Though many fathers want to be warmer, more nurturing, and more actively involved than prior generations (i.e., the new fatherhood ideal), they also embrace a father's traditional role as financial earner. Thus, we hypothesized that fathers' attitudes about their roles would likely interact with workplace characteristics to produce variations in father warmth and engagement. Using a national sample of 1,020 employed U.S. fathers with children ages 2-8 years old, results suggest that adherence to the new fatherhood ideal was associated with more frequent father engagement and warmth, while endorsing traditional gender norms was associated with less father warmth. Also consistent with prior research showing that family friendly work cultures may enable fathers to be more engaged parents, we find that a family supportive workplace and greater flexibility in when and where fathers work, were associated with more frequent father engagement and warmth. Moreover, interaction results suggest that the associations between job flexibility and engagement are stronger for fathers who do not fully endorse the new fatherhood ideal; associations between workplace support and warmth are also stronger for fathers who do not fully endorse the new fatherhood ideal. Thus, flexibility and a family supportive workplace may particularly enable father involvement for fathers whose attitudes might otherwise be a barrier to their involvement.
Maternal gatekeeping has been associated with reductions in father involvement and can have a negative impact on the family. Few researchers, however, have focused on how characteristics of the father contribute to gatekeeping. Consequently, this brief report is focused on associations between father depression, father adherence to masculine norms, and father reports of maternal gatekeeping. We further test whether a father's adherence to traditional masculine norms interacts with the relationship between depression and father reports of maternal gatekeeping. This study adds to the current literature on both maternal gatekeeping and father mental health. Participants in this study include 2,214 fathers from the Survey of Contemporary Fatherhood including 73% White, 10% African American, 11% Hispanic/ Latinx, and 6% from other races. It was found that fathers who reported higher levels of depression also reported higher levels of maternal gatekeeping; masculinity moderated this association. The link between depression and gatekeeping was amplified when men adhered to masculine norms. Those fathers who were highest in depression and highest in masculinity were also highest in their reports of maternal gatekeeping. Although gatekeeping has historically been considered a problematic behavior, our findings suggest that when a mother's gatekeeping is correlated with potential fathering risk factors (such as depression and masculine norm adherence), gatekeeping may be a tool a mother uses to protect her children.
Introduction: Conflict resolution in romantic relationships is a critical skillset that relates to individual and relational well-being. In adolescence, heterosexual romantic relationships are highly gendered, and norms for traditional masculinity (a bravado focused on interpersonal dominance) may be relevant in shaping how adolescents navigate disagreements. Therefore, we examined the associations between adolescents' conformity to norms for traditional masculinity and their conflict resolution in their romantic relationships. Method: Using a sample of 91 heterosexual adolescent couples from the Southwest United States (M age = 16.50, SD = .90; 44% White, 42% Latinx), we examined how self-reported conformity to traditional masculinity predicted independent observer ratings of negotiation, coercion, and avoidance strategies during a lab-based conflict and jealousy discussion task. Results: Results of actor-partner interdependence models (APIMs) indicated that more highly masculine adolescents generally displayed less conflict negotiation and more coercion during the discussion task. Dyadic and gendered patterns characterized masculinity's associations with negotiation and coercion. Masculinity was unassociated with conflict avoidance. Conclusions: Adolescents in heterosexual relationships that adhere more rigidly to gendered norms for traditional masculinity may be challenged in acquiring skills for constructive conflict resolution with a romantic partner. Adolescent romantic relationships are a socialization context in which many individuals develop the skills for future romantic relationships, including those into young adulthood. Addressing masculine gender roles in adolescence may help promote the development of positive conflict management and overall romantic functioning in youth.
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