Father-child teaching interactions: the relationship to father involvement in caregiving

The relationship of social support perceived by mothers and fathers and dyadic adjustment with maternal and paternal attachment in the postpartum period

This descriptive, correlational, and cross-sectional study included mothers (n = 170) and fathers (n = 173) with 6- to 12-month-old babies. A personal information form, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale (RDAS), the Maternal Attachment Inventory (MAI), and the Postnatal Paternal-Infant Attachment Questionnaire (PPAQ) were used to gather information. Mothers' median scores were 64 (27-84) for MSPSS, 57 (21-69) for RDAS, and 102 (92-104) for MAI. Fathers' median scores were 53 (24-84) for MSPSS, 57 (40-69) for RDAS, and 84 (57-94) for PPAQ. In mothers, a significant, moderate, positive correlation was found between the median scores of MSPSS and RDAS (r = .521; p < .001) and MAI (r = .362; p < .001). This relationship was also the same for the RDAS and MAI median scores (r = .299; p < .001). For fathers, a significant, low-level, positive correlation was found between median scores of MSPSS and RDAS (r = .53; p = .044) and PPAQ (r = .164; p = .031). A significant, moderate, positive correlation was also found between RDAS and PPAQ median scores (r = .468; p < .001). This study found that baby attachment increases with increasing social support for mothers and fathers and dyadic adjustment. In postnatal follow-ups, women's health nurses and midwives should assess the social support, dyadic adjustment, and attachment levels of mothers and fathers.

The Role of Paternal Involvement on Behavioral Sensitive Responses and Neurobiological Activations in Fathers: A Systematic Review

As fathering research has flourished, a growing body of studies has focused on behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms, respectively associated with caregiving sensitivity and responsiveness to infant stimuli. However, the association between these aspects and the key concept of paternal involvement in childcare (i.e., contribution in infant care in terms of time, availability, and responsibility) has been poorly investigated. The current work aims to systematically review the role of involvement in childcare on both neural activations and sensitive behaviors in fathers by examining (a) how paternal involvement has been measured and (b) whether paternal involvement has been associated with neurobiological activation and behavioral sensitive responses. Inclusion criteria were peer-reviewed quantitative studies, concerning fathers responding to infant stimuli at neurobiological or behavioral level, and including a quantitative measurement of paternal involvement in childcare. A quality rating for each study has been performed based on the measurements adopted to assess paternal involvement. Of 2,529 articles, 27 studies were included. According to our quality rating, 10 out of 27 studies included fairly good-standard measures for measuring paternal involvement, whereas 17 studies used good-standard measures. In addition, 11 studies provided details of paternal involvement in the context of neurobiological responses to infant stimuli, whereas 16 addressed paternal sensitive behaviors. Overall, only 8 studies reported relevant findings about the relationship between paternal involvement and neurobiological responses or sensitive behaviors in fathers. The present study is the first systematically evaluating the scope of paternal involvement in the field of Paternal Brain and fathers' sensitive responsiveness research. When high-standard measures are used, paternal involvement seems to play a significant role in modulating both the hormonal and the neural pathways associated with paternal behaviors. Remarkably, the role of paternal engagement may underpin an adaptive nurturance that is not dependent on pregnancy and childbirth but on caregiving experience. A promising positive link between paternal involvement and behavioral sensitivity may be expected in further studies, which will need to corroborate our conclusion by adopting detailed and appropriate measures assessing paternal involvement. As a future line of research, the inclusion of gay fathers may be beneficial for the field.

Recruitment and retention of fathers with young children in early childhood health intervention research: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol

BACKGROUND

Fathers are under-represented in research and programs addressing early childhood health and development. Recruiting fathers into these interventions can be hampered for multiple reasons, including recruitment and retention strategies that are not tailored for fathers. The primary aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to determine the effectiveness of recruitment and retention strategies used to include fathers of children (from conception to age 36 months) in intervention studies. The secondary aim is to investigate study-level factors that may influence recruitment and retention.

METHODS

We will conduct searches for scholarly peer-reviewed randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental studies, and pre-post studies that recruited fathers using the following databases: MEDLINE (Ovid), EMBASE (Ovid), PsycINFO (Ovid), and CINAHL. English-language articles will be eligible if they recruited self-identified fathers of children from conception to age 36 months for health-promoting interventions that target healthy parents and children. Two reviewers will independently screen titles/abstracts and full texts for inclusion, as well as grading methodological quality. Recruitment and retention proportions will be calculated for each study. Where possible, we will calculate pooled proportional effects with 95% confidence intervals using random-effects models and conduct a meta-regression to examine the impact of potential modifiers of recruitment and retention.

DISCUSSION

Findings from this review will help inform future intervention research with fathers to optimally recruit and retain participants. Identifying key factors should enable health researchers and program managers design and adapt interventions to increase the likelihood of increasing father engagement in early childhood health interventions. Researchers will be able to use this review to inform future research that addresses current evidence gaps for the recruitment and retention of fathers. This review will make recommendations for addressing key target areas to improve recruitment and retention of fathers in early childhood health research, ultimately leading to a body of evidence that captures the full potential of fathers for maximizing the health and wellbeing of their children.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

PROSPERO CRD42018081332.

Father-involvement in a refugee sample: relations between posttraumatic stress and caregiving

Despite increased attention to the role of fathers within families, there is still a dearth of studies on the impact of trauma on father-involvement. This study investigates the quantity of father-involvement and the influence of posttraumatic stress on the quality of involvement in a refugee and asylum seeker population. Eighty refugees and asylum seekers and their young children (aged 18-42 months) were recruited. Measures included assessment of parental trauma (Harvard Trauma Questionnaire), quantity and quality of involvement (quantity of caregiving and Emotional Availability Scales), and perception of the father-child relationship (interview). The results show that fathers were less involved in caregiving tasks and play activities than mothers. No parental gender differences were found on each of the Emotional Availability Scales. Traumatic stress symptoms negatively affected the perception and the actual quality of parent-child interaction (sensitivity, structuring, nonhostility). Nevertheless, almost all fathers described their relationship with their child as good and their child as very important to them. As the quality of father-involvement is of importance to the development of the child, traumatized fathers are as much in need of clinical intervention as mothers. Despite the impact of posttraumatic stress, refugee fathers clearly are involved in the lives of their children. Mechanisms such as a deliberate withdrawal when stressed and compensation might enable affected fathers to step into the interaction when needed, raise the quality of involvement with their child, and diminish the negative impact of stress resulting from trauma and migration.

Furthering the understanding of parent-child relationships: a nursing scholarship review series. Part 3: Interaction and the parent-child relationship--assessment and intervention studies

PURPOSE

This integrative review concerns nursing research on parent-child interaction and relationships published from 1980 through 2008 and includes assessment and intervention studies in clinically important settings (e.g., feeding, teaching, play).

CONCLUSIONS

Directions for research include development of theoretical frameworks, valid observational systems, and multivariate and longitudinal data analytic strategies.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Observation of social-emotional as well as task-related interaction qualities in the context of assessing parent-child relationships could generate new questions for nursing research and for family-centered nursing practice.