Intervention programs providing support for father parenting skills need a practical but psychometrically strong observational measure of fathers’ early positive parenting interactions with children. The primary purpose of this project was to develop a valid, reliable observational measure of father-child interaction, based on research and theory, that predicts child outcomes, identifies fathers’ strengths, and will be useful for home visiting practitioners. This study sought to fulfill this need by developing a new measure called Dads’ Parenting Interactions with Children—Checklist of Observations Linked to Outcomes (PICCOLO-D) for home visitors to use to identify fathering strengths. Developed with extant video observations of over 400 ethnically diverse, lowincome fathers, 73 positive observable behavioral items of early positive father-child interaction were tested for variability, reliability, and validity. The final measure of 21 items representing four domains of positive parenting, affection, responsiveness, encouragement, and teaching, demonstrated good reliability and validity, including associations with children’s language, cognitive, and social emotional outcomes into prekindergarten. Contextual influences were examined within father ethnicity and child gender groups and in a second observational setting. European and Latino American fathers had higher scores than African American fathers. Fathers had higher scores with daughters than sons. Fathers had higher scores in a semistructured play setting than in a father-choice setting. The new measure is intended for use as part of an individualized strengths-based approach for home visiting practitioners.

The population of male primary caregivers in the United States has risen dramatically within the past decade. Accompanying this trend is the evolution of fathers and their impact in the home. The modern dad is more involved in parenting and housework than in previous generations. Despite fathers’ growing role in the home, current depictions of dads on TV merely perpetuate the portrayal of dads as blundering and incompetent. Analysis of current depictions of mothers and fathers in TV ads and shows reveals the gap between today’s parenting reality and pop culture’s rendering of reality. Further exploration into the shifting parenting landscape and notions of masculinity yields a population of fathers who not only welcome increased responsibility at home, but also act as thought leaders and influencers in the parenting realm. By committing to the development of accurate and balanced depictions of dads on TV, marketers have the opportunity to harness this growing population’s influence and gain vocal and technologically savvy brand advocates. / text

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact the primary caregiving role had on men's perceptions of leisure. The Assessment of Leisure and Recreation Involvement (Ragheb, 2002) was used to examine men's leisure. Twenty-five stay-at-home dad groups were solicited via e-mail; 81 men submitted usable responses to an online survey. Respondents considered themselves the primary caregiver for children in the household and at least one child was younger than 12. Descriptive data were collected about the experience of being a primary caregiving father, demographics, and how the caregiving role affects the men's perceptions of leisure. Caregiving fathers in the sample resembled the perceptions of many primary caregiving mothers. Perhaps the "caregiving" role, rather than gender, is a more distinct variable explaining perceptions of leisure by parents.

Doctor of Philosophy / School of Family Studies and Human Services / Walter R. Schumm / Farrell J. Webb / Army fathers are consistently confronting and overcoming unique socio-cultural obstacles involving their paternal role. Due to the dynamic military culture in which Army fathers live, they could serve as powerful examples of resilience for all fathers in diverse communities. Transitions in the work environment such as frequent deployments, relocations, and other related stressors often create competing priorities for Army fathers. The enormous sacrifices, challenges, and demands that these dads face are often juxtaposed with the benefits, rewards, and honors involved with serving one’s country. This research examines the influence of the paternal role on father involvement among fathers currently serving on active-duty in the United States Army. Utilizing a sample of military fathers (n = 161) from an Army installation, it was possible to identify various types of paternal roles and the corresponding levels of father involvement. This study provides a comprehensive plan for support programs and services to increase father involvement within families and communities. It also serves as a basis for educational programs and services designed to support fathers in the United States armed services. The Influence of Paternal Role upon Father Involvement Model integrates conceptual underpinnings from Ecological Systems and Symbolic Interaction perspectives that were operationalized and tested in this research. This research found a positive association between paternal role and father involvement, F (₁₃, ₁₅₁) = 10.683, p < .001. It was determined that approximately 49% of the variance in paternal role could be explained by father involvement. These data revealed that paternal role has a greater impact than originally postulated in addressing issues related to competing environmental factors and father involvement. The research findings underscore the daunting socio-cultural challenges of being a tough guy and tender father through unparalleled commitment to their Nation and fatherhood displayed by soldiers serving on active duty. The implications from this investigation are broad in focus and have important ramifications for our society. Military fathers are experiencing complex issues related to father involvement and require structured comprehensive support programs. The sacrifices military fathers volunteer to take on are often more extensive than initially perceived. Therefore, dynamic fathering programs should be implemented to offset some of the challenges of unanticipated expectations and increase paternal involvement among Army fathers.

As traditional family roles change and circumstances at home become increasingly varied in contemporary society, the experiences of children also undergo change. For instance, when fathers take on primary caregiving responsibilities, those differing circumstances also impact their children. Therefore, it is important for researchers to study how changing parental roles affect children in the home. Through the use of qualitative research design, this research focuses on how the experiences of children within the home may be impacted when fathers are the primary caregiver. Although previous research has examined several aspects of family dynamics with so-called stay-at-home fathers, research has not yet evaluated how full-time fathering in the home may impact children's educational and school experiences. This thesis describes six fathers' and six mothers' perspectives about their children's school experiences when the father provides childcare in the home while the mother works full-time outside the home. Results suggest that division of roles in a family can affect some areas of children's experiences and responses implied there are multiple interacting variables that contribute to the parental influences on children. Mothers focus on the social experiences of their children as components of overall school experience. Fathers more frequently talked about the emotional and behavioral components of school experience. The results inform the disciplines of family science, teacher education, and school psychology of key considerations when working with children in this nontraditional family arrangement.

<p>Studien syftar till att undersöka hur unga pappor upplever och hanterar rollen som pappa. Som forum för att finna lämpliga respondenter till detta användes verksamheten ”Unga mammor och pappor”. Studien har en kvalitativ ansats och baseras på fem stycken narrativa intervjuer. En intervjuguide med olika teman utformades och dessa teman följer sedan både i resultatet och i analysen. Frågeställningarna har behandlat processen; från graviditeten till idag, vilka förändringar i livssituationen faderskapet medfört, viktiga funktioner i papparollen och hur omgivning och samhälle påverkat dem som pappor. För att analysera resultatet av studien används Eriksons psykosociala utvecklingsteori, The Scripting and Life Course Perspective samt teorier om kön och genus. Resultatet i studien visar bland annat på att alla respondenterna såg positivt på sitt faderskap och de hade anammat detta till fullo. De kände alla att de hade ett stort ansvar och var delaktiga i det som rörde hem och barn. Dock ansågs det finnas en skillnad mellan pappa- och mammarollen gällande ansvarsfördelningen när barnen var små. Främst handlade detta då om att papporna var den primära familjeförsörjaren. Den största livsomställningen som framkom var att mindre tid spenderades på fritidsintressen och vänner till förmån för familjen. Vidare visade resultatet på att upplevelsen av krav från omgivning och samhälle tycks öka med barnens ålder.</p> / <p>The study aims to examine how young fathers experience and handle their role as fathers. As source to find suitable respondents, the program ”Unga mammor och pappor” was used. The study has a qualitative attempt and is based on five narrative interviews. A guide for the interviews was made with different themes and these themes later follows both in the result and in the analyse. The questionnaire in the study involves the process; from pregnancy until today, what kind of changes in their life situation did the fatherhood bring, important functions in the role as father and how the surrounding environment and society has effected them as fathers. To analyse the result of the study we used Eriksons psychosocial developmental theory, The Scripting and Life Course Perspective and theories about sex and gender. The result of the study shows, among other things, that the respondents were all positive to their fatherhood and they had fully adopted it. They all felt a great responsibility and participation considering home and child. However they all believed there to be a difference between the father- and the mother role concerning how to distribute the responsibility when the children are small. Mainly meaning, that the fathers were the primary family providers. The greatest change in their life situation appeared to be that less time was spent on hobbies and friends to the benefit of the family. The result also showed that their experience of the environmental and societal demands seems to grow with the ageing of the children.</p>

Studien syftar till att undersöka hur unga pappor upplever och hanterar rollen som pappa. Som forum för att finna lämpliga respondenter till detta användes verksamheten ”Unga mammor och pappor”. Studien har en kvalitativ ansats och baseras på fem stycken narrativa intervjuer. En intervjuguide med olika teman utformades och dessa teman följer sedan både i resultatet och i analysen. Frågeställningarna har behandlat processen; från graviditeten till idag, vilka förändringar i livssituationen faderskapet medfört, viktiga funktioner i papparollen och hur omgivning och samhälle påverkat dem som pappor. För att analysera resultatet av studien används Eriksons psykosociala utvecklingsteori, The Scripting and Life Course Perspective samt teorier om kön och genus. Resultatet i studien visar bland annat på att alla respondenterna såg positivt på sitt faderskap och de hade anammat detta till fullo. De kände alla att de hade ett stort ansvar och var delaktiga i det som rörde hem och barn. Dock ansågs det finnas en skillnad mellan pappa- och mammarollen gällande ansvarsfördelningen när barnen var små. Främst handlade detta då om att papporna var den primära familjeförsörjaren. Den största livsomställningen som framkom var att mindre tid spenderades på fritidsintressen och vänner till förmån för familjen. Vidare visade resultatet på att upplevelsen av krav från omgivning och samhälle tycks öka med barnens ålder. / The study aims to examine how young fathers experience and handle their role as fathers. As source to find suitable respondents, the program ”Unga mammor och pappor” was used. The study has a qualitative attempt and is based on five narrative interviews. A guide for the interviews was made with different themes and these themes later follows both in the result and in the analyse. The questionnaire in the study involves the process; from pregnancy until today, what kind of changes in their life situation did the fatherhood bring, important functions in the role as father and how the surrounding environment and society has effected them as fathers. To analyse the result of the study we used Eriksons psychosocial developmental theory, The Scripting and Life Course Perspective and theories about sex and gender. The result of the study shows, among other things, that the respondents were all positive to their fatherhood and they had fully adopted it. They all felt a great responsibility and participation considering home and child. However they all believed there to be a difference between the father- and the mother role concerning how to distribute the responsibility when the children are small. Mainly meaning, that the fathers were the primary family providers. The greatest change in their life situation appeared to be that less time was spent on hobbies and friends to the benefit of the family. The result also showed that their experience of the environmental and societal demands seems to grow with the ageing of the children.