Examining characteristics of father-child relationship: A qualitative scoping review protocol

Fathers' participation in parenting directly contributes to child development and mental health. Emerging evidence demonstrates that high-quality paternal involvement leads to positive child social, emotional, psychosocial and developmental outcomes. Despite growing recognition of the importance of father-child relationships in child development and well-being, there remains limited understanding of the complex and multifaceted nature of this relationship, particularly in cultural, socioeconomic, and family structure contexts.

This scoping review involves five stages: identifying research question/s, identifying relevant studies, study selection, data charting, collating, summarizing and reporting the results. An electronic database search will be performed on PubMed and PsycINFO using a combination of terms for the key phrases of father, involvement, child, child development and mental health in the title, abstract and keywords. Additionally, the ascendency approach will be used to look through other sources cited in the included studies. Rayyan software will be used to remove duplicates and complete the screening process. Data charting will be conducted using excel-spreadsheet. Two independent reviewers will screen 10% of records to achieve Inter-rater reliability (IRR) at each screening stage. Reviewers will conduct systematic data extraction independently using piloted forms, with discrepancies resolved through senior authors and team discussions along with the use of the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) quality assessment tool.

The scoping review will identify characteristics of father-child relationships in early and middle childhood along with neurodiverse children. The reporting of findings will be structured according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist.

The knowledge-base, synthesis by this review, will inform the development of a framework for paternal involvement that is applicable across majority family contexts. This framework has the potential to guide the formulation of contextually appropriate policies aimed at strengthening father's involvement and promoting child development and mental health, while identifying key gaps to inform future research.