Applying Pleck's model of paternal involvement to the study of preschool attachment quality: a proof of concept study

Abstract

Recent re-conceptualisation of paternal involvement (Pleck, J. H. (2010). Paternal involvement: Revised conceptualization and theoretical linkages with child outcomes. In M. Lamb (Ed.), The role of the father in child development (5th ed., pp. 67-107). London: Wiley), while proving fruitful, has yet to be applied to investigations into what extent a father's level of involvement may affect childpeer interactions in the preschool age range, over and above the effects of motherchild attachment quality and socio-economic status (SES). Patterns of associations between attachment quality, sensitivity and general caregiving behaviours have also yet to be compared in equally involved mothers and fathers. Thirty preschool children (17 males:13 females) with similar SES profiles and their immediate caregivers participated in hour-long observations, conducted in the home. Even when attachment quality was controlled for, children with low paternal involvement were found to have higher levels of child-peer aggression. Further, patterns of effects between caregiver sensitivity, child-caregiver attachment quality and general caregiver interactions were similar for equally involved mothers and fathers. These preliminary data support the concept of applying Pleck's (2010) re-conceptualisation of paternal involvement to preschool attachment, and have implications towards the wider study of child-father attachment. Limitations of the current study and directions for future research are discussed.

Perceived Paternal Involvement, Relationship Satisfaction, Mothers' Mental Health and Parenting Stress: A Multi-Sample Path Analysis

“…It is thus important to consider mothers' perceptions of paternal involvement with childcare responsibilities as a dimension of parenting that can account for maternal mental health and well-being, as shown in the present study and previous work ( 12 , 16 ), as well as a notable contributor to children's emotional and behavioral outcomes ( 45 – 48 ). A recent study has demonstrated, with longitudinal data from pregnancy to child's age of 24 months, that changes in fathers' perception of the quality of their marriage is an important factor in accounting for coparenting quality ( 49 ).…”

Socio-demographic Correlates of Fathers' and Mothers’ Parenting Behaviors

“…For example, it has been found that fathers and mothers interact with their young children with equal sensitivity (Notaro and Volling 1999). This is why some researchers claim that at present there are more similarities than dissimilarities in how mothers and fathers interact with their children (Kennedy et al 2015; Lamb 2010). …”

Social–ecological predictors of externalizing behavior trajectories in at-risk youth

“…In contrast, strong relationships with caregivers constitute a significant protective factor. The importance of father involvement in youth adjustment is well demonstrated in the literature; increased father involvement is associated with improved behavior regulation (Easterbrooks, Raskin, & McBrian, 2014) and academic outcomes (Jeynes, 2015), and reductions in externalizing behaviors (Kennedy, Betts, Dunn, Sonuga-Barke, & Underwood, 2015). These associations may result from enhanced attachment security (Brown, McBride, Shin, & Bost, 2007), interaction characteristics unique to father–child relationships, as paternal advice-giving content and style is predictive of a child's social competence above and beyond the mother's advice (McDowell, Parke, & Wang, 2003), and/or emotion regulation strategies that fathers convey either through modeling or direct teaching that youth may incorporate into their own self-regulation (Dubowitz et al, 2001).…”