The Association Between Fathers’ Self-assessment of Their Own Parenting and Mothers’ Recognition of Paternal Support: A Municipal-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Discrepancies between parents’ reports of paternal parenting have been gaining attention, but epidemiological evidence is scarce in Asia. This study aimed to clarify agreement/discrepancy between paternal and maternal recognition of paternal parenting and the association between actual paternal parenting time and background factors. Methods: Data from couples whose children attended 4-month child health check-ups in Fukushima City were analyzed (N = 509). Based on paternal recognition of paternal parenting (PRPP) and maternal recognition of paternal support (MRPS), couples were classified into four groups. Each group’s paternal household work and parenting time were analyzed. Univariable and multivariable analysis were performed to investigate the association between agreement/discrepancy and background factors of children and parents. Results: Frequency of positive agreement (PRPP+ and MRPS+) was 83.9%, whereas negative agreement (PRPP− and MRPS−) was 2.6%. As for discrepancy, PRPP+ and MRPS− was 8.4% and PRPP− and MRPS+ was 5.1%. Fathers’ total median parenting time was 2 (weekdays) and 6 (weekends) hours, and showed significant differences among the four groups. Multivariable analysis revealed that compared to positive agreement, maternal mental health condition and pregnancy intention were significantly associated with the discrepancy PRPP+ and MRPS−, paternal mental health condition and marital satisfaction with the discrepancy PRPP− and MRPS+, and maternal mental health condition with negative agreement. Conclusions: We identified differences in parenting time and mental health characteristics among couples depending on agreement/discrepancy in recognition of paternal parenting. Assessing both parents’ profiles is necessary in clinical practice to promote paternal participation in childcare.