What Gets Dad Involved? A Longitudinal Study of Change in Parental Child Caregiving Involvement.

Abstract

Predictors of change in fathers' and mothers' perceptions of child caregiving involvement were examined. Middle-class 2-parent families (131 mothers and 98 fathers) with a target school-age child participated. Fathers and mothers completed annual questionnaires for 3 consecutive years. Latent growth curve modeling suggested that fathers were likely to increase their relative contribution to child caregiving over the course of 3 years when they had a greater proportion of male children in the family and when life events-particularly changes in employment and financial status-were experienced by the family. Although mothers were responsible for more of the caregiving, their relative level of involvement tended to decrease when there were no young children in the family. Two-parent families may adapt to varying family contexts and life circumstances by shifting caregiving roles and responsibilities over the course of years.

Trajectories of parental engagement in early childhood among dual-earner families: Effects on child self-control.

“…In one of the few studies examining changes in parents' engagement in positive activities during children's infancy (at 3, 6, and 9 months old), Lang et al (2014) found that mothers and fathers increased their engagement with the child at similar growth rates. During middle childhood, fathers display increasing levels of global involvement while mothers display decreasing levels of global involvement (Wood & Repetti, 2004). The aforementioned studies suggest that parental engagement is subject to cross-time variations.…”

“…Specifically, more studies are needed to further understand how mothers' and fathers' engagement in positive activities with the child is affected by the way parents balance their work and family roles. Moreover, longitudinal research on mothers' and fathers' engagement is still relatively scarce (Lang et al, 2014;Meteyer & Perry-Jenkins, 2010;Wood & Repetti, 2004). In one of the few studies examining changes in parents' engagement in positive activities during children's infancy (at 3, 6, and 9 months old), Lang et al (2014) found that mothers and fathers increased their engagement with the child at similar growth rates.…”

“…Their results established a negative connection between work conditions and parental positive engagement over time, showing that the growth of parental engagement in nonwork days over time is greater than the growth of parental engagement in work days (Lang et al, 2014). Wood and Repetti (2004) examined changes in parental involvement for 3 consecutive years regarding a broad set of activities, including playing with child, getting the child ready for bed and teaching skills. They found mothers' working hours had a negative effect on mothers' caregiving involvement and a positive effect on fathers' caregiving involvement over time.…”

“…Also, mothers and fathers from dual-earner families are confronted with exceptional work and family demands, likely affecting their availability to engage in child-rearing activities (Bonney et al, 1999;Danner-Vlaardingerbroek, Kluwer, van Steenbergen, & van der Lippe, 2013;Meteyer & Perry-Jenkins, 2010;Zick et al, 2001). Although some structural conditions of parents' work environment (e.g., long working hours, atypical schedules, and husband-wife wage differentials) are associated with parental involvement in dual-earner families (Hook & Wolfe, 2013;Wood & Repetti, 2004;Yeung et al, 2001), the way parents perceive balance between their work and family demands exerts a strong influence on parenting (Cinamon, Weisel, & Tzuk, 2007;Corwyn & Bradley, 1999;Perry-Jenkins, Repetti, & Crouter, 2000;Vieira, Matias, Ferreira, Lopez, & Matos, 2016). Some studies reported that parents' WFC, meaning the experience perceived by the parents as not having enough time and energy to manage all work and family responsibilities, has a negative effect on their psychological availability and socioemotional investment in their children (Matias et al, 2017;Corwyn & Bradley, 1999;Danner-Vlaardingerbroek et al, 2013).…”

“…Parents' work-family dynamics may relate to changes in parental engagement over time (Lang et al, 2014;Meteyer & PerryJenkins, 2010;Wood & Repetti, 2004;Yeung et al, 2001). Lang et al (2014) examined trajectories of father and mother engagement in positive activities, such as playing with the child, creating arts or crafts with the child, and soothing or holding the child, over the first 9 months of the child's life.…”