Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 11, 2025

A Common Marmoset Model of Mother-Infant Intervention for Breastfeeding Disorders in the Presence of Paternal Inhibition and Maternal Neglect
05:04

A Common Marmoset Model of Mother-Infant Intervention for Breastfeeding Disorders in the Presence of Paternal Inhibition and Maternal Neglect

Published on: September 22, 2023

469

Trajectories of fathers' childcare involvement and child behavioral outcomes

Bibha Dhungel1,2,3, Tsuguhiko Kato2,4, Stuart Gilmour2

  • 1Department of Health Policy, National Centre for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan.

Pediatrics International : Official Journal of the Japan Pediatric Society
|November 10, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Fathers actively involved in childcare during early years are linked to better child behavior. High paternal involvement in early childhood care reduces the likelihood of school refusal at age 8.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Child Development
  • Family Studies

Background:

  • Paternal closeness and playful interactions significantly impact child development.
  • Early paternal involvement in childcare is crucial for long-term behavioral outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the long-term association between paternal childcare involvement (ages 1-3) and child behavior at age 8.
  • Investigate how different levels of father involvement influence child development.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from the 2010 cohort of the Longitudinal Survey of Newborns in the 21st century in Japan.
  • Employed group-based trajectory modeling to assess paternal involvement levels (low, medium, high).
  • Analyzed child behavioral outcomes at age 8 using logistic regression.

Main Results:

  • 17,027 father-child dyads were analyzed.
  • High paternal involvement in early childcare was associated with a reduced likelihood of school refusal at age 8 (adjusted OR, 0.46).

Conclusions:

  • Children demonstrate improved well-being with greater father involvement in early childcare.
  • Policy recommendations include supporting fathers with flexible work environments to encourage childcare participation.
Abstract

Keywords:
Japanchild behaviorchildcarefatherlongitudinal survey

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