This research explored positive paternal involvement in the lives of children within the broader familial context of marital dynamics and positive maternal involvement. The National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH) was used to obtain a longitudinal subsample of 582 first-married couples, as well as the wide range of variables necessary to explore this broader context of paternal influence. Three research questions guided the study: (I) What is the unique contribution of positive paternal involvement-with respect to positive maternal involvement and marital quality- in child ren's development? (2) How does the influence of positive paternal involvement interact with the influence of positive maternal involvement and marital quality to influence children 's development? (3) To what degree do fathers indirectly influence their children via the marital relationship and the mother-child relationship? Analysis demonstrated little evidence of fathers ' unique contribution to children 's aggressive/anti social behavior, school problems, and other outcomes. Similarly, analysis demonstrated no indirect effects for paternal involvement across the 4-5 years span between Wave I and Wave 2 of the NSFH. Specifically, fathers' involvement did not indirectly affect children 's outcomes via either the marital relationship or maternal involvement. However, limitations relating to internal reliability rendered findings questionable. Analysis also demonstrated a limited pattern of interaction effects between paternal involvement measures and marital and maternal variables. Specificall y, Wave 2 patern al positive activities demonstrated meaningful interactions with maternal positi ve activities, marital happiness, and marital conflict, with respect to their influence on children's aggressive/anti social behavior. in teraction between patern al positi ve acti vit ies and marital variables indicated th at patern al involvement is capable of interacting wi th other aspects of fam ily context in ways which have both pos itive and negative consequences for children. Future research efforts addressing these questions should assess parental involvement in greater depth and breath, incorporating a framework capable of addressing both parental warmth and control. Similarly, future research should consider methods capable of addressing multicolinearity resulting from parallel paternal and maternal variables. Finally, future research should explore the various ways in which paternal involvement interacts with other sources of influence within families to impact the lives of children.

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.

Mate preferences and choices might be influenced by several factors, including close relatives. According to the imprinting-like effect, people prefer and choose partners similar to those with whom they grew up during childhood. The main aim of our research was to test, whether individuals choose their long-term partners on the basis of similarity (in personality traits) with their parent and/or siblings of the opposite sex (father and/or brother). The final sample of the study consisted of 211 heterosexual women (mean age = 27.34, SD = 5.36) who grew up with their father until at least 12 years of age. Respondents completed a set of questionnaires aimed at personality of their partner, brother, and father (NEO-FFI), the relationship quality with their father/brother during childhood (s-EMBU/QRI), and relationship satisfaction (RAS). Correlation and regression analyses have shown that heterosexual women choose partners similar to their fathers and brothers, especially in neuroticism. However, when compared correlation coefficients, it was found that fathers play a more important role. The retrospectively assessed quality of the relationship between the respondent and her father/brother during childhood did not have any effect on this similarity. Moreover, similarity between father/brother and...