Why Does Father Involvement Promote Child

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Why Does Father Involvement Promote Child
Adolescent Development? Addressing an
Under-Theorized Issue

• Joseph H. Pleck
• University of Illinois
• Father Involvement Research 2008 Conference

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Growing evidence that father involvement has
positive effects

• but, why?
• why ask why?
• important to have theory underlying practice
• one task in program evaluation surface the
  underlying program theory
• analysis of theory is a rarely-used lens through
  which to understand fathering and fathering
  research
• objective toward a theory of father influences

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Father involvement

• concepts evolution since Lamb Pleck (1985)
• reshaping of the engagement component
• addition of elements from authoritative parental
  style
• father involvement, c. 2008
• engagement in positive activities and interaction
• warmth responsiveness
• monitoring control

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Effects of father involvement A recent research
example

• Ryan, Martin, Brooks-Gunn (2006)
• data the Early Head Start study
• observational measures ? parental
  supportiveness
• shows effect of father involvement controlling
  for mother involvement
• outcome studied Bayley Mental Development Index
  (BDMI) _at_ 24 36 mos.

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F
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F
3
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the 5 point difference
F
3
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4 possible sources for a theory of father
influences

• attachment theory
• essential father theory
• ecological theory
• social capital theory

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I. Attachment theory
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Attachment A big idea in human development

• secure attachment affectional tie between
  infant caregiver such that
• 1. presence of attachment figure promotes
  toddler's exploration (secure base)
• 2. presence of attachment figure is comforting
  when infant is distressed
• first major outcome/milestone in social
  development

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first study of infant-father attachment
Kotelchuk (1967)
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of infants with varying patterns of father
mother attachment

secure attach. to father?
no yes
no 25 A 23 B
yes 25 C 27 D
secure att. to mother?
source Main Weston (1985)
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social responsiveness _at_ 36 months
A B C
D
source Main Weston (1985)
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Critique

• implication father involvement is important
  only in the earliest years
• early determinism
• the theory is controversial in developmental
  science
• theorys adherents are devoted, but small in
  number
• just too narrow in age period of effects,
  acceptance within human development

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II. Essential father theory
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Essential Father Theory

• surfaced by Silverstein Auerbach (1999),
  Deconstructing the essential father
• fathers make a contribution to child development
  that is
• essential
• unique
• uniquely male

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1. Essential contribution?

• one counter-example is sufficient to invalidate
• USA Today, Aug. 28, 2008
• Single Moms Sons Can Succeed, New Research
  Shows (!!!)

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1. Essential contribution?

• one counter-example is sufficient to invalidate
• USA Today, Aug. 28, 2008
• Single Moms Sons Can Succeed, New Research
  Shows (!!!)

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2. Unique contribution?

• evidence most often cited comparison of child
  outcomes in families with/without resident
  fathers
• limitations of this comparison
• A. the two kinds of families differ in many other
  respects besides father residence
• when these are taken into account, differences in
  child outcomes reduced, if not eliminated

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B. The father presence/absence comparison
confounds

• absence of a resident father
• number of resident parents
• to isolate effect of presence/absence of a male
  parent, need to compare
• single father single mother families
• better 2-parent heterosexual families
  2-parent lesbian families
• results
• Wainright, Russell, Patterson (2004, 2006,
  2007)

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C. Broader shift in developmental thinking

• rather than view a particular influence as an
  all-determining factor
• instead view it as a risk/support factor

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Fathering as risk/support, rather than as
all-determinative

• a more realistic and accurate view
• does not diminish the importance of fathering
• analogous to how other influences on health and
  development operate

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3. Uniquely male contribution?

• on the one hand, we know that many fathers have
  found this idea to be inspirational
• on the other hand
• assumes complete non-overlap in fathers and
  mothers behavior

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1997 Child Development SupplementEngagement
time, children aged 3-5
Activity Fathers' time (hrs/day) abs. engage. Mothers' time (hrs/day) Fath/moth () rel. engage.
caregiving .41 .58 71
play/comp. .69 .79 87
teaching .07 .17 40
total 1.96 2.68 73
companionship also includes household social
activities Pleck calculation from Yeung et al.
(2001)
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In addition to assuming complete non-overlap

• ignores heterogeneity among fathers
• entails many other assumptions about who fathers
  are (and who fathers are not)
• simple test we should support ______ to be
  more involved because they make a uniquely male
  contribution to development
• gay/bi/trans fathers
• fathers who do not engage in rough tumble play
• fathers who are not good at sports
• etc.

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Essential, unique, male contribution?

• an idea many believe, and have found
  inspirational
• but, not supported by the evidence
• sounds good in the abstract, but falls down when
  we plug in the diversity of fathers
• can be harmful

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The alternative

• instead of essential, unique, male
• fathers make a vitally important contribution, in
  varying forms
• theoretical basis
• Bronfenbrenners ecological theory of human
  development
• social capital theory

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III. Bronfenbrenners ecological theory,
proximal process

• Urie Bronfenbrenner, The Ecology of Human
  Development Experiments by Nature and Design
  (1979)
• textbook presentations emphasize multiple
  ecological levels, nested within each other
• microsystem
• mesosystem
• exosystem
• macrosystem
• chronosystem

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Equally or more importantProximal process

• Human developmenttakes place through a process
  of progressively more complex, reciprocal
  interactions between an active, evolving,
  biopsychological human organism and the persons
  in his or her microsystemsSuch enduring forms of
  interactionare referred to as proximal
  processes. (Bronfenbrenner, 1994, p. 1641)

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Provides a basis for understanding paternal
influences

• positive activity engagement
• progressively more complex, reciprocal
  interaction
• warmth responsiveness
• responsive reciprocal
• warmth basis for control being effective
• monitoring control
• reciprocal interaction here
• model also provides basis for understanding how
  ecological factors influence fathering

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Negative forms offather involvement

• our work not just promoting positive
  involvement
• also reducing/preventing negative forms of
  involvement
• harsh, punitive fathering
• child abuse and neglect by fathers

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IV. Social capital theory

• James Coleman parents provide
• financial capital
• social capital
• family social capital
• cognitive-social development
• school readiness
• educational aspirations
• community social capital (from parents)
• advocacy
• network sharing
• knowledge sharing

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Links to father involvement

• family social capital
• transmitted, in part, by the 3 components of
  father involvement (positive engagement,
  warmth-responsiveness, control-monitoring)
• model puts father involvement/family social
  capital in the context of other ways that fathers
  can foster development
• financial capital ( economic support)
• community social capital (advocacy, networks, and
  knowledge sharing)

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An integrated ecological-parental capital
theory of father influence

• the fatherhood field has needed a more explicit
  view of why and how father involvement has
  positive effects
• attachment theory and essential father theory are
  not adequate

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Best theoretical basis for father work

• Bronfenbrenners characterization of proximal
  process interaction
• promotes family social capital
• supplement with Colemans analysis of parents
  provision of community social capital
• advocacy, networks, knowledge sharing

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• let us proceed with our work with fathers in the
  knowledge that we know why the behaviors in
  fathers we work so hard to promote should, and
  do, have the good effects that we strive for