionsHow fathers cope with stress and common everyday experiences of racism contributed to depressive symptoms in the year following birth of a child. Interventions that target race-related stressors and decrease avoidant coping may promote better outcomes in this important and understudied population. (PsycINFO Database Record

We examined the mediational roles of multiple types of adolescents' emotional security in relations between multiple aspects of the interparental relationship and adolescents' mental health from ages 13 to 16 (N = 392). General marital quality, nonviolent parent conflict, and physical intimate partner violence independently predicted mental health. Security in the father-adolescent relationship, over and above security with the mother and security in regard to parent conflict, mediated the link from general marital quality to adolescents' mental health. With 2 exceptions, paths were stable for boys and girls, biological- and stepfathers, and Anglo- and Mexican Americans. The findings reveal the need to expand the traditional foci on parent conflict and relationships with mothers to include general marital quality and relationships with fathers. (PsycINFO Database Record

ObjectiveTo examine the associations of father-child feeding and physical interactions with dietary practices and weight status in children.MethodsA nationally representative sample of children, mothers, and fathers who participated in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Birth cohort study (N = 2441) was used to explore the relationship of father-child feeding and physical activity interactions with child dietary practices and weight status. Logistic multivariable regression analyses were adjusted for child, father, mother, and socio-demographic characteristics.ResultsApproximately 40% of fathers reported having a great deal of influence on their preschool child's nutrition and about 50% reported daily involvement in preparing food for their child and assisting their child with eating. Children had over 2 times the odds of consuming fast food at least once a week if fathers reported eating out with their child a few times a week compared to fathers who reported rarely or never eating out with their child (OR, 2.89; 95% CI, 1.94-4.29), adjusting for all covariates. Whether fathers reported eating out with their children was also significantly associated with children's sweetened beverage intake.ConclusionsPotentially modifiable behaviors that support healthy dietary practices in children may be supported by targeting fathers.

Relationships established in the family, such as the father-child activation relationship, interfere in the child's behavior. To understand the relationships between father-child activation, family functioning and child behavior, a study was conducted with 12 two-parent hetero-affective families with preschool children. It was used: Sociodemographic Questionnaire; Risk Situation; Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales; and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. It was found that: eight children were classified as activated, three as under-activated and one as overactivated; the functioning of families is balanced and/or rigidly cohesive; and in the child's behavior it was verified high prosocial behavior and low scores in difficulties. Besides the activation relationship, family functioning was fundamental to understand the child's behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child's crying is the stimuli serving the development of a child–parent relationship through evoking child-oriented and parent-oriented parental reactions. Individual differences in parental reactions to crying have been partly explained by parental and child's temperament. We conducted two studies to verify the predicting effects of temperamental emotionality of parents and children on mothers' (Study 1 and 2) and fathers' (Study 2) self-reported emotional reactions to own child crying. In the Study 1 (N = 108), maternal ratings of the child's global level of emotional reactivity and regulation partially mediated the relationship between mother's emotional reactivity and parent-oriented reactions to the child crying. This result was confirmed in the Study 2 (N = 270) with maternal general negative affect and child's negative emotionality as predictors. Additionally, in the Study 2, child's temperamental negative emotionality fully mediated the relationship between the father's negative affect and parent-oriented emotional reactions to the child's crying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]