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Fathers: Forgotten Contributors to Child Development

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Abstract

Theoretical and research literature on the role of fathers in child development is reviewed. The first section points out that there is little known about father-infant interaction, and the impact of the father on infant social development, though diverse theoretical perspectives all assume that the father’s role is minimal, and, at best, indirect. It is suggested that this assumption is unsubstantiated. Fathers are believed to play an influential role in later child development, though the theoretical assumptions, again, are inadequately validated by research. A new hypothesis is proposed whereby fathers are seen as playing a vitally important role in socialization, yet one which is qualitatively different from that played by mothers. Various research designs are suggested whereby this hypothesis can be subject to empirical validation.Copyright © 1975 S. Karger AG, Basel
... These results are similar to the findings of this study. There are also studies in the literature (Lamb, 1975;Aybek & Aslan, 2015;Kılavuz, 2020) that are not similar to the study in terms of gender variable. In the related studies, no significant differentiation was found between gender and critical reading self-efficacy perceptions. ...
... Bu sonuçlar çalışma araştırma bulgularıyla benzerlik göstermektedir. Literatürde cinsiyet değişkeni açısından araştırmayla benzerlik göstermeyen çalışmalar da (Lamb, 1975;Aybek ve Aslan, 2015;Ünal ve Sever, 2013;Kılavuz, 2020) bulunmaktadır. İlgili çalışmalarda cinsiyetle araştırmalarında eleştirel okuma öz yeterlik algıları arasında anlamlı bir farklılaşma bulunamamıştır. ...
... Palabras clave: paternidad; maternidad; parentalidad; roles de género; evaluación psicológica; instrumentos psicométricos For decades, important researchers have been theorizing about parenting (Belsky, 1984;Taraban & Shaw, 2018) and its relationships (Morris et al., 2021;Zimmer-Gembeck et al., 2022) -although partially related to maternal perceptions (Afrooz et al., 2022;Phares et al., 2005). Subsequently, the specific understanding of paternal involvement (Lamb, 1975(Lamb, , 2000 and its consequences was also verified. However, researchers have found divergent results when trying to understand the relationship between fatherhood and its impact on the well-being of fathers and mothers (Milovanska-Farrington & Farrington, 2021). ...
... Although this trend continued until recent years (Afrooz et al., 2022), the need for men to be explicitly considered by the scientific community had already been signaled decades before (Lamb, 1975). Thus, despite its specific challenges (Schoppe-Sullivan & Fagan, 2020), the literature on fatherhood has advanced a lot in recent decades, contributing to the understanding of fathers' relevance in the development of children (Afrooz et al., 2022;. ...
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Historically, studies on parenting were mostly based on maternal reports, generating uncertainties about its conclusions. Inverting this logic, in Brazil, the Inventory of Father Involvement (originally developed in the USA to assess men) was improved and adapted for mothers, generating the Inventory of Father and Mother Involvement (IFMI). The IFMI’s content validity was verified, but its internal structure was still unknown. This study aimed to verify evidence of validity based on its internal structure, reliability estimates and the invariance of this structure for fathers and mothers. For this purpose, 1244 fathers and mothers from 22 Brazilian states (with children aged 2 to 10) answered the Sociodemographic Questionnaire and the IFMI. Exploratory (EFA; n = 621), confirmatory (CFA; n = 623) and multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA) were performed, and reliability estimates were verified. EFA and CFA results indicated the existence of seven factors in a second-order hierarchical structure. Reliability estimates ranged from .635 ≤ ω ≥ .875. MGCFA results indicated the invariance of this structure for fathers and mothers. In addition to the evidence of validity, these results contribute to broadening theoretical understandings about Brazilian parenting, enabling future comparative studies. It is important to further verify additional validity evidence.
... Developmental psychology was also criticised for its forgetfulness of fathers' contributions and tendency towards a mother-blaming culture (Lamb, 1975;Phoenix and Woollett, 1991). ...
... However, this first wave of 1980s fatherhood research helped pave the way for the future body of UK work on fatherhood and masculinity, again much of it led by TCRU researchers (e.g., Brannen and Nilsen, 2006;Dermott, 2008;Miller, 2011). It also linked to European and North American scholarship (e.g., Lamb, 1975;Bjornberg 1992;Hobson, 2002;Doucet, 2006;Lamb, 2010;Cabrera and Tamis-LeMonda, 2013). ...
... Bu durum, babaların geleneksel rollerinden uzaklaşarak çocukların eğitimi ve gelişiminde daha etkin roller üstlenmesini zorunlu hale getirmiştir (Tezel Şahin, F., & Ünver, N. 2005). Lamb (1975), babaların çocuk gelişimi üzerinde önemli etkileri olduğunu belirtmiş, ancak onların "unutulmuş ebeveynler" olarak görüldüğüne dikkat çekmiştir. Bu tespitten sonra, babaların çocuk gelişimindeki rolleri daha fazla incelenmeye başlanmıştır (Karabulut ve Şendil, 2018). ...
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Okul öncesi eğitim çocuğunun olumlu kazanımları, ilerideki eğitim yaşantısına katkı sağlaması açısından tek yönlü düşünülmeyerek, eğitimin içerisine ailenin de dahil edilmesi, davranışların pekiştirilmesi yönünden son derece önemlidir. Bu araştırmanın amacı Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı’na bağlı bağımsız anaokullarında, ailelerin eğitim sürecine katılımları hakkında okul yöneticilerinin görüşlerini alarak yöneticiler açısından incelenmesidir. Çalışma grubunda 2023 – 2024 eğitim öğretim yılında Antalya ili Muratpaşa ve Konyaaltı ilçelerinde kamuya ait bağımsız anaokullarında görev yapan 10 okul müdürü oluşturmaktadır. Nitel araştırma yöntemi ile kurgulanan bu araştırmada veri toplamak amacıyla ilgili kavramsal çerçeveye ve uzman görüşlerine dayalı olarak araştırmacı tarafından geliştirilen yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme formu kullanılmıştır. Örneklem seçilirken ölçüt örnekleme yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Bu aşamada tespit edilen 10 bağımsız anaokulu müdürü ile görüşmeler yapılmıştır. Verilerin toplanması sürecinde katılımcılarla birebir görüşmeler yapılmıştır. Veriler tematik içerik analiz yöntemi kullanılarak incelenmiştir. Araştırma sonuçlarına göre okul yöneticilerinin aile katılımı hakkında düşünceleri görüşleri önerileri üzerine aile katılımının önemli olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Aile ile iletişimin güçlü olması, üçlü sac ayağı şeklinde düşünülerek birbirine destek verilmesi çocuk açısından önemli olduğu görülmektedir. Her ailenin katılımı sağlanarak kuruma olan güvenin arttırılması gerektiği kanıtlanmıştır.
... 선행연구들을 살펴보면, Kang (2012) (Yoo et al., 2004;Yoon, 2001 (Abidin, 1990), 부모가 자녀를 양육하는 과정에 서 느끼는 심리적 또는 경제적 부담감과 신체적 피로감이며 부모 가 양육하기 이전의 자신 생활과 여가생활 등을 포기해야 하는 부 정적인 측면이라고 볼 수 있다 (Jang & Lee, 2012 (Crnic et al., 2005;Son, 2010 (Choi, 1993). 또한, Lamb (1975) (Riley, 1990;Shears & Robinson, 2005;Yang, 1996). Russel (1982) (Jung et al., 2013;Lim, 2015 (Jung et al., 2013). ...
Article
This study aims to identify the cluster distribution of perfectionism among fathers by categorizing them according to their perfectionism type and analyzing the differences between different fathers' parenting stress and involvement. The study targeted 321 pairs of parents with infants aged 4 and 5 years old. Data was collected by distributing questionnaires via mobile device. The collected data was tested for reliability and correlation using reliability analysis and inferential correlation analysis. After that, a K-means cluster analysis was conducted to categorize the perfectionism types of fathers. From there, an analysis of the covariance was conducted to test the differences between parenting stress and involvement according to the categorized cluster types. As a result, Korean fathers were categorized into perfectionist, non-perfectionist, and eclectic perfectionist groups according to the characteristics of each cluster type. The results showed that fathers with high levels of perfectionism were more sensitive to parenting stress, while non-perfectionist fathers experienced lower parenting stress and were more involved in parenting. These findings may have implications for modern society's emphasis on the role of fathers when it comes to co-parenting.
... In many psychological theories, mothers are considered the primary caregivers, which has resulted in mothers being the focus of most parenting research (Lamb, 1975;Li et al., 2017;Lynn, 1974;Palm, 2014). In most of the research, the term "parents" in reality only includes mothers, highlighting the need for research on the possible influence of fathers on children (Coltrane, 1988;Cookston et al., 2006;Daniel et al., 2016;Miranda et al. 2016;Li et al., 2017;Lynn, 1974;Rohner et al., 2001). ...
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Drawing upon interpersonal acceptance-rejection theory (IPARTheory), the present study aims to explore the associations between perceived maternal acceptance and the seven personality dispositions most central to the theory (hostility, dependence, self-esteem, self-adequacy, emotional responsiveness, emotional stability, worldview), as well as the possible mediating role of paternal acceptance. Data were collected from 551 Turkish children (50.6% boys) aged 11 through 15 (M=12.78 years) using a random sampling method. Results showed that both maternal and paternal acceptance were significant predictors of six of the seven personality dispositions most central in IPARTheory (low hostility, positive self-esteem, positive self-adequacy, emotional responsiveness, emotional stability, and positive worldview). Additionally, results showed that paternal acceptance partially mediated the association between maternal acceptance and low hostility, positive self-adequacy, emotional responsiveness, emotional stability, and positive worldview.
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Bu araştırmanın amacı, anne bekçiliği boyutları (teşvik, engel ve kontrol) ile ergen uyumu arasındaki ilişkide babanın algıladığı ve ergenin algıladığı baba katılımının aracı rolünü incelemektir. Çalışma kapsamında ergen uyumu değişkeni; sosyal beceri, öznel iyi oluş, duygu düzenleme ve evlatlık inancı değişkenleri ile oluşturulmuştur. Çalışmanın örneklemini 10-14 yaş aralığındaki 783 ergen (YaşOrt.= 11.99, S= 1.20) ile anne ve babaları oluşturmuştur. Gerçekleştirilen Yapısal Eşitlik Modeli (YEM) analizi sonuçlarına göre, kabul edilen model, anne bekçiliği boyutlarının ergen uyumunu doğrudan yordamadığını ortaya koymuştur. Bunun yanı sıra annenin teşvik edici ile kontrol edici bekçiliği, babanın algıladığı katılımdan ergenin algıladığı katılıma giden yol aracılığıyla ergen uyumunu yordarken, annenin engelleyici bekçiliği yalnızca ergenin algıladığı baba katılımı yolu üzerinden ergen uyumunu yordamıştır. Elde edilen sonuçlar genel olarak, artan baba katılımı ve sonuç olarak daha iyi ergen uyumunun, annenin teşvik edici bekçiliği ile olumlu, engelleyici ve kontrol edici bekçiliği ile olumsuz yönde ilişkili olduğuna işaret etmektedir. Ulaşılan sonuçlar alanyazın çerçevesinde tartışılmış olup, ergen uyumunu desteklemeye yönelik gerçekleştirilecek müdahale programlarına yol gösterici olabilir.
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Long focused on maternal roles in infancy, research is now exploring fathers' contributions to child development. Current public policy emphasizes early prevention and intervention for child and parent well‐being, especially for at‐risk infants such as those born prematurely. A literature review was conducted following the approach of a narrative review, to examine fatherhood in the context of preterm birth, highlighting the stress and emotional vulnerability experienced by fathers of preterm infants. Promoting early paternal presence and involvement in infant care helps fathers cope with this emotionally challenging experience. Despite limited data on premature fatherhood, fathers are active partners in dyadic interactions and play a significant role in their infant's neonatal intensive care unit journey and family dynamics. The discussion underscores the importance of father‐focused interventions and the paternal contribution to child development, framed within the authors' proposed integrative and developmental model of the family triad.
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Father involvement is very important in the prenatal period as well as in the postnatal period. Nowadays, it is seen that fathers-to-be's desire to participate in the pregnancy period and their presence at birth are increasing. Studies in the literature have pointed out the positive effects of fathers' involvement in the pregnancy and childbirth process on children and parents by supporting the physical and psychological health of the mother. However, considering the fact that there are many factors that limit prenatal father involvement at the individual, familial, and contextual levels, there are still areas remaining to be revealed in this issue. Therefore, the current review paper aimed to present a basic framework about the effects of fathers' involvement in the pregnancy and childbirth process on children and parents and the factors affecting their participation. Focusing on prenatal fatherhood may contribute to intervention programs that will be developed especially on parenting. Keywords: Prenatal Father Involvement, Pregnancy, Father Involvement in Childbirth, Transition to Parenthood, Child Health
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