Father Involvement in Education Predicates the Mental Health Status of Chinese Primary School Students

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that quality and the quantity of father involvement in education play an important rolein children’s development. The influence of father involvement in education on Chinese children's mental healthstatus still needs further study. To understand the present situation of father involvement in education and its impacton children's mental health, this study will concentrate on the impact of father involvement on the mental healthstatus of primary school students, This study surveyed 1669 primary school students in Yancheng, China. It waspointed out that 45.1% of fathers were not active in children's education, and 25.8% of fathers have not beensufficient time to accompany their children. Children's sex and grade were not associated with father involvement ineducation, which was linked to their father's occupation and education level. Father involvement dramaticallyaffected primary school students' sensitive tendency and impulsive tendency. Father involvement can make childrenmore optimistic and less focus on trifles and suspicious. More father involvement in education leads to better mentalhealth status. These results suggest the importance of increasing father involvement in education in promoting mentalhealth status in primary school students.

Investigation of the Effect of Father Education on the Perception of Fatherhood in the Lifelong Learning Process

“…In one of the studies, Önalan (2016) found that fathers started to change their roles from traditionalism to modernity and that they started to think child-centered, with an increase in the roles of model, dynamism, and emotional ties in addition to their leader, need-fulfilling, future-planning features. Besides, studies are showing that parents' expectations from the child shape the lives of children and affect their psychological health (Zhang et al, 2019(Zhang et al, , Öngider, 2013. Stating what kind of individual, they want their children to be as a father, the participants stated that the change in fathers' expectations from the child moved away from traditional roles.…”

Paternity leave, family dynamics, and children's behavior in Singapore

“…In the United Kingdom, fathers' beliefs in positive parental involvement when the child was 9 months old and his creative play with a child when he or she was 5 years old was associated with lower risks of behavior problems among both boys and girls (Kroll et al, 2016). A study in Yancheng, China sampled 1669 primary school children and found that greater fathers' involvement contributed to better children's psychological adaptability and mental health, with more active fathers' involvement associated with a student being less sensitive and impulsive (Zhang, Wang, & Lu, 2019). These results support the social capital theory which posits that father–child interactions can promote children's well‐being.…”