Fathers Are Parents, Too! Widening the Lens on Parenting for Children's Development

Abstract

Why do fathers matter? Recent conceptual and theoretical advances regarding father–child relationships have demonstrated that fathers affect children's outcomes both directly and indirectly. To attain a complete developmental account of the ecologically rich contexts of child development, in this article, we recommend best practices regarding the conceptualization and assessment of father–child relationships that reflect contemporary family life. We also discuss conceptual and measurement issues pertaining to father–child relationships in different family configurations, including those with resident and nonresident fathers. We conclude with recommendations that can help developmental researchers advance our understanding of fathering, parenting, and children's development.

Romantic attachment, dyadic coping, and parental adjustment across the transition to parenthood

“…However, mothers feel generally more confident compared to fathers, a result that our study replicated and that can also be explained by their greater involvement in child care (Biehle & Mickelson, 2011;Hudson et al, 2001). This is consonant with the larger societal norms and expectations around the roles of mothers and fathers (Cabrera et al, 2018). Accordingly, mothers are socialized to assume a predominant caring role, whereas fathers are mostly the support provider (Katz-Wise et al, 2010;Yavorsky et al, 2015).…”

“…We did not find similar effects for fathers' parenting stress, which suggests differences within couples regarding the role of joint coping efforts on perceived parenting stress. This finding could reflect the sociocultural context present in many westernized countries (including in Portugal), in which a high proportion of families are full‐time dual earners (Matias, Andrade, & Fontaine, ; Yavorsky et al, ), and changes toward father's participation in child care and family life are increasing (Cabrera, Volling, & Barr, ; Wall et al, ), but mothers remain the primary caregivers and are more often responsible for infant care and household tasks than fathers (Matias et al, ; Yavorsky et al, ). Joint handling of everyday stressors most likely reduces mothers' greater family and household responsibilities and hence attenuates the maternal strain often associated with child care (Nyström & Öhrling, ).…”

Depressive Symptoms and Father Involvement in Canada: Evidence from a National Study

“…2013; Osborne and McLanahan 2007). While fathering has significant implications for the health and well‐being of children in the short term, its effects appear to be long‐lasting, as well—suggesting that paternal involvement has important effects on the life chances of children into adulthood (Cabrera, Volling, and Barr 2018; Lamb 2010).…”

Recruiting fathers for parenting research using online advertising campaigns: Evidence from an Australian study

“…It is well recognized that men are minimally engaged in social and health research (Davison, Charles, Khandpur, & Nelson, 2017), including research about experiences of parenthood (Cabrera, Volling, & Barr, 2018). In a review of fathers' involvement in developmental and paediatric psychology research, 48% of the 726 studies reviewed included mothers only, compared with just 2% with fathers only (Phares et al, 2005).…”