Paternal Behavior in Humans

Abstract

SYNOPSIS. Human fathers are more involved in childcare than males of most other mammalian species. The authors describe several studies designed to determine how much time fathers spend with their children and how this compares with the extent of involvement by mothers. On average, fathers spend 25 to 35% as much time as mothers do in direct interaction with their children. Factors affecting the degree of paternal involvement are then described. These factors include: Motivation, skills, support, and institutional practices. Researchers have demonstrated that human fathers can be as competent as mothers, although lack of practice leads over time to lower levels of competence than evinced by mothers. Mothers and fathers behave differently in interaction with their children, with maternal-child interaction dominated by caretaking and father-child interaction characterized by play.