Revisiting Men's Role in Father Involvement: The Importance of Personal Expectations

Gender, Internalization of Expressive Traits, and Expectations of Parenting

“…The assertion that expectations regarding future roles influence both motivation to adopt a certain role, and the performance of that role once adopted (Cook et al 2005;Liefbroer 2005), underscores the importance of examining the relation between gender trait internalization and the expectations and motivations relating to the parental role among emerging adults. The present study examined the expectations of the parenting experience and motivations to parent among young, childless adults at the beginning of their reproductive years.…”

“…Specifically, the association between expressive and instrumental traits, and parenting expectations and intentions was explored within a sample of young, childless adults enrolled at a mid-Western Canadian university using a self-report questionnaire. The association between role expectations and subsequent role performance, as well as role satisfaction (Cook et al 2005;Liefbroer 2005), underscores the importance of furthering the understanding, not only of the current parenting expectations of individuals who have not yet acquired this role, but also the factors that may influence the development of these expectations.…”

The Importance of Fatherhood to U.S. Married and Cohabiting Men

“…Fatherhood should also be examined in relation to motherhood, particularly because the couple context seems to shape the importance of fatherhood for men (Cook et al, 2005;Henley & Pasley, 2005;Rane & McBride, 2000) and because meanings of motherhood have also shifted in the last several decades. Although women are often depicted as making "hard choices" between work and motherhood (Blair-Loy, 2001;Gerson, 1985;Williams, 2000), McQuillan et al (2008) find that women place a high value on both, just as men do.…”

“…On the other hand, the call for men's greater parental involvement is rooted in an egalitarian view of marital relations and family life. In fact, the available evidence suggests that men's greater engagement in parenting activities is the result of a world view shared (or constructed) by both partners: If wives believe men should be nurturing, men rate this dimension as more central to the father identity and are more involved with their children (Cook et al, 2005;Fox, 2009;Rane & McBride, 2000).…”

Father Identity, Involvement and Work–Family Balance: An In‐depth Interview Study

“…Given our critical concern with the paradoxes evident in the current literature, a key focus became fathers personal expectations of their role. Cook et al (2005) argue convincingly that these expectations have greater explanatory power in terms of father involvement than attributes such as gender role ideology as they have the capacity to reveal psychological processes underpinning involvement.…”