Fathers’ and mothers’ perceptions of father involvement in families with young children with a disability

Abstract

Parents assessed the extent of father involvement in the lives of their young children with severe intellectual disability, as well as their satisfaction with that involvement. This study assessed 60 families at two time points about 1.5 years apart. There was high agreement between mothers and fathers concerning the extent of fathers' help, which was highest in the areas of playing, nurturing, discipline, and deciding on services. Most mothers were satisfied with the extent of fathers' help. Mothers' satisfaction with fathers' help related more strongly to indicators of family well-being than the actual extent of fathers' help. In regression analyses, mothers' satisfaction with fathers' help explained significant variance in mothers' and fathers' marital adjustment at both time points, even after the contributions of child maladaptive behaviour and caretaking burden were accounted for. The implications of father involvement considerations for counselling are considered.