Navigating New Norms of Involved Fatherhood

Abstract

In the context of the gender revolution, contemporary norms of fatherhood emphasize men's involvement with their children in addition to their traditional role as financial provider. These "new fathers" are expected to be more equal partners in parenting, nurturing children, and performing both interactive and physical caregiving. However, the roles of provider and involved father may conflict: Whereas the "new father" role requires spending time with children, the "provider" role requires commitment to spending time on the job. Using two waves of the Child Development Supplement to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (N = 1,139), this study examines the relationship between employment and father involvement and whether fathering attitudes moderate that relationship. Results suggest work hours are not strongly related to father involvement. Despite generally long work hours, a subgroup of "new fathers" appear better able to preserve time with children, likely by cutting back on, or incorporating their children into, their leisure time.

“It's About Time!”: Company Support for Fathers' Entitlement to Reduced Work Hours in Sweden

“…Fathers intent on strong involvement in childcare may find alternative ways of being involved in childcare, without reducing work hours, by using opportunities to "flex" their work hours, by cutting back on leisure time or including children in their leisure time activities (McGill 2014). Economic concerns might also impact hours preferences, since reduced hours is not associated with wage compensation.…”

“…This is in spite of the fact that the average collectively agreed upon weekly work hours in 2010 was 40 or less in every EU country (Eurofound 2011). International research indicates that fathers' greater work hours are associated with lower participation in childcare (Koslowski 2011;McGill 2014;Tanaka and Waldfogel 2007) and higher levels of work-family conflict and stress (Aumann et al 2011;Matos and Galinsky 2012;Öun 2012). …”

Care provided by the father to the child with cancer under the influence of masculinities: qualitative meta-synthesis

“…These changes have redefined the responsibilities of fathers, requiring from them greater involvement in household tasks, interaction and participation in the care and education of the children (1)(2) . Thus, fatherhood has taken on new values and concerns (3)(4) . When there is a child with a chronic illness in the family, the father is crucial for the process of family adjustment, aimed at including the disease and maintaining balance in family life (5) .…”

In the Name of the Father: A Discussion on (New) Fatherhood, Its Assumptions and Obstacles

“…8 Kaufman and Uhlenberg demonstrate that men earn more and work more hours when becoming a parent (which is consistent with the provider role) (McGill, 2014). their engagement at work 8 , while the other requires them to reduce it.…”

“…The labor market is proving to be equally conservative and men who do not make it a priority are viewed unfavorably. McGill (2014) points out that, as opposed to the women whose adaptation to new roles within the gender revolution has been the subject of numerous research projects, men and their experiences fail to attract sufficient scientific interest. In spite of the modern powerful social proclamation of dedicated fatherhood, the persisting model of a man as a breadwinner places fathers in a somewhat paradoxical situation where one model requires them to enhance 6 For a detailed overview of research see Čudina Obradović and Obradović, 2006;Rosenberg and Wilcox, 2006.…”