Predictors of Paternal Involvement in Childcare in Dual-Earner Families with Young Children

Abstract

Dual-earner parents (N = 119) of preschool children enrolled in licensed childcare centers completed anonymous questionnaires that examined work and family variables as related to paternal involvement in three areas: engagement (i.e., one-on-one interaction with the child), responsibility (i.e., taking care of the child's needs), and accessibility (i.e., being available to the child without directly interacting).Paternal responsibility was predicted by beliefs about fathering and structural variables (e.g., hours fathers and mothers worked).The percentage of time fathers spent as their child's primary caregiver was predicted by structural variables (e.g., mothers' work hours) and belief variables (e.g., men's beliefs about fathering and fathers' parenting self-efficacy).Paternal engagement and accessibility were not significantly predicted by any of the constructs examined.