Relations between Fathers' and Mothers' Infant Engagement Patterns in Dual-Earner Families and Toddler Competence
Sarah N Lang1, Sarah J Schoppe-Sullivan1, Letitia E Kotila1
1Department of Human Sciences at The Ohio State University.
Journal of Family Issues
|August 11, 2015
Summary
Fathers engage less with infants than mothers, but both parents increase engagement over time. Fathers' engagement growth and mothers' initial non-workday engagement predict toddler social-emotional skills.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Family Studies
- Sociology of the Family
Background:
- Dual-earner families face unique challenges in balancing work and parenting.
- Parental engagement during infancy is crucial for child social-emotional development.
- Understanding paternal and maternal engagement trajectories is key to family functioning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine time trajectories of paternal and maternal engagement in dual-earner families.
- To explore associations between infant engagement patterns and toddler social-emotional competence.
- To investigate the role of work and non-workdays in parental engagement.
Main Methods:
- Latent growth models were used to analyze engagement data from 178 dual-earner families.
- Data collected over the first 9 months of infant life and social-emotional competence at 25 months.
- Focus on developmentally appropriate positive engagement activities.
Main Results:
- Fathers spent significantly less time engaging with infants compared to mothers.
- Both fathers and mothers increased engagement over time at similar rates.
- Fathers' rate of engagement increase and mothers' initial non-workday engagement predicted toddlers' attention and mastery motivation.
Conclusions:
- Paternal engagement, though lower initially, shows a positive growth trajectory.
- Maternal engagement on non-workdays is a significant predictor of early child socio-emotional skills.
- Findings offer insights into modern family functioning and father involvement in dual-earner households.
Keywords:
Dual-Earner familiesFather EngagementSocial-Emotional CompetenceTime DiariesTransition to ParenthoodMore Related Videos
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