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The role of the father involvement in child development: the relationships with maternal, paternal, and child characteristics

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Abstract

Fathers have a significant role on their children’s development. A variety of personal and interpersonal factors in families could determine both the fathers’ parenting process and, accordingly, positive outcomes in children’s development. The current study aims to examine the mediating role of father involvement between maternal gatekeeping, children’s difficult temperament and paternal parenting competence and child development. 216 Turkish mothers and fathers with a child (106 girls and 110 boys) between 2 to 6 years old (M = 51.64 months, SD = 13.63) and their children’s teachers were included in the study. Mothers assessed their children’s fine motor skills and language-cognitive development while teachers assessed children’s social and emotional development. Mothers also rated father involvement, children’s temperament, and maternal gate-closing. Fathers assessed father involvement, paternal parenting competence, maternal gate-closing and maternal gate-opening. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that father involvement was positively predicted by family income, maternal gate-opening, paternal parenting competence and negatively predicted by maternal gate-closing and children’s difficult temperament. A mediational research model was proposed for father involvement. According to the path analysis results, maternal gate-closing, maternal gate-opening, children’s difficult temperament and paternal parenting competence predicted the father involvement, which in turn predicted children’s language-cognitive development, fine motor development, fear/anxiety and prosocial behaviors. The findings of the study revealed that all family members were important in father involvement.

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Data availability

The dataset analyzed during the current study is available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by Başkent University Scientific Research Projects (BAP) Fund.

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  1. Department of Psychology, Ankara Medipol University, Ankara, Turkey

    Nilay Pekel-Uludağlı

  2. Ankara Medipol Üniversitesi, Hacı Bayram Mah. Talatpaşa Bulvarı No: 4/1, Altındağ, Ankara, Turkey

    Nilay Pekel-Uludağlı

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Pekel-Uludağlı, N. The role of the father involvement in child development: the relationships with maternal, paternal, and child characteristics. Curr Psychol 43, 4085–4097 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04649-3

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