Father Involvement and Cognitive Development in Early and Middle Childhood: A Systematic Review

Abstract

This systematic review aims to examine the existing literature concerning the association between father involvement and the development children's cognitive skills during early and middle childhood. Specifically, it analyzes: (1) how the number of researches developed across years; (2) which are the main socio-demographic characteristics of the samples; (3) which are the main focuses examined; and (4) which operational definitions were used to assess father involvement and children cognitive skills. Following the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement, the articles were searched through PubMed and EBSCO (PsycInfo, PsycArticles, Education Source, Social Sciences Abstract, Family Studies Abstracts, Gender Studies Database and CINAHL complete). The findings suggest that, although each research used a different operational definition of the father involvement construct, in recent years there was a wide and constant interest increase about this issue. Most of the empirical studies utilized quantitative methods, whereas relatively few used qualitative and only one mixed methods. As regards the analysis of socio-demographic characteristics of the samples there is a great evidence that most of them included biological and residential fathers: it may reflect that this type of sample is easier to recruit than non-residential and non-biological fathers. Regarding the socio-economic status and the ethnicity of families, the data highlighted how in recent years the literature on father involvement is starting to look at differences in ethnic and cultural backgrounds, in contrast to past researches. The findings revealed that the main focus is the impact of father involvement on children's cognitive skills and the most of the studies highlighted that it is positive and statistically significant. Regarding to the assessment of father involvement and children's cognitive skills, the literature is quite heterogeneous

First-Time Mothers’ and Fathers’ Developmental Changes in the Perception of Their Daughters’ and Sons’ Temperament: Its Association With Parents’ Mental Health

“…However, parents may adjust to their children’s characteristics. When a parents is are not able to adjust to their infant’s needs due to mental health and personal and contextual strains, their offspring may be at risk for developmental perturbations like behavioral and cognitive difficulties ( Rollè et al, 2019 ).…”

‘I also take part in caring for the sick child’: a qualitative study on fathers’ roles and responsibilities in seeking care for children in Southwest Ethiopia

“…Positive involvement of fathers can impact not only children’s cognitive skills but also their social competences and behavioural or emotional outcomes. 38–40 This shows, together with fathers’ important role as decision-maker and breadwinner in the care-seeking process, that there is a strong need for including fathers in future interventions aimed at improving maternal and child health. It is thereby crucial to consider that many fathers spend much of their time away from home because of their work.…”

Neonatal Adverse Outcomes, Neonatal Birth Risks, and Socioeconomic Status: Combined Influence on Preterm Infants’ Cognitive, Language, and Motor Development in Brazil

“…We found father's education as the second predictor for the socioeconomic status latent variable and directly related to infant cognitive skills, similar to previous studies. 33,34 As an example, Cabrera et al 34 showed that a father's formal education, beyond high school, positively affects infant performance in the cognitive subscale of Bayley when they are 3 years old. Here we provided similar evidence 2 years earlier in the infant lifespan, supporting earlier referral to targeted intervention.…”

“…A few studies have investigated the father's role, [33][34][35] mainly describing how parents' responsibilities have changed over the last decades and underlining that the presence of the father in infants care should not be overlooked. 36 Father's involvement should be examined beyond providing financial resources for the child's development.…”