Given roles and expectations of father involvement in South Korea are in transition from traditional breadwinner to an involved caregiver to children, it is plausible that Korean fathers show diverse involvement behaviors in the contexts of work, family, and parenting. Using a person-centered approach, we explored if there were groupings of Korean fathers who could be identified from their involvement with their children. We also examined if those subgroup memberships were related to various factors in work, family, and parenting domains. With a sample of 212 married working fathers and the 12 items of involvement behaviors, we found four heterogeneous subgroups of people: low-involved, accessibility-focused, involved-but-less-accessible, and highly involved fathers. Significant differences among the four profiles were also found regarding various factors such as job stress, work and family conflict, work schedule, maternal employment, parenting satisfaction, and perceived level of involvement. Suggestions for future research, practitioners, and policymakers were discussed.

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La fonction paternelle d’ouverture sur le monde (FPOM) est un concept récent dans le domaine de la recherche sur l’engagement paternel. Les liens entre les pratiques parentales et les représentations mentales qui sont associées à cette forme d’engagement paternel, les comportements et le développement des enfants sont peu connus. Cette étude transversale avait pour objet l’atteinte de deux objectifs, d’abord vérifier les liens prédictifs entre les dimensions de la FPOM, le sentiment de compétence parentale (SCP) des pères et la qualité de la relation d’attachement père-enfant. Ensuite, examiner le rôle potentiellement modérateur du SCP des pères sur les liens significatifs entre les dimensions de la FPOM et la qualité de la relation d’attachement père-enfant. Les données proviennent d’un échantillon de 200 pères québécois francophones ayant répondu à un questionnaire autorévélé. Leur enfant était âgé entre 5 et 13 ans (1ere à 6e année du primaire). Des modèles de régression linéaire hiérarchique ont été utilisés pour vérifier l’influence de l’effet modérateur. Les résultats montrent des corrélations positives significatives entre les dimensions « stimulation à la persévérance » et « discipline et enseignement des responsabilités » de la FPOM et la qualité de la relation d’attachement père-enfant. Les dimensions de la stimulation à la prise de risque et à la compétition de la FPOM ne sont pas corrélées à la qualité de la relation d’attachement père-enfant. Contrairement aux résultats attendus, le SCP des pères n’a pas d’effet modérateur sur les liens significatifs obtenus, mais plutôt un effet additif se traduisant par la présence de relations transactionnelles entre les variables. Des analyses complémentaires révèlent un effet modérateur marginalement significatif du SCP des pères sur le lien entre la stimulation à la persévérance de la FPOM et l’échelle « plaisir et sécurité » du questionnaire sur la qualité de la relation d’attachement père-enfant (QQRAPE). La propension des pères à stimuler leur enfant à persévérer émerge plus particulièrement lors d’activités ludiques et elle contribue au développement du sentiment de confiance et de sécurité personnelle de leur enfant. Ces résultats sont discutés en regard de la littérature actuelle afin de mieux comprendre les liens entre les variables. / The Paternal Openness to the World Function (POWF) is a recent concept in the father involvement field of research. Links between parental practices and mental representations associated with this form of father involvement, children behaviors and development have yet to be known. This cross-sectional study addressed two objectives. First, to verify the predictive links between the dimensions of the POWF, the fathers Parental Sense Of Competence (PSOC) and the father-child attachment relationship quality. Second, to examine the potential moderator role of the fathers PSOC on the significative links between the dimensions of the POWF and the father-child attachment relationship quality. The data come from a sample of 200 french speaking fathers who filled out a self-reported questionnary. Their child was between 5 (first grade) and 13 years old (sixth grade). Hierarchical linear regression models were used to verify the influence of the moderator effect. The results show significative positive links between the dimensions of “perseverance stimulation” and “disciplinary and tasks teaching” of the POWF and the father-child attachment relationship quality. The dimensions of risk taking and competition stimulation of the POWF are not correlated to the father-child attachment relationship quality. Contrary to expected results, the fathers PSOC has no moderator effect on the significative links, but rather an additive effect which can be translated has transactional relationships between these variables. Complementary analyses reveal a marginally significative moderator effect of the fathers PSOC on the link between perseverance stimulation of the POWF and the “pleasure and security” scale of the Father-Child Attachment Relationship Quality Questionnary (FCARQQ). The fathers propension to stimulate their child to persevere emerge more particularly in playfull activities and contribute to the development of the felling of confidence and personnal security of their child. Results are discussed in light of actual literature in order the have a better understanding of the links between these variables.

La fonction paternelle d’ouverture sur le monde (FPOM) est un concept récent dans le domaine de la recherche sur l’engagement paternel. Les liens entre les pratiques parentales et les représentations mentales qui sont associées à cette forme d’engagement paternel, les comportements et le développement des enfants sont peu connus. Cette étude transversale avait pour objet l’atteinte de deux objectifs, d’abord vérifier les liens prédictifs entre les dimensions de la FPOM, le sentiment de compétence parentale (SCP) des pères et la qualité de la relation d’attachement père-enfant. Ensuite, examiner le rôle potentiellement modérateur du SCP des pères sur les liens significatifs entre les dimensions de la FPOM et la qualité de la relation d’attachement père-enfant. Les données proviennent d’un échantillon de 200 pères québécois francophones ayant répondu à un questionnaire autorévélé. Leur enfant était âgé entre 5 et 13 ans (1ere à 6e année du primaire). Des modèles de régression linéaire hiérarchique ont été utilisés pour vérifier l’influence de l’effet modérateur. Les résultats montrent des corrélations positives significatives entre les dimensions « stimulation à la persévérance » et « discipline et enseignement des responsabilités » de la FPOM et la qualité de la relation d’attachement père-enfant. Les dimensions de la stimulation à la prise de risque et à la compétition de la FPOM ne sont pas corrélées à la qualité de la relation d’attachement père-enfant. Contrairement aux résultats attendus, le SCP des pères n’a pas d’effet modérateur sur les liens significatifs obtenus, mais plutôt un effet additif se traduisant par la présence de relations transactionnelles entre les variables. Des analyses complémentaires révèlent un effet modérateur marginalement significatif du SCP des pères sur le lien entre la stimulation à la persévérance de la FPOM et l’échelle « plaisir et sécurité » du questionnaire sur la qualité de la relation d’attachement père-enfant (QQRAPE). La propension des pères à stimuler leur enfant à persévérer émerge plus particulièrement lors d’activités ludiques et elle contribue au développement du sentiment de confiance et de sécurité personnelle de leur enfant. Ces résultats sont discutés en regard de la littérature actuelle afin de mieux comprendre les liens entre les variables. / The Paternal Openness to the World Function (POWF) is a recent concept in the father involvement field of research. Links between parental practices and mental representations associated with this form of father involvement, children behaviors and development have yet to be known. This cross-sectional study addressed two objectives. First, to verify the predictive links between the dimensions of the POWF, the fathers Parental Sense Of Competence (PSOC) and the father-child attachment relationship quality. Second, to examine the potential moderator role of the fathers PSOC on the significative links between the dimensions of the POWF and the father-child attachment relationship quality. The data come from a sample of 200 french speaking fathers who filled out a self-reported questionnary. Their child was between 5 (first grade) and 13 years old (sixth grade). Hierarchical linear regression models were used to verify the influence of the moderator effect. The results show significative positive links between the dimensions of “perseverance stimulation” and “disciplinary and tasks teaching” of the POWF and the father-child attachment relationship quality. The dimensions of risk taking and competition stimulation of the POWF are not correlated to the father-child attachment relationship quality. Contrary to expected results, the fathers PSOC has no moderator effect on the significative links, but rather an additive effect which can be translated has transactional relationships between these variables. Complementary analyses reveal a marginally significative moderator effect of the fathers PSOC on the link between perseverance stimulation of the POWF and the “pleasure and security” scale of the Father-Child Attachment Relationship Quality Questionnary (FCARQQ). The fathers propension to stimulate their child to persevere emerge more particularly in playfull activities and contribute to the development of the felling of confidence and personnal security of their child. Results are discussed in light of actual literature in order the have a better understanding of the links between these variables.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:44:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2353.pdf: 1825552 bytes, checksum: 42c0ba32f0a2b93a8843a7750f3cc642 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-03-20 / Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais / Children who do not have a positive, secure and affectionate relationship with their fathers, or whose fathers use rigid disciplinary practices, provide inadequate supervision and have infrequent or poor quality interactions with their children, are at greater risk for developing socio-emotional problems and for remaining at lower levels of academic achievement. However, the majority of fathers have little understanding of the importance of their involvement with their children. As such, the primary objective of this study was to evaluate a program designed to improve father involvement and to stimulate the use of parenting practices that foster children s pro-academic behaviors, using measures obtained before and after the intervention as well as one year later (follow-up). The specific objectives included: (a) the comparison of indicators of work conditions, personal and family wellbeing, father involvement and the parents social skills on the pre, post and follow-up tests among the Experimental Group 1 (EG1 composed of fathers who were randomly selected to participate in the intervention program), Experimental Group 2 (EG2 composed of randomly selected mothers who participated in the intervention program) and a Control Group (the remaining, waitlisted parents); (b) comparison of the academic achievement, self concept, behavior problems and social skills of their children at the time of the pre, post and follow-up tests, for those in the EG1, EG2 and CG; (c) examination of the strength of the correlations among these variables, and (d) analysis of parent evaluations of the topics that were addressed and the procedures used in the intervention program. At the times of the pre and post-tests, parent participants included 97 father-mother pairs (29 in the EG1, 34 in the EG2 and 34 in the CG) and 82 of these father-mother pairs at the time of the follow-up tests (24 in the EG1, 29 in the EG2 and 27 in the CG). At the time of the pre and post-tests, data were also obtained from 99 children (there were two sets of twins) 29 from the EG1, 36 from the EG2 and 34 from the CG. At the time of the pretest, these children were eight years old, on average, and 78,8% of them were in Grade 2 while the others were in Grade 1. At the time of the follow-up tests, 84 of these children were re-evaluated (24 from the EG1, 31 from the EG2 and 27 from the CG). In addition, in the first year of the study, 20 teachers (85% of whom had completed university studies) participated in the pre and pos-test phases and a second set of 12 teachers (all of whom had completed university studies) participated in the follow-up phase, given that the children had advanced to the next grade between the post-test and the follow-up. Data were collected with children from three different, public elementary-schools. The intervention program was conducted with the parents during 12 weekly sessions that were 90 120 minutes long, with the GE1 fathers and GE2 mothers. To address the objectives of this study: (a) the parents evaluated their work conditions, their personal and family wellbeing and their social skills repertoire; (b) both parents and their child evaluated the father s level of involvement as a parent; (c) the children s academic achievement, self concept and social skills were assessed; (d) both parents evaluated their child s behavior problems and social skills repertoire; (e) the teachers evaluated the children s academic achievement, behavior problems and social skills, and (f) the fathers from the EG1 and the mothers from the EG2 evaluated the intervention program. Statistical testes (ANOVA and MANOVA) were used to compare the data obtained in the three different phases of the study, for each of the three different types of informants (parents, children and teachers). Pearson correlations were used to examine the bivariate relationships among these variables. With respect to the first objective, comparisons of the results on the pre and post-intervention tests revealed that the fathers in the EG1 were significantly less stressed and there was a significant decrease in the number of disagreeable behaviors that their children presented; both the GE1 and GE2 fathers presented greater satisfaction with respect to their family-role performance, higher frequency of communication with their child, greater frequency of participation in school, cultural and leisure activities with their child, greater participation in school meetings concerning their child, more frequent contact with their child s teacher and listed a greater number of their child s behaviors that pleased them. In terms of the children s gains, a comparison of the pre and post-test results indicate that children in the EG1 presented: (a) higher scores on the Academic Achievement Test (AAT) with respect to the reading sub-test and their overall score, along with higher teacher evaluations of their academic performance; (b) a lower number of internalizing behavior problems (according to their fathers), externalizing and total problems (according to both parents); (c) social skills that were more adequate with respect to self control (for both self and father ratings) and self defense (according to the teachers), and (d) more positive teacher evaluations, across various indicators. Similarly, in comparison with the pre-test, on the post-test, children in the EG2 presented: (a) higher scores on the Academic Achievement Test (AAT) with respect to the reading sub-test and their overall score, along with higher teacher evaluations of their academic performance; (b) a lower number of externalizing and total problems (according to both parents); (c) social skills that were more adequate with respect to Cooperativeness and Self control (according to their fathers) Assertiveness in their coping strategies (according to their mothers), and Cooperation with peers (according to the teachers), and (d) more positive teacher evaluations, across various indicators. The majority of the gains obtained by the fathers and their children by the end of the intervention program were maintained or further improved at the time of the follow-up tests, with the exception of the children s self-evaluations of their social skills on the Self control factor, for which there was a significant decline between the post-test and follow-up test. With respect to the third objective, father involvement was significantly correlated with the children s academic performance, self concept, externalizing behavior problems and social skills, and measures involving the children were significantly inter-correlated. Finally, in general, the intervention program helped the fathers (EG1) and mothers (EG2) in bringing up their children. For example, some parents (22,2%) commented that it became easier for them to deal with the difficulties of parenting, while others (19%) were better able to handle their children s behavior problems, occurring either at home or at school. The parents attributed various important contributions to the intervention program: 27% changed their parenting behaviors, 19% were giving greater importance to their child s opinions and 15.9% commented that their child was more obedient. With respect to the parents acquisition of new social educational skills, 31.7% said that they learned about the importance of respecting their child s opinion and 30.2% said that they learned to set limits for their children. These results indicate the importance of educational interventions for maximizing parental involvement and, as a consequence, improving their children s social emotional development and classroom behavior. / Crianças que não possuem uma relação positiva, segura e afetuosa com o pai ou cujo pai usa práticas disciplinares rígidas, oferece supervisão inadequada e mantém baixa qualidade ou freqüência de interação com seu filho, possuem elevado risco de apresentar problemas no seu desenvolvimento socioemocional e de ter menor desempenho acadêmico. No entanto, a maioria dos homens tem pouco conhecimento da importância do seu envolvimento com seus filhos. Este estudo teve por objetivo principal avaliar uma intervenção que visava aprimorar o envolvimento do pai e estimular seu uso de práticas parentais favorecedoras de comportamentos próacadêmicos por parte dos filhos, comparando medidas obtidas antes e depois da intervenção e um ano depois (follow-up). Os objetivos específicos foram: (a) comparar alguns indicadores das condições de trabalho, do bem-estar pessoal e familiar, do envolvimento paterno e do repertório de habilidades sociais dos pais, nas fases do préteste, pós-teste e follow-up, entre o Grupo Experimental 1 (GE1 composto pelos pais que foram aleatoriamente selecionados para participar da intervenção), Grupo Experimental 2 (GE2 composto pelas mães que participaram da intervenção, com possibilidade de impactos indiretos sobre os pais) e o Grupo Controle (GC composto pelos demais pais interessados, mantidos num grupo de espera); (b) comparar o desempenho acadêmico, o autoconceito, os problemas de comportamento e o repertório de habilidades sociais das crianças, no pré-teste, no pós-teste e no follow-up, entre o GE1, GE2 e GC; (c) avaliar a força das correlações entre essas variáveis e (d) analisar a avaliação dos pais sobre os temas abordados e os procedimentos adotados na intervenção. Participaram deste estudo 97 pares de pais e mães (29 do GE1, 34 do GE2 e 34 do GC) no pré-teste e no pós-teste e 82 destes pares no follow-up (24 do GE1, 29 do GE2 e 27 do GC). Na época dos pré- e pós-testes, dados também foram coletados com 99 crianças, contando com dois pares de gêmeos (29 do GE1, 36 do GE2 e 34 do GC). Na época do pré-teste, estas crianças estavam com média de idade de oito anos, sendo que 78,8% estavam na 2ª série e as demais na 1ª série. Na época do follow-up, 84 destas crianças participaram novamente (24 do GE1, 31 do GE2 e 27 do GC). Além disso, no primeiro ano foram participantes desta pesquisa 20 professoras (85% com 3º grau completo), nas fases do pré-teste e pós-teste e um segundo conjunto de 12 professoras (todas com 3º grau completo) no follow-up, uma vez que as crianças haviam mudado de série entre o pós-teste e o follow-up. A coleta de dados ocorreu com crianças de três escolas públicas de ensino básico. Realizou-se a intervenção com os pais em 12 sessões, com encontros semanais de 90 a 120 minutos de duração, participando os pais do GE1 e as mães do GE2. Para responder aos objetivos: (a) os pais avaliaram suas condições de trabalho, seu bem-estar pessoal e familiar e seu repertório de habilidades sociais; (b) ambos os pais e seu filho avaliaram o grau de envolvimento paterno por parte dos pais; (c) as crianças foram avaliadas em relação ao seu desempenho acadêmico, autoconceito e repertório de habilidades sociais; (d) ambos os pais avaliaram os problemas de comportamento e o repertório de habilidades sociais de seus filhos; (e) as professoras avaliaram o desempenho acadêmico, os problemas de comportamento e o repertório de habilidades sociais das crianças e (f) os pais do GE1 e as mães do GE2 avaliaram o programa de intervenção. Para comparar os dados obtidos nos três momentos do estudo, para cada um dos três tipos de informantes (os pais, as crianças e as professoras), foram utilizados testes estatísticos (ANOVA, MANOVA); para verificar as relações bivariadas entre estas variáveis, usou-se correlações de Pearson. Em relação ao primeiro objetivo, ao comparar os resultados dos pré e póstestes, verificou-se que os pais do GE1 tiveram uma diminuição no nível de estresse e apontaram um menor número de comportamentos do filho que os desagradavam; os pais do GE1 e do GE2 apresentaram maior satisfação quanto ao desempenho no papel familiar, maior freqüência de comunicação com o filho, maior freqüência de participação nas atividades escolares, culturais e de lazer do filho, maior participação nas reuniões escolares do filho, maior freqüência de contato com a professora do filho e listaram um maior número de comportamentos do filho que os agradavam. No que diz respeito aos ganhos obtidos pelas crianças, ao comparar os resultados entre o pré e pósteste, verifica-se que as crianças do GE1 apresentaram: (a) melhores resultados no Teste de Desempenho Escolar (TDE) em relação ao sub-teste de leitura e à pontuação total, junto com avaliações melhores do seu desempenho acadêmico, por parte das professoras; (b) menor índice de problemas de comportamento internalizantes (segundo os pais, mas não as mães), externalizantes e total (segundo ambos os pais); (c) um repertório de habilidades sociais mais adequados em termos de Autocontrole (segundo as crianças e os pais) e Autodefesa (segundo as professoras) e (d) avaliações mais positivas por parte das professoras, em vários indicadores. De forma parecida, em comparação com o pré-teste, no pós-teste, as crianças do GE2 apresentaram: (a) melhores resultados no Teste de Desempenho Escolar (TDE) em relação ao sub-teste de leitura e à pontuação total, junto com avaliações melhores do seu desempenho acadêmico, por parte das professoras; (b) menor índice de problemas de comportamento externalizantes e total (segundo ambos os pais); (c) um repertório de habilidades sociais mais adequados em termos de Cooperação e Autocontrole (segundo os pais), Asserção de enfrentamento (segundo as mães) e Cooperação com pares (segundo as professoras) e (d) avaliações mais positivas por parte das professoras, em vários indicadores. A maioria dos ganhos adquiridos pelos pais e pelas crianças, após o programa de intervenção, se mantiveram ou aumentaram mais ainda na fase de follow-up, com exceção da avaliação das crianças, quanto ao próprio repertório de habilidades sociais, no fator Autocontrole, em que houve uma queda significativa de repertório entre as fases de pós-teste e follow-up. Respondendo ao terceiro objetivo, o envolvimento paterno estava significativamente correlacionado com o desempenho acadêmico, o autoconceito, os problemas de comportamento externalizantes e o repertório de habilidades sociais das crianças e as medidas envolvendo as crianças estavam correlacionadas entre si. Por fim, de modo geral, o programa de intervenção ajudou os pais (GE1) e as mães (GE2) na educação dos filhos. Por exemplo, alguns (22,2%) comentaram que passaram a tratar com mais facilidade os problemas enfrentados na educação dos filhos e outros (19%) estavam lidando melhor com os problemas de comportamento dos filhos, ocorrendo em casa ou na escola. Os pais atribuíram várias contribuições importantes ao grupo de intervenção: 27% deles mudaram a maneira de educar o filho, 19% passaram a respeitar mais as opiniões do filho e 15,9% apontaram que o filho estava sendo mais obediente. Quanto ao aprendizado de novas habilidades socioeducativas, 31,7% comentaram que aprenderam a importância de respeitar a opinião do filho e 30,2% que aprenderam a impor limites aos seus filhos. Esses dados mostram a importância de realizar intervenções educativas para maximizar o envolvimento parental e, conseqüentemente, melhorar o desenvolvimento socioemocional e comportamento dos alunos em sala de aula.

This study examined how the longitudinal associations among children’s negative emotionality, mothers’ depressive symptoms, parental warmth, and children’s school readiness and whether the associations vary as a function of fathers’ positive involvement in low-income South Korean families. Participants were 399 families including mothers (Mage = 32.54 years at Time 1), fathers (Mage = 35.23 years at Time 1), and children (Mage = 38.92 months at Time 1; 50.5% boys) in the Panel Study on Korean Children. Results revealed that children’s negative emotionality was indirectly associated with their school readiness three years later, through its association with mothers’ depressive symptoms and warmth. Mothers’ warmth mediated the association between mothers’ depressive symptoms and children’s school readiness, and fathers’ warmth mediated the association between fathers’ positive involvement and children’s school readiness. Our findings revealed the family processes underlying children’s school readiness development in low-income Korean family contexts. Our findings also provide information useful for efforts to detect family risks and to establish family policies to promote low-income children’s school readiness.

Previous research indicates that gay men‟s relationships with their mothers are generally more warm, supportive, and emotional than their relationships with their fathers, and that fathers are less likely to be told, less likely to be told first, and more likely to react negatively to disclosure than mothers would. Most of these findings are derived from asking sons to report on their parental relationships. As such, very little is known about the nature of the father-son relationship before, during, and after disclosure, from the father‟s perspective. The aim of this thesis, therefore, is to uncover and explore first-hand accounts of the experiences and taken-for-granted meanings that potentially shape heterosexual fathers‟ relationships with their gay sons. A sample comprising six Afrikaans-speaking, white fathers, between the ages of 53 and 61 years, from a middle to upper-middle income bracket, and residing in Gauteng, South Africa, were selected purposively through the use of opportunistic or convenience sampling. Utilising an interpretivist approach located within the qualitative research paradigm, an individual in-depth interview strategy was adopted as a means of gathering data. A brief questionnaire probing demographic characteristics was also utilised to further contextualise the data obtained in the interviews. All the interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed for later coding and analysis. Through the use of thematic network analysis, eight organising themes were uncovered, including (a) subliminal awareness prior to coming out; (b) epistemic rupture of internal system of beliefs; (c) personal paradigmatic shifts; (d) acceptance as a complex and ongoing dialectical and reconciliatory process; (e) ambiguous loss; (f) persistent history of thought; (f) wrestling with the reason why; and (g) coming out as a dual experience. Each organising theme contained several basic themes. On the whole, the themes support the view that most parents are neither totally rejecting nor fully accepting of their gay sons. The fathers are seen to navigate their way through a plethora of experiences and meanings that are not only likely to inform the development of their multidimensional identities as men and fathers, but also shape their unique relationships with their gay sons. While the fathers may have attained a level of “loving denial” in their relationships with their gay sons, most continue to struggle with the meaning and expression of same-sex sexuality, and appear to wrestle with the challenge of integrating their understanding of same-sex sexuality with their constructions of traditional Afrikaner masculinity, as well as their meanings associated with having a gay son. However, unlike prior reports of a poor father-son dyad, the fathers reported a general improvement in their relationship with their gay son after he came out. This discrepancy may be attributed to the possibility that the particular group of fathers who volunteered to discuss their father-son relationships willingly were further along in the acceptance process. Recommendations for future research, includes an exploration of the dynamic interaction between heterosexual and gay constructions of masculinity within the father-son dyad before, during and after disclosure, examining the role that mothers play in influencing the quality of the father-son relationship before, during and after disclosure, uncovering the intra- and inter-personal variables that may facilitate the adaptive adjustment processes among fathers over the longer term, and exploring the contexts and processes associated with transitions within fatherhood across the life course of fathers of gay sons. / Heterosexual fathers' relationships with their gay sons / Psychology / D. Phil.

Tout autant que la mère, le père est une figure d’attachement importante pour l’enfant. Toutefois le lien d’attachement père-enfant se formerait différemment du lien d’attachement mère-enfant. Les pères sont souvent plus engagés que les mères dans des activités ludiques, moins dans des activités de soins. Les jeux faits avec le père sont souvent plus physiques aussi, plus stimulants. En incitant son enfant au jeu de façon sensible, le père devient un tremplin pour l’exploration de son enfant et le développement de sa confiance en soi et en l’autre. C’est en tant que figure d’ouverture sur le monde que le père aurait une plus grande influence sur le développement de son enfant. C’est ce que nous apprennent les études sur l’engagement paternel. Jusqu’à maintenant peu d’auteurs ont étudié l’engagement des pères en même temps que l’attachement père-enfant, mais plusieurs proposent déjà que cette fonction d’ouverture sur le monde expliquerait la formation du lien père-enfant. La relation d’attachement père-enfant serait basée sur une relation d’activation. L’objectif de la présente thèse est précisément de mieux comprendre la nature du lien d’attachement père-enfant. Deux articles composent cette thèse. Le premier article est théorique et fait une recension de la littérature sur l’attachement père-enfant et l’engagement paternel. Le deuxième article est empirique et propose justement de vérifier l’influence de l’engagement paternel sur la formation du lien d’attachement au père. En tout 53 dyades pères-enfants ont participé à cette étude. L’engagement des pères au niveau du réconfort, de la stimulation et de la discipline a été évalué lorsque les enfants avaient entre 12 et 18 mois. À cet âge, la qualité d’attachement et de la relation d’activation ont aussi été évaluées, respectivement avec la Situation étrangère et la Situation risquée. Les deux mises en situation ont ensuite été comparées pour voir laquelle prédit mieux le développement des enfants à l’âge préscolaire, au niveau des compétences sociales, des problèmes intériorisés et des problèmes extériorisés. Les résultats obtenus indiquent que la Situation risquée prédit mieux le développement socio-affectif des enfants (compétences sociales et problèmes intériorisés). Aucun lien n’a été trouvé avec la Situation étrangère, même en tenant compte de l’engagement du père au niveau du réconfort. Ces résultats valident la théorie de la relation d’activation et l’importance de la fonction paternelle d’ouverture sur le monde. Les limites de la présente étude, ainsi que ses implications théoriques et méthodologiques, seront abordées dans la discussion du deuxième article et en conclusion de la présente thèse. / Like mothers, fathers are important attachment figure for children. However, the mechanism behind father-child attachment appears to be different and unique. Compared to mothers, fathers engaged in more playful activities with their children, less in nursing activities. The games they do together are also more physical and more exciting. By encouraging his child to explore in a sensitive way, a father becomes a catalyst for risk-taking, helping his child to become confident in himself and in others. That function of opening children to the outside world would have an important impact on children’s socioemotional development. That is what we have learned from studies on father involvement. Until now, very few researchers have studied father involvement and father-child attachment at the same time, but many of them are already suggesting that it is by opening up children to the outside world that fathers become important attachment figure for them. Father-child attachment would build on the quality of their activation relationship. The present thesis aimed precisely at improving our understanding of father-child attachment. Two articles are included. The first article is a theoretical one. It is review of what has been written up to now on father-child attachment and on father involvement. The second article is empirical. It is specifically about evaluating the influence of fathering on the mechanism behind father-child attachment. A total of 53 father-child dyads were included in the present study. Father involvement in comfort, stimulation and discipline was measured when children where between 12 and 18 months old. At this age, attachment and activation quality was also measured, respectively with the Strange Situation and the Risky Situation. The two procedures where then compared to see which one was better able to predict children level of social competency, internalizing problems and externalizing problems during preschool years. Results indicates that the Risky Situation is a better predictor of children’s socio-emotional development (social competency and internalizing problems). No relationship was found with the Strange Situation, even when considering father involvement in comfort. Those results support the activation relationship theory and the importance of openness to the outside world for fathers. This study limitations, as well as it’s theoretical and methodological implications will be explained in the discussion of the second article and in the conclusion of the present thesis.

Previous research indicates that gay men‟s relationships with their mothers are generally more warm, supportive, and emotional than their relationships with their fathers, and that fathers are less likely to be told, less likely to be told first, and more likely to react negatively to disclosure than mothers would. Most of these findings are derived from asking sons to report on their parental relationships. As such, very little is known about the nature of the father-son relationship before, during, and after disclosure, from the father‟s perspective. The aim of this thesis, therefore, is to uncover and explore first-hand accounts of the experiences and taken-for-granted meanings that potentially shape heterosexual fathers‟ relationships with their gay sons. A sample comprising six Afrikaans-speaking, white fathers, between the ages of 53 and 61 years, from a middle to upper-middle income bracket, and residing in Gauteng, South Africa, were selected purposively through the use of opportunistic or convenience sampling. Utilising an interpretivist approach located within the qualitative research paradigm, an individual in-depth interview strategy was adopted as a means of gathering data. A brief questionnaire probing demographic characteristics was also utilised to further contextualise the data obtained in the interviews. All the interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed for later coding and analysis. Through the use of thematic network analysis, eight organising themes were uncovered, including (a) subliminal awareness prior to coming out; (b) epistemic rupture of internal system of beliefs; (c) personal paradigmatic shifts; (d) acceptance as a complex and ongoing dialectical and reconciliatory process; (e) ambiguous loss; (f) persistent history of thought; (f) wrestling with the reason why; and (g) coming out as a dual experience. Each organising theme contained several basic themes. On the whole, the themes support the view that most parents are neither totally rejecting nor fully accepting of their gay sons. The fathers are seen to navigate their way through a plethora of experiences and meanings that are not only likely to inform the development of their multidimensional identities as men and fathers, but also shape their unique relationships with their gay sons. While the fathers may have attained a level of “loving denial” in their relationships with their gay sons, most continue to struggle with the meaning and expression of same-sex sexuality, and appear to wrestle with the challenge of integrating their understanding of same-sex sexuality with their constructions of traditional Afrikaner masculinity, as well as their meanings associated with having a gay son. However, unlike prior reports of a poor father-son dyad, the fathers reported a general improvement in their relationship with their gay son after he came out. This discrepancy may be attributed to the possibility that the particular group of fathers who volunteered to discuss their father-son relationships willingly were further along in the acceptance process. Recommendations for future research, includes an exploration of the dynamic interaction between heterosexual and gay constructions of masculinity within the father-son dyad before, during and after disclosure, examining the role that mothers play in influencing the quality of the father-son relationship before, during and after disclosure, uncovering the intra- and inter-personal variables that may facilitate the adaptive adjustment processes among fathers over the longer term, and exploring the contexts and processes associated with transitions within fatherhood across the life course of fathers of gay sons. / Heterosexual fathers' relationships with their gay sons / Psychology / D. Phil.

Tout autant que la mère, le père est une figure d’attachement importante pour l’enfant. Toutefois le lien d’attachement père-enfant se formerait différemment du lien d’attachement mère-enfant. Les pères sont souvent plus engagés que les mères dans des activités ludiques, moins dans des activités de soins. Les jeux faits avec le père sont souvent plus physiques aussi, plus stimulants. En incitant son enfant au jeu de façon sensible, le père devient un tremplin pour l’exploration de son enfant et le développement de sa confiance en soi et en l’autre. C’est en tant que figure d’ouverture sur le monde que le père aurait une plus grande influence sur le développement de son enfant. C’est ce que nous apprennent les études sur l’engagement paternel. Jusqu’à maintenant peu d’auteurs ont étudié l’engagement des pères en même temps que l’attachement père-enfant, mais plusieurs proposent déjà que cette fonction d’ouverture sur le monde expliquerait la formation du lien père-enfant. La relation d’attachement père-enfant serait basée sur une relation d’activation. L’objectif de la présente thèse est précisément de mieux comprendre la nature du lien d’attachement père-enfant. Deux articles composent cette thèse. Le premier article est théorique et fait une recension de la littérature sur l’attachement père-enfant et l’engagement paternel. Le deuxième article est empirique et propose justement de vérifier l’influence de l’engagement paternel sur la formation du lien d’attachement au père. En tout 53 dyades pères-enfants ont participé à cette étude. L’engagement des pères au niveau du réconfort, de la stimulation et de la discipline a été évalué lorsque les enfants avaient entre 12 et 18 mois. À cet âge, la qualité d’attachement et de la relation d’activation ont aussi été évaluées, respectivement avec la Situation étrangère et la Situation risquée. Les deux mises en situation ont ensuite été comparées pour voir laquelle prédit mieux le développement des enfants à l’âge préscolaire, au niveau des compétences sociales, des problèmes intériorisés et des problèmes extériorisés. Les résultats obtenus indiquent que la Situation risquée prédit mieux le développement socio-affectif des enfants (compétences sociales et problèmes intériorisés). Aucun lien n’a été trouvé avec la Situation étrangère, même en tenant compte de l’engagement du père au niveau du réconfort. Ces résultats valident la théorie de la relation d’activation et l’importance de la fonction paternelle d’ouverture sur le monde. Les limites de la présente étude, ainsi que ses implications théoriques et méthodologiques, seront abordées dans la discussion du deuxième article et en conclusion de la présente thèse. / Like mothers, fathers are important attachment figure for children. However, the mechanism behind father-child attachment appears to be different and unique. Compared to mothers, fathers engaged in more playful activities with their children, less in nursing activities. The games they do together are also more physical and more exciting. By encouraging his child to explore in a sensitive way, a father becomes a catalyst for risk-taking, helping his child to become confident in himself and in others. That function of opening children to the outside world would have an important impact on children’s socioemotional development. That is what we have learned from studies on father involvement. Until now, very few researchers have studied father involvement and father-child attachment at the same time, but many of them are already suggesting that it is by opening up children to the outside world that fathers become important attachment figure for them. Father-child attachment would build on the quality of their activation relationship. The present thesis aimed precisely at improving our understanding of father-child attachment. Two articles are included. The first article is a theoretical one. It is review of what has been written up to now on father-child attachment and on father involvement. The second article is empirical. It is specifically about evaluating the influence of fathering on the mechanism behind father-child attachment. A total of 53 father-child dyads were included in the present study. Father involvement in comfort, stimulation and discipline was measured when children where between 12 and 18 months old. At this age, attachment and activation quality was also measured, respectively with the Strange Situation and the Risky Situation. The two procedures where then compared to see which one was better able to predict children level of social competency, internalizing problems and externalizing problems during preschool years. Results indicates that the Risky Situation is a better predictor of children’s socio-emotional development (social competency and internalizing problems). No relationship was found with the Strange Situation, even when considering father involvement in comfort. Those results support the activation relationship theory and the importance of openness to the outside world for fathers. This study limitations, as well as it’s theoretical and methodological implications will be explained in the discussion of the second article and in the conclusion of the present thesis.