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VIEWS OF A GOOD FATHERS ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES

By

Mikiyasu Hakoyama

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan State University
In partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Department of Family and Child Ecology

2007

ABSTRACT
VIEWS OF A GOOD FATHERI ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES
By
Mikiyasu Hakoyama

Paternal parenting has been a focus of many researchers. Along with
effects of fathering on particular aspects of child development, many scholars
focused on promoting good fathering by emphasizing particular aspects of
parenting efforts, such as involved fathering, responsible fathering, and
generative fathering. However, it has not been a main focus of family research
to investigate how or to what extent these good father views are shared with
fathers and mothers who currently strive to be good parents. Also, it is little
known how good father views are similar or different between fathers and
mothers. This study utilized ecological perspectives in examining good father
views and associated factors.

Based on the survey response of 23 married couples (23 fathers and 23
mothers), this qualitative study examined good father views of both the
fathers and the mothers. Several factors associated with paternal parenting
were also examined. As a result of analyses of the participants’ responses to
the question that asked them to describe what it means to be a good father,
238 comments were identified and classified into eight categories:
involvement, expressed affection, child-centeredness, mentor, guardian,

prerequisites for being a good father, caretaker, and parental equality. These

results indicated that good father views of these parents were
multi'categorical. Further, frequency of comments belonging to these
categories differed between the fathers and the mothers. The fathers in this
study tended to mention comments in the mentor and the guardian categories
more frequently than their spouses while the mothers mentioned comments in
the involvement, child-centeredness, and expressed affection categories more
frequently. Comments in the caretaker and the parental equality categories
were found only in the mothers’ responses.

It was also revealed that these parents perceived that many parents
struggled to find enough time for multiple tasks they felt responsible. Spousal
factors, such as spousal good father views, spousal supportiveness, and
marital relationships, also influenced fathers in their efforts to be a good
father. The majority of the respondents perceived that their children’s gender
had no effect on the fathers’ efforts to be a good father.

It is expected that the findings in this study will contribute to gain a
better understanding of paternal parenting and will help social service

professionals in their efforts to help parents in their parenting efforts.

Copyright by
MIKIYASU HAKOYAMA
2007

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to acknowledge and express my appreciation for the
support of the members of my committee, Drs. Robert Griffore, Lillian Phenice,
Le Anne Silvey, and Lee June. I am especially grateful to Dr. Griffore for his
patience, mentorship, availability, and willingness to share his passion for
academic pursuit. I am thankful to Drs. Robert Griffore, Lillian Phenice, Le
Anne Silvey, and Julia Miller for generously allowing me as a member of their
research projects and for being patient, resourceful, and thoughtful mentors. I
wish to extend my appreciation also to Dr. Barbara Ames for being supportive
as the acting graduate program director throughout my program. I am also
appreciative of the College of Social Science and the Department of Family
and Child Ecology for providing me numerous fellowships, scholarships, and
assistantships, all of which have tremendously helped me throughout my

program.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES .................................................................... ix
LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................... x
CHAPTER
I INTRODUCTION ............................................................... 1
Statement of the Problem .................................................... 1
Significance and Relevance of the Problem ............................. 1
Purpose of the Study ........................................................... 3
Research Objectives ............................................................ 3
Research Questions ............................................................. 4
Descriptive Analysis ............................................................ 5
Theoretical and Conceptual Foundations of the Study ............... 5
Ecological A pproa ch ........................................................ 5
Bronfen brenn er is Bioecological Model ............................... 5
Ecological Systems Approach ............................................ 6
Summary ........................................................................... 7
II REVIEW OF LITERATURE .................................................. 8
Parenthood ........................................................................ 8
Multiple Disciplinary Perspectives ..................................... 9
Theoretical Perspectives ................................................. 11
Maternal Parenting versus Paternal Parenting ................. 1 3
Quality of Paren ting. ...................................................... 1 5
Impact of Pa ternal Parenting on Children .................. 1 7
Fatherhood .................................................................. 20
Defining Fatherhood .............................................. 21
Mat It Means to Be a Good Father ........................... 21
Role model ......................................................... 24
Yra ditional role as a provider and a head of
the household .................................................... 25
In vol ved father .................................................. 26
Responsible father ............................................. 2 7
Generative father ............................................... 27
Factors That Affect Fathering ......................................... 28
Socio-Cultural Influences ........................................ 30
En vironm en tal, Soda-Demographic and Economic
Factors ................................................................. 32
Marital Relationship .............................................. 34
Past Experience ...................................................... 35
Child factors .......................................................... 35
Mother Factors ....................................................... 37

Influence of mother factors on paternal parentzng. . . 38

vi

Fa th er Factors ........................................................ 39

Summary .......................................................................... 40
III METHOD ......................................................................... 42
Design .............................................................................. 42
Sample .............................................................................. 44
Procedure .......................................................................... 45
Data Collection .................................................................. 45
Qualitative Analysis ............................................................ 45
Terms Applied for Qualitative Analysis ....................... 46
Indicator of Meth odological Rigor .............................. 47
Subjectivity of Analysis ............................................ 47
Descriptive Analysis ............................................................ 48
IV RESULTS ............................................................................ 49
Question 1 ........................................................................ 50
Fathers’ Views of a Good Father .................................. 5O
Involvement ......................................................... 51
Expressed affection ................................................ 52

Child -cen teredn ess ................................................ 52

Men tor ................................................................ 53
Guardian ............................................................. 53
Prerequisites for being a good father ........................ 54

Ca tegory Prevalence .............................................. 54

Mothers’ Views of a Good Father ................................. 56

In vol vem ent ......................................................... 56
Expressed affection ............................................... 57

Child -cen teredn ess ................................................ 57

Men tor. ................................................................ 58
Guardian ............................................................. 58
Prerequisites for being a good fath er ........................ 59
Caretaker ............................................................. 59
Parental equality ................................................... 60
Category Prevalence .............................................. 60

Question 2 ......................................................................... 61
Question 3 ......................................................................... 64

Fathers ’Perception of Int] uen tial Factors in their
Efforts to Be a Good Father ...................................... 64
Mothers ’Perception of Int] uen tial Factors in their

Efforts to Be a Good Father ...................................... 65
Question 4 ........................................................................ 67
Fa thers’Responses .................................................. 67
Mothers ’Responses ................................................. 69
Question 5 ........................................................................ 72
Good Father Views .................................................. 7 2

vii

Associated Factors .................................................. 75

Fa th er iden tit y .................................................. 7 5
Quality of marital relationships ............................ 76
Child characteristics ........................................... 79
Summary ......................................................................... 82
V DISCUSSION ..................................................................... 84
Theoretical Perspectives .................................................... 84
Good Father Views ............................................................. 87
Factors Associated with Paternal Parenting ........................... 9O
Implications of the Findings ................................................ 94
Limitations of this Study .................................................... 95
Conclusions ....................................................................... 96
APPENDICES
A. SIRB Approval .............................................................. 100
B. Survey Instrument ....................................................... 101
REFERENCES ......................................................................... 111

viii

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Comment Categories in a Response ................................ 63

ix

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Views of Being a Good Father ...................................... - 64

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Statement of the Problem

What are the characteristics and roles of a good father? Should he be a
provider, a nurturer, a role model, a caretaker, or a disciplinarian?
Considering influences of fathering on child development, many researchers
and scholars have suggested multiple ways of being a good father. However, it
is not clear whether and to what extent these views of good fathers proposed
by the researchers are shared with parents who are currently engaged in
childrearing. It is also uncertain how mothers’ views may be different from or
similar to fathers’ views.

Significance and Relevance of the Problem

Many researchers have studied parenthood (e.g., Anthony & Benedek,
1970; Smith, 2005; Sanders, 1996). Some focused on maternal parenting (e.g.,
Cardona, Nicholson, & Fox, 2000; Steward & Steward, 197 3; Williams, 2003;
Ainsworth, 1973, 1979, 1991) while others focused on paternal parenting (e.g.,
Snarey, 1993; Sanders, 1996; Beitel & Parke, 1998; Dowd, 2000; Horn, 2001;
Hofferth, 2003; Morman & Floyd, 2006). Still others examined parenting
effects by comparing and contrasting paternal parenting with maternal
parenting (e.g., Schwarts, 2003; McHale & Huston, 1984; Deutsch, 1999;
Bronstein, 1999; Flouri & Buchanan, 2003).

While studies on maternal parenting remain more prevalent than

paternal parenting, viewing that father’s contribution to child development is
unique, more and more researchers have focused on paternal parenting in the
last few decades. It was common for many investigators a few decades ago to
compare children of father'present and father-absent families (e.g., Werdinger,
1981; Bannon & Southern, 1980; Schenenga, 1983; Draper and Harpending,
1982). Scholars in recent years focused on contextual factors, the results of
which indicated that good fathering was associated with factors such as
positive marital relationship and sufficient economic resources (Coiro &
Emery, 1998; Doherty, Kouneski, & Erickson, 1998; Marsiglio & Cohan, 2000).
An effort has also been made to define fatherhood in relation to roles
traditionally associated with fathers, such as role model (Townsend, 2003;
Bryant & Zimmerman, 2003; Yang, 2000) and prbvider (Atkinson &
Blackwelder, 1993; Christiansen & Palkovitz, 2001).

In more recent years, scholars who focused on fathering proposed
specific conceptual views of good or competent fathering, such as involved
(Williams, 2003; Krishnakumar & Black, 2003; Flouri & Buchanan, 2003),
responsible (Horn, 2001; Anderson, Kohler, & Lettiecq, 2002; Marks &
Dollahite, 2001), and generative (Dollahite, Hawkins & Broterson, 1997;
Snarey, 1993; Allen & Connor, 1997). A new concept was also proposed for
dual-earner families, which suggested a gender-neutral parenting practice
that husband and wife share all aspects of parenting equally (Deutsch, 1999).

Since fatherhood is socially constructed (Furrow, 1998; Doherty,

Kouneski, & Erickson, 1998; Zoja, 2001), what is expected of fathers could be
altered according to the changes in sociocultural contexts. Due to rapid
societal and cultural changes that have taken place, including the increase in
dual-earner families, the high divorce rate, and the impact of technological
advancement, many scholars and researchers have proposed to redefine what
good parenting should be like (e.g., Farley, 2006; Verhaagen, 2005; Dowd,
2000; Silverstein, 1996; Brooks & Gilbert, 1995; Hall, 1994). It is also
inevitable that the mother understands her husband’s view of being a good
father, though she may not necessarily agree with her husband, in order for
the father to be successful in his parenting effort.

Therefore, it is a significant concern that views of good fathers are not
well-known, according to which fathers strive to be better fathers, and based
on which mothers expect their husbands to participate in parenting.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the current study is to examine views of what it means
to be a good father of the fathers as well as the mothers who are currently
engaged in childrearing and to compare their views. The study was designed
also to examine factors that are influential for fathers in pursuing efforts to
become good fathers.

Research Objectives

Research objectives of the current study are:

1. to describe fathers’ and mothers’ views of what it means to be a good

father,

2. to compare fathers’ views of what it means to be a good father with

those of mothers,

3. to identify factors that are influential, both positive and negative, in

fathers’ efforts to be a good father,

4. to examine the impact of spousal factors on the father’s efforts to be a

good father and,

5. to examine how views of good fathers and associated factors described

by the fathers and mothers are related to those in current literature.
Research Questions
.In order to accomplish research objectives stated above, the following
research questions are addressed.

Q1. How do fathers and mothers describe good fathers?

Q2. How are mothers’ and fathers’ views of good fathers different or
similar?

Q3. What factors are perceived by fathers and mothers to have
contributed to fathers’ efforts to be a good father or hindered them from being
good fathers?

Q4. How do spousal factors, such as the mother’s view of good fathers,
perceived competence of her husband as a father, and past experience with

her own father, relate to the father’s efforts to be a good father?

Q5. To what extent are views of good fathers and associated factors
expressed by the fathers and mothers consistent with views of good fathers
and associated factors described in current literature?

Descriptive Analysis

For the purpose of analysis, descriptive statistics of quantitative

variables will be utilized to obtain frequency, mean, and standard deviation.
Theoretical and Conceptual Foundations of the Study
Ecological Perspectives

Ecological perspectives were utilized in this study, for they fit
appropriately into the purpose of this study.
Bronfen brenn er Is Bioecological Model

Bioecological theory (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1997), in examining
human developmental processes, takes into account both environmental
factors as well as biological factors of the person. Bronfenbrenner (1989)
previously identified four levels of systems in identifying environmental
factors: microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem.

A microsystem refers to interaction between the developing person and
his/her immediate contact, mesosystem refers to interaction between
microsystems, exosystem refers to interaction between the person’s immediate
contact and indirect contact, and macrosystem refers to impact of
sociocultural factors that encompass other systems. Time factors, such as the

timing and duration of the interaction, that are thought to impact interaction,

are referred to as chronosystems.

In addition to these environmental factors, the bioecological model
emphasizes individual biological factors. These factors include ethnicity, age,
and temperament, especially in relation to their contribution to the proximal
process, stable, continuous interaction between the developing person and
his/her immediate contact. Utilization of this perspective in this study will be
beneficial, as it allows the researcher to examine factors of multiple
environmental levels.

Ecological Systems Approach

An ecological approach described by Griffore and Phenice (2001)
incorporates the following general systems components; structural, dynamic,
governing, information processing, interrelationShip, disruptive, and life
process components. Structural components include structure, hierarchy, and
complexity; dynamic components include internal flow processes, physical and
socio-emotionalenergy, and matter; governing components include rules,
control, purposes, and goals; information processing components include
information, memory, communication and learning; interrelationship
components include concepts such as holism, interdependence, interaction,
and independence; disruptive components include concepts such as conflict,
disorder, strain, stress, and threat; and life process components include
change, evolution, growth, and reproduction. This perspective will be useful as

it enables the researcher to identify the characteristics of variables focused in

this study.
Summary

Parenting, both maternal and paternal, has been studied by many
researchers and scholars. Several conceptual frameworks have been utilized
in defining fatherhood. However, views of being a good father previously
proposed are those of the researchers and scholars.‘Views of the ordinary
parents may not necessarily be consistent with the researchers’ views.
Although paternal parenting and maternal parenting have been previously
compared, good father views of the father and the mother in a married couple
have never been explored. It is unclear how and to what extent good father
views are related to variables,vsuch as perceived competence, marital
relationship, age, education level, and child’s gender.

In the next chapter, the pertinent literature is reviewed. What has
been stated briefly in this chapter regarding paternal parenting will be
examined in more detail in the next chapter for clarification of the significance

and relevance of this study.

CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Parenthood

In this chapter, literature pertaining to parenting is reviewed.
Although the main focus of this study is paternal parenting in relation to how
parents perceive what it means to be a good father, literature on parenting in
general including maternal parenting is also reviewed briefly. This is because
female parents’ views of good fathers could be related to their views of
maternal parenting. For instance, mothers who are concerned about
attachment during early infancy would value high involvement and
responsiveness in child rearing behavior and, therefore, they could expect
similar attitudes from their husbands in their fathering practice. Also, there is
a notion that parental roles should be gender-neutral and all the parental
tasks should be shared equally by both parents (Deutsch, 1999).

As stated in the previous chapter, many scholars suggested the need
for redefining good parenthood, as parental attitudes as well as behaviors are
being altered along with the societal changes. Increase in maternal
employment will impact parenting behavior of many parents directly. Increase
in divorce results in single-parent families, impact of which on both fathers
and mothers as well as on their children must be significant. Remarriage of
singles with children creates a stepfamily which is likely to increase

complexity of family relationships, which, in turn, may require more sensitive

parenting than that of intact families. What is expected of parents is also
influenced by impact of rapid technological advancement, such as the
increased use of computers, the Internet, instant messaging, computer/video
games, and cell phones.

It is difficult to predict, however, how or to what extent these factors
have impacted the previously examined views on paternal parenting. Roles
that were traditionally considered to be important might have regained their
status. More gender-neutral views might have been accepted widely in
defining good fathering. Therefore, responses gained by an open-ended form of
inquiry in a particular context and time could vary widely in content.

A broad understanding of parenting is anticipated to be useful in
coping with possible variations in the process of data analysis as well as
interpretation of the results. Therefore, the review of literature provided in
the following sections is broad.

Multiple Disciplinary Perspectives

In this section, studies conducted by researchers representing various
disciplines are briefly reviewed to illustrate multiplicity of parenthood.
Review of multiple disciplinary perspectives also provides minimal knowledge
necessary in understanding parenthood.

Parenthood or parenting has drawn attention of researchers and
scholars in various disciplines, including biology (Kaufman, 1970), ethology

(Smith, 2005), anthropology (Mering & Mulhare, 1970), sociology (Mayall,

1994; Handel, 1970), psychology (Meadow, 1996), and clinical psychology
(Bauman, 2002; Smith, 2005; Paul, 1970). Smith (2005), who is a
primatologist, a comparative psychologist and also a clinical psychologist, was
aware that the focus of psychologist and that of evolutionary biologist were
likely to differ, and utilized both psychological and evolutionary biological
perspectives in studying parenting behavior. She compared both perspectives
and concluded that although many people thought that they automatically
knew how to parent when they became parents due to maternal or paternal
instinct, they eventually learned that it was not the case (Smith, 2005).
According to Handel (1970) who applied a sociological perspective,
humans were considered to be social beings that belonged to a socially ordered
world and that human behavior had to be understood in relation to such order.
Handel (197 0) further stated that parenthood was thought of as a position in a
social structure along with other positions such as teacher, pediatrician, and
neighbor. Each of these positions including parent was socially defined in
terms of a set of expectations, which could vary from one group to another.
Factors that influenced in defining parenthood included social class, ethnic
group, religion, occupation, and type of residential community (e.g., urban vs.
suburban) (Handel, 197 0). Other sociologists indicated the possibility that
children’s cognitive skills were either constrained or expanded due to the
social settings in which children belonged, for what children were encouraged

as well as offered to learn could vary depending on what adults in the setting

10

valued (e.g., Mayall, 1994).

Paul (1970), a clinical psychologist, pointed out the significance of
affective empathy that sought to meet emotional needs involving all feelings
including those that were not expressed verbally. Although empathy was
considered to be a critical component especially in the parent-child
relationship, empathic processes tended to be quite impoverished not only in
the families with special issues but also in many families facing no apparent
issues (Paul, 1979).

The studies reviewed in this section suggest that parenting is one of
the most important elements for the future of humankind, and appropriate
skills required for parenting need to be learned. Appropriate parenting
practice varies across cultural and social contexts, and as a result, children.
grow up to be individuals who fit into the culturally recognizable society in
which they live. In order for such parenting efforts to be successful, effective
interpersonal skills such as empathy are needed to meet children’s emotional
needs. More literature is reviewed in the following section to provide a more
detailed picture that illustrates complexity of parenthood.

Theoretical Perspectives

In this section, studies that applied theoretical perspectives are
reviewed. Although the main focus of the current study is paternal parenting,
a few maternal parenting studies are reviewed as well. This is because the

objectives of this study include not only the views of the fathers but also how

11

mothers’ view what a good father should be like as well. Mothers’ views of
being a good father are assumed to be related to their maternal parenting
views.

Many researchers utilized theoretical perspectives in their efforts to
gain better understanding of parenting behaviors (e.g., Heller, 1997; Meadows,
1996; Mercer, 2006; Snarey, 1993; Ainsworth, 1993). The attachment theory
proposed by John Bowlby (1958) and further examined by Ainsworth (197 3,
1979, & 1991) has been one of the popular theoretical perspectives addressing
the importance of the attachment process and its relationship to parenting
practices particularly during infancy.

Mercer (2006) defined attachment as the emotional ties existing
between human beings that guide their feelings and behavior. Therefore, the
most important aspect of attachment involves emotion. However, attachment
is more than just personal emotional experiences. Along with emotions,
attachment includes thoughts such as beliefs and ways of thinking about
relationships with others. These two aspects of attachment are combined to
form an internal working model of emotional and social relationships that
include feelings, memories, ideas, and expectations related to people’s
interpersonal attitudes and actions. Therefore, loving and caring physical
contact becomes inevitable in establishing high quality mother-infant
attachment (Heller, 1997).

Bowlby (1984) examined violence in the family as a disorder of the

12

attachment and care-giving systems, according to which active rejection of the
child by caregivers was likely to contribute to anger-oriented behavior
patterns. Ainsworth (1989) also proposed attachment theory as a way of
examining the child’s sociO'emotional development beyond infancy. 'Ihrner
(1991) examined the child’s socio-emotional development in relation to the
child’s attachment quality to her mother and found that securely attached
preschoolers were more likely to develop a harmonious, responsive and
happier relationship with their peers than were insecurely attached
preschoolers.

Many scholars examined parenthood in relation to generativity, a
social task to be accomplished in middle adulthood according to Erikson’s
psychosocial theory (e.g., Hawkins & Dollahite, 1997; Palkovitz, 1997).
Dollahite, Hawkins, and Brotherson (1997) adopted the concept of
generativity in exploring fathering and stated that fathering was not a role
but work that lives up to the needs of children by constantly creating and
maintaining an ethical relationship with them. Snarey (1993) also examined
paternal parenting as generative work.

Maternal Parenting versus Paternal Parenting

Mothers tend to be the center of focus when it comes to parenting
simply because in most human societies as well as most nonhuman primate
species, mothers are the primary caregivers of infants, and also we know more

about mothers than fathers (Smith, 2005). Because many more mothers work

13

fulltime now, Deutsch (1999) proposed the idea of equally shared parenting.
Deutsch (1999) suggested that in dual-earner families it was only fair and
effective when parenting behaviors were shared equally by both parents
regardless of whether they were previously perceived to be paternal or
maternal roles. Other investigators assumed that fathers and mothers
contributed in different ways to child development and compared paternal
parenting with maternal parenting (e.g., Wang, et. al., 2006). Wang and
colleagues (2006) utilized structural equation modeling in studying
perspectives of fathers and mothers in relation to family quality of life.
According to the result of this study, no difference was found between fathers
and mothers in perceived importance of factors related to family quality of life
items or in their overall satisfaction with family quality of life.

Benedek (1970) explained the relationship between paternal and
maternal parenting as “the functions which represent fatherhood, fatherliness,
and providing are parallel to motherhood, motherliness, and nurturing.
Fatherhood and motherhood are complementary processes which evolve
within the culturally established family structure to safeguard the physical
and emotional development of the child” (p. 167).

It seems that while there are perspectives that view roles of the father
being quite different from those of the mother, there are also others who View
little differences between the two. Therefore, literature review on quality of

parenting provided in the following section includes, along with studies on

14

paternal parenting, some studies focused on parenting in general as well as
some studies that focused on maternal parenting.
Quality of Paren ting

Concerning the impact of parenting on child development, many
scholars focused on quality of parenting (e.g., Baumrind, 1966, 1968; Sclafani,
2004; Hannush, 2002; Berk, 2005). Baumrind (1966, 1968, 1971) examined
parenting patterns in relation to social competence in children and identified
multiple parenting patterns, among which the authoritative parenting style,
that is represented by being responsive and demanding, was found to be
associated with positive developmental outcomes.

Psychoanalyst Winnicott proposed the idea of good-enough mother;
who at first satisfied the baby’s every need due to maternal preoccupation,
would gradually fail to meet the baby’s needs, which is what was needed for
the baby in order for him to learn objective reality (Mitchell & Black, 1995).
Based on the view that growth is being governed primarily by genetic factors,
Scarr (1992) suggested that parents needed to be only good-enough. Harris
(1998) also supported the view that parents needed to be merely good-enough,
for children’s development and growth were largely shaped more by genetic
makeup and peer relations in later childhood than by parental influence.

However, Hannush (2002) disagreed with these views that suggested
that parenting needed to be only good°enough.' He stated that good-enough

parenting was not good enough, and suggested that parents had to strive to be

15

as good as they could possibly be. According to Hannush (2002), parenting is
an ethical life project, a spiritual endeavor, requiring constant moral vigilance
and perpetual inspiration by the idea of goodness. What it means to be good
and loving parents is encompassed within what it means to be good and loving
persons or human beings. He further stated that “we learn to become good and
loving human beings by becoming good and loving parents and we become
better parents as we become better persons” (p. 1).

Research has been conducted that examined impacts of fathering not
only on the child’s development but also on the man himself (e.g., Parke, 1996;
Snarey, 1993). According to Dollahite and Hawkins (1998), good fathering is
hard work that can be considered as one of the most important kinds of work
men could do, which would be beneficial to fathers themselves in their
development as well as their children. Father involvement was found to be
linked to paternal self-esteem, self'confidence, and marital satisfaction along
with children’s positive development (Sanderson, 2000).

Palkovitz, Copes, and Woolfolk (2001) examined the relationships
between men’s early adult development and fathering qualitatively. They
found that men who were fathers viewed father involvement as bringing a jolt
to the life course, a gentler evoker of latent personality trait, as well as the
single greatest shaper of their lives. Among IOW'income families it was found
that at least having one supportive parent regardless of gender, than those

with none, positively impacted the child’s cognitive development (Ryan,

16

Martin, & Brooks-Gunn, 2006).

In his efforts in advocating good parenting, Sclafani (2004)
emphasized the importance of parents being educated with regard to what
research findings had to offer. According to Sclafani (2004), because parents
serve as first role models for children and first love and attachment objects, as
well as first socializers and shapers of self-esteem and consciences, parental
influence is enormous on who the child becomes. This means that no role or
responsibility is more important than that of being a good parent. Bad
parenting, on the other hand, could result in serious long-term negative
consequences (Sclafani, 2004).

These studies imply that although there are researchers who are less
concerned about quality of parenting, there are others who view that it is ,
quality of parenting, whether maternal or paternal, that matters; and good
quality positively impacts not only the child’s development but development of
parents as well. More details are provided of how quality of parenting,
particularly pertaining to paternal parenting, impacts child’s development.
Impact of Pa ternal Parenting on Children

Many researchers examined impacts of fathering on child development
by comparing the differences in developmental outcomes between
father—present children and father-absent children (e.g., Werdinger, 1981;

J ayakody & Kalil, 2002; Marshall, English & Stewart, 2001; Bannon &

Southern, 1980). Draper and Harpending (1982) suggested that male

 

 

 

 

adolescents of father-absent households exhibited several soci0°emotional
difficulties, including complexities of aggression, competitiveness, low male
parental investment, and derogation of females. In contrast, fatherpresent
male children displayed less interest in competitive dominance with other
males while showing more interest in manipulation of the nonhuman
environments. Furthermore, father‘absent female adolescents tended to show
sexual interest and activity earlier than did their father°present counterparts
(Draper & Harpending, 1982). Father‘absent females were also more likely to
show negative attitudes toward males and had poor ability to establish
long-term relationships with one male (Draper & Harpending, 1982).

In order to examine ego ideal development and oral judgment in early
adolescent boys, Schenenga (1983) compared father-present and father-absent
eighth graders in a New York junior high school and found that boys in the
father-absent group did not use moral reasoning as extensively as their
father'present counterparts. Werdinger (1981) utilized a psychoanalytic
approach in investigating the importance of the role of the father in the child’s
developmental process and found that there was an association between
father absence and psychopathology, presumably derived from disturbances
during the pre'Oedipal period that resulted in failure to complete the
separation individuation process. In their efforts to examine the possible
effect of fathers or father figures on child behavioral problems, Marshall and

colleagues (2001) conducted a longitudinal study and found that while there

18

were no apparent impact found at age 4, children at age 6 showed lower levels
of aggression as well as depression when father or father-like figure was
present in the child’s life.

Children in father-absent families tended to exhibit more behavioral
problems and also were less competent in mathematics and reading ability
than were children in two-parent families, and further, this difference in
reading ability was likely to become greater over time (Teachman, Day, &
Paasch, 1998). Agronick (2001) focused on parental impact on daughters and
found that good father-daughter rapport was associated with the decrease in
negative emotionality from young to middle adulthood, which suggested that
the mother and the father were important in different ways.

Black, Dubowitz, and Starr (1999) investigated the relationship
between paternal role, and well-being of children from low income, African
American families and found that paternal satisfaction with parenting,
financial contribution to the family, and nurturance during play were
associated with children with better cognitive and language competence; and
paternal satisfaction with parenting and employment were associated with
children with fewer behavior problems. Sanders (1996) also focused on African
American families and concluded that having a father or father figure in the
family was strongly associated with successful academic achievement of
African American males.

Emihovick, Gaier and Cronin (1984) studied fathers’ general sex-role

19

beliefs in relation to what they expect of their sons of European American
father'son pairs, fathers of which were well educated and middle class. They
found that most of the fathers held very traditional sex-role expectations for
themselves as well as their sons, and both sex-role beliefs and expectations of
fathers and sons were found to be strongly and positively related.

Both European American and African American middle-class fathers
were found to hold sex-role attitudes that were significantly more masculine
toward their sons and more feminine toward their daughters, though these
tendencies were less apparent among European American fathers
(Price-Bonham & Skeen, 1982). According to Stern (1980) who examined
single mothers’ perceptions of the father role, the major concern of the single
mothers for related to development of their sons regarding sex role and play
activity.

These findings suggest that the father is influential to the
development of his children, and the way the father impacts his children is
likely to be different from that of the mother. Therefore, in studying parenting
efforts, it should be beneficial to focus on the quality of paternal parenting
along with that of maternal parenting.

Fatherhood

As discussed in the previous section, parenting views as well as actual

parenting behavior of the father are likely to differ from those of the mother.

Therefore, the following section focuses on fatherhood in particular.

20

Defining Fa th erh ood

The concept of fatherhood is a social construction (Furrow,.1998;
Doherty, Kouneski, & Erickson, 1998; Zoja, 2001), suggesting that what is
expected of fathers could well vary depending on the sociO'historical context
as well as cultural and political environments. Along with societal changes
that take place, what is expected of a good father could also change.

Atkinson and Blackwelder (1993) analyzed popular magazine articles
since 1900 and found that popular interest in and the definition of fatherhood
had changed over time, according to the results of which the definition of
fathering had alternated between providers and nurturers. According to
Miller-Scher (1997), being a good financial provider, a primary role of an ideal
father in the past, was considered no longer good enough, as a good father now
is expected to be involved in everyday childcare while maintaining to be a
good provider.

Dollahite and Hawkins (1998) argued that it was insufficient to view
fathering as a social role embedded in an altering sociO'historical context.
Instead, fathering should be considered as generative work, one of the most
important kinds of work men are engaged.

What It Means to Be a Good Father

There have been researchers who devoted their energy to defining

what it means to be a good father (e.g., Palkovitz, 2002; Doherty, Kouneski, &

Erickson, 1998), and one of the ways these researchers have taken was to

21

describe fatherhood in terms of the major roles and behaviors pertaining to
being a father in relation to child development (e.g., Townsend, 2003;
Atkinson & Blackwelder, 1993). Wright (2005) viewed that African American
men were ignored in social science research and focused on paternal identity
in his efforts to examine African American men’s views of themselves as
fathers. The results of this study indicated that paternal identity was related
to father role satisfaction (Wright, 2005).
Many investigators viewed gender role model as one of the major

father roles that impact child development (e.g., Bryant & Zimmerman, 2003;
Price-Bonham & Skeen, 1982; Yang, 2000; Emibovich, Gaier, & Cronin, 1984).
In order to better understand the role of the father in relation to the child’s
behavior, Williams (2003) focused on paternal invOlvement and father-child
attachment security. Shears and colleagues (2006) explored the meaning of
father roles among fathers in low income families and found that the fathers
in their study thought it very important for them to “be there” for their
children in their relationship. Many other scholars also viewed paternal
involvement as one of the most important aspects of fathering (e.g., Offer,
2003; Strom, et. al., 2000; Krishnakumar & Black, 2003; Flouri & Buchanan,
2003; McBride & Darragh, 1995; Palkovitz, 2002).

Hawkins and Dollahite (1997) proposed generative fathering,
fathering that meets the needs for the next generation across time as well as

context. Snarey ( 1993) also viewed parental generativity as a major

22

component of being a good father. Many other researchers also focused on
parental generativity in their investigation of fathering (e.g., Christiansen &
Palkovitz, 1998; Allen & Connor, 1997 ; Griswold, 1997 ; Dollahite & Hawkins,
1998). ’

Horn (2001), as well as Doherty, Kouneski, and Erickson (1998),
promoted responsible fathering as a way of being a good father. Many others
also viewed responsible fathers as good fathers (e.g., Anderson, Kohler, &
Lettiecq, 2002; Lowenstein, 1982; Marks & Dollahite, 2001; Sanders, 1996).
Summers and colleagues (2006) investigated how fathers of low-income
families construct what it means to be a good father and identified four broad
roles; to be a provider of a stable environment including being present
emotionally and physically, to be a teacher who guides and exposes his child to
the world, to be physically interactive by playing, caregiving, etc., and to be
emotionally supportive by providing love, and helping his child establish
self-esteem. According to McAdoo (1993), who utilized an ecological and
historical perspective in investigating the roles of African American fathers,
although African American fathers experienced economic, employment, and
educational barriers, their expected roles in the family as provider, decision
maker, child socializer, and nurturer of spouse, were no different from fathers
of other ethnic groups.

Holland (1994) examined Australian fathers’ perceptions of their

fatherhood experience and found that the fathers in her study desired to form

23

close, friendly, and companionable relationships with their children while
being aware that the traditional role of disciplinarian to be still part of their
responsibilities.

The findings of these previous studies suggest that multiple
definitions are available for what it means to be a good father. The following
section, therefore, further examines these major paternal parenting Views.

Role model.

The findings of a study that investigated the relationship between
gender role model and psychosocial outcomes among African American
adolescents indicated the importance of the father as role model. Male
adolescents without male role models and female adolescents who identified
brothers as role models reported the most problem behavior (Bryant &
Zimmerman, 2003). In addition to providing emotional support, structure and
direction for the child throughout life, what a good father should do is to be
present both physically and emotionally for a child in the child’s everyday life
and build trust in the child (Townsend, 2003).

Yang (2000) examined the effects of variation in patterns of
contemporary fathering on children’s sex role development in Korea and found
that there was a significant association between fathers’ masculinity and girls’
femininity. Other researchers also suggested the paternal influence on child’s
sex-role related development (e.g., Emihovich, Gaier, & Cronin, 1984; Power,

1981; Stern, 1980)

24

Iraditional role as a provider and a head of the household.

Although modern fathers are likely to be expected to play multiple
roles, being a provider, the primary role of a good father in the past, is still one
of the important paternal roles (Miller-Scher, 1997). According to
Christiansen and Palkovitz (2001), provider role of the father was made
invisible by many societal changes that took place. More fathers now work
outside home where other family members are unlikely to see their fathers
actually working, and fathers’ incomes are directly paid to the bank account,
which is likely to make fathers’ efforts in being a breadwinner less apparent
and less appreciative of the father as provider. In addition, there seems to
exist negative connotations of the traditional father being a good provider as
authoritarian and unavailable for the child’s everyday life (Christiansen &
Palkovitz, 2001).

However, being a good provider remains one of the very important
roles for fathers, as it is a form of paternal involvement that has a significant
impact on healthy child development. Being a good provider is a way for the
father to express his care and responsibility for his child along the way of
building his father identity (Christiansen & Palkovitz, 2001).

For many fathers who respect traditional values, father’s
responsibility includes not only being the major provider but also being the
head of household. In these cases, fathers should provide watchful protection

for the mother'infant dyad as well as provide economic support, which should

25

be helpful for children and mothers, and allow fathers to reconstruct their
sense of masculinity, which is an important component of confident fathers
(Diamond, 1997).

These findings imply that traditional values associated with
fatherhood, such as a provider, protector, and a head of the family, remain as
part of the important aspects that impact development of children. In addition,
being successful in these roles positively impact fathers themselves.

In vol ved father.

Scholars have argued fathers’ active involvement in childrearing to be
crucial in ensuring healthy child development (Biller, 1993; Hawkins,
Christiansen, Sargent, & Hill, 1993). Many family scientists focused their
discussion on paternal involvement in childrearing (e.g., Palkovitz, 2002;
McBride & Rane, 1997; Sanderson, 2000; Miller-Scher, 1997).

Sanderson (2000) stated that there was a linkage between father
involvement and children’s positive development such as physical health and
intellectual, social, and moral development. Strom and colleagues (2000)
examined the views of African American fathers and their adolescent children
on successful paternal parenting and found that the amount of time shared by
fathers and children was one of the factors that impacted the greatest on the
views of successful fathers by both fathers and adolescents.

Greif, Hrabowski, and Maton (1998) also studied African American

families and found that fathers of academically successful children described

26

themselves more involved with their children in monitoring homework and
stricter than other fathers in their neighborhood, as well as encouraging their
children in their participation in extracurricular activities. On the other hand,
low father involvement, along with low mother involvement, was found to be
significantly related to adolescents’ bullying behavior, while father
involvement helped prevent children from engaging in bullying behavior when
maternal involvement was low (Flouri & Buchanan, 2003).

Responsible father.

In promoting responsible fathering, Doherty, Kouneski, and Erickson
(1998) expressed their reason as the needs of children, which is suggestive of
certain value-laden views that are applied in constructing what it means to be
a good father, domains of which include acknowledging paternity, willing to be
present and provide economic support, and being involved in child-rearing.
Other scholars have also viewed responsible fathering as a way of being a
good father (e.g., Marks & Dollahite, 2001; Silberstein & Auerbach, 1999).

Generative fa th er.

Many social scientists have tried to define what it means to be a good
father based on the concept of generative father (e.g., Hawkins & Dollahite,
1997; Palkovitz, 1997 ; Snarey, 1993). Dollahite, Hawkins and Brotherson
(1997) stated, “by generative fathering, we mean fathering that meets the
needs of children by working to create and maintain a developing ethical

relationship with them” (p. 18), which consists of four components; ethical

27

r... I1 7"“ t' :5:-

work, stewardship work, development work, and relationship work.

It was found that there were multiple ways of defining a good father
and also changes in definition over time as well as across culture. While there
were scholars who defined a good father in terms of the major roles expected
of a father such as role model, provider, protector, and nurturer; there were
others who utilized a broader conceptual framework such as involved,
responsible, and generative, each of which was constructed of multiple roles
and attitudes.

Factors ThatAffect Fathering

Many factors were found to influence paternal parenting. While some
factors positively impact development of the child, the father, or both; other
factors may be disruptive in nature, which are likely to be perceived by
fathers as challenges or barriers in acting according to their good father views.
Certain factors may be perceived as difficulties or barriers by some fathers
while the same factor may be perceived as neutral or positive by other fathers.
For instance, working long hours may be the biggest obstacle for fathers who
value spending time together with their children. However, it may not bother
other fathers as much whose first priority is being a provider.

Types of factors that influence paternal parenting vary widely. In this
section of review of literature, such influential factors are reviewed. Studies
focused on maternal parenting are included when the findings apply to

paternal parenting.

28

 

W .I

Some researchers focused on particular aspects of parenting such as
the source of good parenting ideas, challenges, and biological factors, while
others focused on influence of socio-demographic factors including ethnicity,
age groups, or gender of the parents (e.g., Richard & Sharp, 2006; Summers,
et. al., 2006). According to Smith (2005), a mother’s temperament, which is
frequently viewed as purely genetic, is, along with parenting style, partially
influenced by her life experience and also by changes in her environment.

Some other researchers focused particularly on factors that influence
paternal parenting (e.g., Sanderson, 2000; Fagan, 2000; Bonney, Kelley, &
Levant, 1999), as fathers were vulnerable to interpersonal and environmental
influences (Doherty, Kouneski, & Erickson, 1998). For instance, father
involvement was thought to be influenced by factors such as paternal
self‘esteem, self-confidence, marital satisfaction, and ethnicity (Sanderson,
2000). Other investigators also suggested that paternal parenting was
influenced by factors such as marital relationship (Marsiglio & Cohan, 2000;
Rogers & White, 1998; Doherty, et. al., 1998), economic factors (Marsiglio &
Cohan, 2000; Doherty, et. al., 1998), spouses’ expectations and behaviors
(Doherty, et. al., 1998), parental employment status (Bonney, Kelley, & Levant,
1999) and religion (Christiansen & Palkovitz, 1998; Bartkowski & Xu, 2000;
Marks & Dollahite, 2001).

Barriers to the father’s efforts in pursuing to be a good father has also

been examined (Bonney, Kelley, & Levant, 1999; Fagan, 2000). Ethnicity was

29

found to be associated with paternal parenting (Hofferth, 2003; Price-Bonham
& Skeen, 1982). Divorced fathers were likely to experience difficulty in
maintaining positive relationships with their children (Jacobs, 1982). Farley
(2006) also focused on divorced fathers’ efforts and struggles in their parental
involvement.
Socio-Cultural Influences

The concept of paternal parenting also is socially constructed, which
suggests that what is expected of fathers could vary as sociocultural
environments change (Furrow, 1998; Doherty, Kouneski, & Erickson, 1998).
Taking into account rapid sociocultural changes that have taken place in
recent years, Verhaagen (2005) proposed that a new approach is needed in
parenting the Millennial generation. Some of the major sociocultural changes
Verhaagen (2005) pointed out include ethnic composition (over one-third of
this generation are comprised of African American or Hispanic and the
current minorities may turn out to be the majority by the year 2050),
technological advancement particularly in communication tools and .
computers which includes negative influence such as exposure of adult
content to young children, higher academic expectations (the majority of high
school seniors seriously consider going to college), and positive messages in .
the pop music world.

The Millennials are also more politically conscious than the previous

generation, and their views of success have dramatically changed from those

30

of previous generations. While what earlier generations defined of success was
achieving the American Dream — a good job, a house, two children, and all the
gadgets for comforts; the success defined by the Millennial generation was
personal satisfaction of activity of one’s choice, having close family
relationships and close group of friends, active religious/spiritual life, and
contributing to society (Verhaagen, 2005).

Considering all these sociocultural changes apparent to the
Millennial generation, Verhaagen (2005), based on research findings, further
proposed 21 protective factors associated with good outcomes for children, all
but two of which can be enhanced. These 21 protective factors were classified
into six broad categories, which are; emotional, cognitive, academic,
personality, social, and family protective factors.

Dolev and Zeedyk (2006) suggested the importance of being well
informed in how to cope with terrorism for parents in this terrorism-threat
present world as part of being a competent protector. The provider role of the
father changes with cultural and socio-ecologic conditions (Benedek, 1970).
When fathers of multiple ethnic groups were compared, European American
fathers exhibited significantly more androgynous attitudes toward both sons
and daughters than did African American fathers (Price-Bonham & Skeen,
1982).

As a result of studying family behavior in relation to stressful and

oppressive social circumstances, Peters and Massey (1983) stated that African

31

Americans’ capability to provide for the basic needs of their families tended to
be lessened because of a negative status in American society associated with
their cultural identity; and they further described the environment in which
African Americans live as a mundane, extreme environment (MEE), an
environment in which racism and subtle oppressions are omnipresent,
constant, and continuing. Carroll (1998) followed up the impact of MEE stress
on African Americans and found that African Americans were experiencing
the unique stress of the dilemma of “being Black in White America,” for the
color line continues to exist and keeps affecting them in their daily efforts to
live, work and play.
En vironm en ta], Soda-Demographic and Economic Factors

Many researchers have examined sociO'demographic factors
associated with parenting (e.g., Shears, et. al., 2006. Rodriguez, et. al., 2006;
Farley, 2006). Pajulo and colleagues (2006) scrutinized association between
prenatal views of baby and parenthood of the pregnant women and
sociO'demographic as well as pregnancy factors. They found that the number
of children under 7 years of age in the household, especially when already
having two or three children under 7 years old, as well as the current
pregnancy being unplanned, was associated negatively with prenatal
representations about the child, self, partner, and own mother. Factors that
had no association with the pregnant women’s views included factors such as

social class, previous abortions, duration of gestation, and somatic problems

32

related to the current pregnancy (Pajulo, et. al., 2006). When parenting was
examined from a perspective of evolutionary biology, babies in family-living
species could be more likely to face risk of neglect or abandonment if no
support from other family members were available to the mother for
child‘rearing (Fairbanks, 2004; Smith, 2005).

Having some college education for fathers was associated with higher

levels of weekday father involvement, while fathers’ earnings were negatively

associated with their weekday involvement with children (Yeung, et. al., 2001).

Nettelbladt, Uddernberg, and Engesson (1980) studied Swedish fathers and
suggested that fathers with low incomes or fathers who felt dissatisfactory
about their jobs were likely to be more negative toward their children.

The results of many studies suggested that ethnicity was one of the
influential factors for fathering (e.g., Carroll, 1998; Sanderson, 2000;
Price-Bonham & Skeen, 1982). Hofferth (2003) compared African American
and European American fathers and found that African American fathers
exhibited significantly fewer warm behaviors, greater control and monitoring,
and more responsibility for their children’s care than did their European
American counterparts. According to Price-Bonham and Skeen (1982) who
also compared African American and European American fathers, European
American fathers tended to exhibit significantly more androgynous attitudes

toward both sons and daughters.

33

‘flmnfl-fl

Marital Rela tionship

Numerous studies have documented associations between marital
relationships and parenting (e.g., Cummings & Watson, 1997; Bradford, 2002;
De Luccie, 1995; Goldberg & Easterbrooks, 1984; Doherty, Kouneski, &
Erickson, 1998; Coiro & Emery, 1998). In pursuit of being a good’parent, it
was found that quality of marital relationship largely influenced parenting
quality (Mansfield, 2005). The quality of the marital relationship and
parenting satisfaction were significantly and positively associated, and these
two factors seemed to have reciprocal impact on both fathers and mothers
(Rogers & White, 1998).

According to the results of the study that examined the relationship
between maternal characteristics and father involvement, the mother’s
perception of marital satisfaction was related to the frequency of father
involvement (De Luccie, 1995), which is congruent with the findings of the
previous studies (Bumpass, 1990; Harris & Morgan, 1991) that indicated the
positive association between marital satisfaction and father involvement. A
more recent study also indicated a relationship between marital intimacy and
positive fathering (Bradford, 2002). Marital problems, on the other hand, were
likely to result in disruption of father involvement, which, in turn, would lead
the quality of father-child relationships to be weakened (Coiro & Emery, 1998).
Doherty and colleagues (1998), who proposed responsible fathering, concluded

that, in order for men to pursue being responsible fathers in the U.S., one of

34

 

the most effective approaches would be to try to maintain a caring, successful
marriage, as substantial barriers are expected to arise otherwise.
Past Experience

It is frequently helpful to explore the past in order to understand the
present forms of parenting practice, as we learn quite a bit from our parents,
and this seems to be true of negative practices that we promised ourselves not
to repeat them when we become parents ourselves, as interaction patterns are
frequently learned unconsciously. In a similar manner our parents would have
learned much of how they parented from their parents. Parenting practice,
both positive and negative, in this way is passed on from one generation to
another (Smith, 2005).

Shears and colleagues (2006) also examined intergenerational
transmission of parenting values and found that fathers were influenced how
they parent by their relationship with their own fathers. Early experience is
thought to impact temperament as well as environment, which, in turn,
results in individual differences exhibited in our parenting behaviors (Smith,
2005).

Child factors

Parenthood is a complex developmental process, and a child plays an
active role as a stimulator that influences the personality development of the
parents and their relationship (Anthony & Benedek, 1970). Studies of

nonhuman primates indicated that non-responsiveness of the infant

35

negatively impact the mother in her parenting capabilities as well as
mismatches between the temperament of the mother and the infant being
disruptive factors in establishing attachment (Harlow & Harlow, 1965).

When focused on paternal parenting, the child’s gender was found to
be related to father involvement (Manlove & Vernon-Feagans, 2002; Harris &
Morgan, 1991). Maternal reports of father involvement in infant care revealed
that fathers were significantly more available to and also involved in
care-giving activities with sons than to daughters, and they were also more
available to temperamentally easy sons than to temperamentally difficult
sons (Manlove & Vernon-Feagans, 2002).

The findings of a study that examined the differences in paternal
involvement between adolescent sons and daughters indicated that fathers
directed more attentions toward their sons than daughters (Harris & Morgan,
1991). Mexican fathers were also found to pay more attention to, and to be
more cognitively involved with, their sons than their daughters (Bronstein,
19991

The age of the child seemed to be associated with father involvement.
There was a negative association between the frequency of father involvement
and the age of the child (De Luccie, 1995; Yeung, et. al., 2001). It was found
that the mothers of younger children were more likely to place higher value on

father involvement than were the mothers of older children (De Luccie, 1995).

36

Mother Factors

The idea of necessity of skin'tO'skin contact between mothers and
infants immediately after the infant’s birth proposed in the 1970’s became
popular and gained support as a practice inevitable in promoting bonding,
which changed the way of delivering babies in the United States. However,
further research did not support this idea that immediate skin'tO‘skin contact
promoted mother-baby bonding. It was found instead that mother-infant
bonding was just as strong in cases of caesarian section or premature babies
that did not allow immediate skin'tO'skin contact (Smith, 2005).

Health condition and age of the mother were likely to impact maternal
parenting. For human mothers as well as nonhuman primate mothers, poor
health negatively affected maternal parenting as well as putting mothers at
risk, as malnourished mothers were associated with higher risk of dying
during child birth as well as having low-birth-weight babies than were
healthy mothers. Further, too young or too old mothers were associated with
higher risk of mothers dying during labor and also of infant death prior to the
first birthday (Smith, 2005).

Mother’s age being too young including adolescent pregnancy was also
associated with negative parenting, as too young mothers are still immature
to be adequate mothers both physically and psychologically. This tendency of
adolescent pregnancy was found to be more prevalent in developed countries

including the United States than developing countries due mainly to typical

37

diet being high in simple carbohydrates and fats while requiring little energy
expenditure in daily life (Smith, 2005).
Influence of m other factors on pa ternal parenting.

Some of the factors associated with mothers were also found to be
influential to paternal parenting (e.g., Bonney, Kelley, & Levant, 1999; De
Luccie, 1995; Hoffman & Moon, 1999; Doherty, Kouneski, & Erickson, 1998).
Father involvement was found to be influenced by the mother’s attitudes
(Beitel & Parke, 1998), and perception of her husband’s competence as a
parent (Bonney, Kelley, & Levant, 1999).

De Luccie (1995) also stated that mother factors such as attitudes
toward, expectations of, and support for the father would impact the efforts of
a father in involvement with his children, as a mOther often serves as a
gatekeeper in the father-child relationship.

Fathers whose wives evaluated them positively for their efforts in
fathering tended to report higher levels of involvement in child'related
activities, and they also considered the father role more important (Pasley,
Futris, & Skinner, 2002). Mothers with nontraditional, egalitarian gender role
attitudes were more likely to be supportive of father involvement than their
counterparts with traditional attitudes (Hoffman & Moon, 1999). Mothers’
work hours and father involvement in childcare were found to be positively

associated (Bonney, Kelley, & Levant, 1999; Pleck, 1997).

38

.- . cf”?

Father Factors g

Soule, Standley, & Copans (1979) examined father identity in
prospective fathers whose wives were in the last month of pregnancy, and
found that prospective fathers who scored high in father identity questions
were more likely to report either highly positive or highly negative
relationships with their own fathers. Fathers who had androgynous gender
role identity were more likely to show higher levels of paternal involvement
(Sanderson, 2000). Christiansen and Palkovitz (1998) examined predictors of
fathering generativity and found that paternal identity, psychosocial identity,
and psychosocial intimacy with their children were the best overall predictors
of paternal generativity.

Fathers who perceived themselves as skillful in childcare tasks had
higher levels of involvement (Sanderson, 2000; McHale & Huston, 1984).
Psychological health and nurturance of a father were found to be predictors of
paternal motivation, which contributed to behavioral involvement, suggesting
the possibility of paternal motivation being intrinsic in nature (Duke, 1998).
Working conditions of a father, such as long work hours, could be a barrier to
greater participation in parenting (Bonney, Kelley, & Levant, 1999).

Religiosity was found to be one of the influential factors in shaping
fatherhood (Marks & Dollahite, 2001; Bartkowski & Xu, 2000; Christiansen &
Palkovitz, 1998). Bartkowski and Xu (2000), by focusing on the fathering

practices of conservative evangelical families, examined the influence of

39

conservative Protestant gender ideologies on paternal involvement, and found
that conservative Protestant fathers were more likely to engage in paternal
supervision and affective parenting than were non-evangelical fathers.
Fathers with a religious identification had a higher tendency to be generative
than did other fathers (Christiansen & Palkovitz, 1998). Religious fathers,
both married and divorced, were found to be more involved (King, 2003).
Further, being religious seemed to have effectively helped fathers in
challenging circumstances (Dollahite, Marks, & Olson, 2002). In relation to
religious influence, however, Palkovitz and Palm (1998) pointed out the
possibility that, instead of religion that impacted fathering, it could be father
roles that a man was engaged in that promoted the development of religious
values, faith, and morals in fathers.

As indicated in the review of literature in this section, parenting
behavior was found to be impacted by many factors, including biological
elements, interpersonal relationships, and sociO'demographic factors. It would
be a concern of the researcher whether or not these factors are mentioned also
in the response of the participants in this study, as well as whether or not any
new factors are revealed.

Summary

As revealed in the review of literature in this chapter, fathers’ efforts

in paternal parenting are believed to positively impact development of their

children as well as fathers themselves. It was also revealed that defining a

40

good father View is not necessarily easy, as there are multiple views of what it
means to be a good father, which could also vary depending on the
sociocultural contexts. Furthermore, both biological and contextual factors of
various kinds, including age, ethnicity, past experience, marital relationship,
and sociocultural influence, are likely to play important roles in how parents
view what it means to be a good father.

Views of fathers who currently strive to be a good father may not
necessarily be the same with the views stated by the researchers. Changes
taking place in our society are rapid and drastic, including increased maternal
employment, divorce, and the economy. Impact of technological advancement,
such as cable TV, internet, cell phone, video games, and instant messaging, on
parenting is also assumed to be great. Due to these reasons, it would be
worthwhile to investigate views of what it means to be a good father of the
fathers and the mothers who are currently engaged in raising young children

and compare them with those proposed by the scholars.

41

CHAPTER III
METHOD
Design

An IRB approved study was conducted in 20032004 by Hakoyama
(2004) for his master’s thesis under the supervision of Drs. Camarena, Long,
Angera, and Hagens at Central Michigan University. The study was designed
to examine good father views and two sets of survey instruments, one for the
male parents and the other for the female parents, were developed by the
researcher. Each survey consisted of eleven open'ended questions, seven of
which also contained 7‘point Likert scales, and ten demographic questions.
The top page of the survey described the purpose, anonymity, voluntary
nature of the survey, contact information, and the instructions on how to fill
out the questionnaires. A copy of the male survey and a copy of the female
survey were folded and placed separately in an unsealed envelope. Both were
placed in a larger envelope to be distributed to the parents of tw0'parent
families through their children attending the CMU Human Growth and
Development Laboratory and two affiliated childcare centers.

Parents were asked to respond to the survey by themselves without
consulting with anyone or any other resources. The survey, when it was
finished, was to be placed back in the envelope and sealed, then placed in a
pair into the larger envelope, which was to be returned to the return box

prepared in the childcare centers. A reminder was distributed approximately

42

two weeks after the surveys were distributed. Surveys were distributed to
approximately 120 families altogether.

Of the total of 54 surveys returned, 25 surveys were by fathers and 29
by mothers. Only 25 surveys by fathers were analyzed for the MA. Thesis.
Research questions addressed were the following two questions.

1) How do fathers define their own ideas about what it means to be a

“good” father?

2) How do fathers construct their own idea of what it means to be a

good father?

Although there were eleven questions related to fatherhood in the
survey, in order to answer the two research questions addressed, data analysis
focused on the first open-ended question that asked the participants their
views of good fathering. The participants’ responses were analyzed and
categorized according to the properties contained in their comments. The
participants (25 fathers) were further categorized into six father types;
responsible father, committed father, personal characteristic father,
integrated father, role specific father, and abstract conceptual view oriented
father. Participants’ responses to Question 2 (selfcvaluation of fatherhood
according to their good father views), Question 3 (source of idea of good father),
and Question 11 (consciousness of being a father) were examined to better
describe characteristics of the six father types. Relationships between father

types and demographic variables were also examined.

43

Using the data collected by the author for the study for the MA.
Thesis described above, the current study was designed to compare good
father views of the fathers with those of the mothers. While the previous study
focused on the good father views of only the male respondents and examined
responses of four of the eleven questions in the survey, the current study
included female respondents to examine how good father views are similar or
different between the male and female respondents. Not only the responses of
the four questions examined in the previous study, but also the responses to
other questions were included in the analysis. Also included in the current
study was analysis of demographic variables.

Sample

Participants were fathers and mothers of children of two-parent
families attending the Central Michigan University (CMU) Human Growth
and Development Laboratory and two affiliated childcare centers in the
central region of Michigan, who responded to the survey conducted for the
MA. Thesis. The participants responded voluntarily to an anonymous survey
distributed through staff members at the childcare centers. Fifty-four parents
responded and returned their surveys. 'leenty'five of these respondents were
males and labeled as #lm through #25m, and 29 were females and labeled as
#1f through #23f and #26f through #316 (#1 through #23 of each gender were
couples.) Of the 54 respondents, 59.3% were between 24 and 36 years old and

81.5% were Euro-American. Because the current study focused on the couples,

44

eight respondents (two males and six females) were excluded, as their spouses
did not respond.
Procedure

This study focused on good father views of both the fathers and the
mothers. Therefore, survey responses of parents of two-parent families were
selected. Responses of 46 parents (23 fathers and 23 mothers) were examined.

Data Collection

All the data that are to be analyzed for the current study were
collected by the researcher in 2003-2004 as a part of the IRB approved study
for his master’s thesis. Therefore, the current dissertation study does not
involve data collection process. It is a secondary analysis of existing data.

Qualitative Analysis

In order to analyze qualitative data obtained through open-ended
survey questions, the constant comparative method, introduced by Glaser and
Strauss (1967) and recommended by Dey (1999) was utilized. Instructions on
the analysis process of the grounded theory by Charmaz (2000) were referred
to as a guide.

There are four stages in the process of the constant comparative
method; 1) comparison, 2) integration, 2) delimitation, and 4) theorization.
The processes of each stage are as follows;

1) Comparison — This is a process of defining and categorizing data

through the assignment of codes. One incident is compared with

45

another, and by further comparison new incidents and categories
emerge, which results in the evolution of new categories.

2) Integration — This is a stage of integrating categories and their
properties, of clarifying the similarities and differences within and
between categories.

3) Delimitation — This is the third stage which delimits the theory and
categories. The major modifications become fewer as the comparison
of the next incidents of a category to its properties continues. This
process will eventually lead to the reduction of categories and
properties, which allows a smaller number of concepts to formulate a
theory.

4) Theorization — This is the final stage in which a conclusive theory is
written, based on well-organized coded data and a solidified theory
developed throughout the constant comparative process.

Participants’ responses to open-ended questions were reproduced in
Microsoft Word and printed out to be analyzed.
Terms Applied for Qualita tive Analysis
A few terms will be applied in the process of the following qualitative
analysis. A comment refers to words or phrases that contain a property
(meaning or concept). A response refers to the whole response to each question

which is likely to contain one or more comments.

46

Indicator of M eth odological Rigor

For the purpose of increasing the rigor of the results of the analyses,
the whole process of the constant comparative method was repeated when it
was completed. The results of both analyses were compared. When
discrepancies arose between the two results, the processes were repeated
again until discrepancies disappeared.

Subjectivity of analysis

In qualitative research, data analyses as well as interpretation of the
results are frequently affected by the biases of the researchers due to the
contextual factors such as culture, religion, ethnicity, educational background,
and sociocconomic status. Therefore, personal characteristics of the
researcher are provided below.

The researcher of this study is a Japanese male who is a father of four
children, three sons and a daughter. He is married for 24 years with his first
wife who is also Japanese. He has been a father for 22 years. He has also
experienced three distinctive cultures; Japanese, Samoan, and American. He
has also visited numerous countries including Australia, New Zealand,
England, and several Pacific Island nations. Although the researcher has had
university education and lived for almost ten years in the USA, English is
his second language and his cognitive process of how he interprets the results
will not be exactly the same as that of a native English speaker. Because the

researcher is tricultural and bilingual, his interpretations might not also be

exactly the same as those of others who are mono-cultural or monolingual.
While some of these characteristics pertaining to the researcher, such as being
U.S. non-native, could be disadvantageous, some other characteristics, such
as being a father of four children and being tricultural, may lead to findings
that would otherwise be taken for granted and overlooked.

Having been aware of these personal characteristics that may
influence the analysis process and having explicitly stated here is expected to
be beneficial for the researcher as well as others who are interested in the
findings of this study.

Descriptive Analysis

Quantitative data obtained from the participants’ responses to 7 'point
Likert scale variables, demographic questions, and Some of the coded
qualitative data, were analyzed by utilizing the Statistical Package for Social

Sciences (SPSS) to provide descriptive statistics.

48

CHAPTER IV
RESULTS

Survey responses of 46 parents (23 couples) were analyzed. While
56.5% (13/23) of the male participants were between 24 and 36 years old and
34.8% (8/23) were between 37 and 49 years old, 60.9% (14/23) of the female
participants were between 24 and 36 years old and 26.1% (6/23) were between
37 and 49 years old. 86.0% of the respondents were (18 males and 19 females)
Euro-Americans. While 69.6% (16/23) of the female respondents had a
bachelor’s degree or higher, 52.2% (12/23) of the male respondents had a
bachelor’s degree or higher. Nearly one half (ll/23) of the male respondents
had an individual annual income of $40,00 or higher, while less than 10%
(2/23) of the female respondents had an individual annual income of $0,000 or
higher. Of the 23 couples, nine couples were married for 610 years and six
couples for 1115 years. Nearly three quarters (17/23) of the couples had two
or three children.

The survey included eleven questions, seven of which contained 7-point
Likert scales as well, and ten demographic questions. The core of the current
study was to examine views of being a good father of both the male and female
participants and compare them. A question that asked the participants to
describe their views on a good father was addressed in Question 1 in the
survey with the following open-ended question; “In your own words, please

describe what you think a ‘good’ father should be like.” Other questions in the

49

survey were asked to help understand respondents’ good father views
described in Question 1. The following sections are devoted to answering five
research questions stated in Chapter 1.

Question 1; How do fathers and mothers describe good fathers?

This section focuses on analysis of the participants’ responses to
Question 1 in the survey that asked parents to describe their good father
views. The responses of the fathers ranged from 9 to 96 words (mean = 43.57,
SD = 23.407), and those of the mothers ranged from 15 to 82 words (mean =
42.52, SD = 18.942).

Utilizing the constant comparative method, 238 comments were
identified, 111 of which were by fathers and 127 by mothers. The number of
comments per response ranged from 2 to 12 (mean = 5.17, SD = 2.122). The
number of comments per response of the male parents ranged from 2 to 10
(mean = 4.83, SD = 1.899), while that of the female parents ranged from 3 to
12 (mean = 5.52, SD = 2.313).

Fathers’ Views of a Good Father

This section analyzes responses by the fathers. Focusing on the
descriptive content of the comments (the meaning of verbally expressed ideas),
comments by the fathers were classified into six categories; involvement,
expressed affection, childcenteredness, mentor, guardian, and prerequisites
for being a good father.

Of the 111 comments identified in the responses of 23 fathers, nine

50

comments belonged to the involvement category, nine to the expressed
affection category, 14 to the childcenteredness category, 28 to the mentor
category, 22 to the guardian category, and 29 to the prerequisites for being a
good father category. Description of each category and some examples are as
follows.

In vol vem en t.

Comments belonging to the involved category contained properties that
were descriptive of the importance of a father spending time and sharing daily
activities with his children. Some examples of comments are “I think that a
good father needs to take time to participate in his children’s activities” (#lm),
“spend time with children” (#11m), and “participate in the daily life of his
children” (#14m).

Of the responses by 23 fathers, nine included the comments in this
category. None of these nine responses included more than one comment in
this category. None included any specific expression that indicated that
involvement was the most important element in being a good father.
Considering the tendency that the respondents in this study were likely to
include more than one comment of a category in a response or add a specific
phrase such as most importantly when they wanted to emphasize the
importance of a specific idea; these results imply that, although more than one
third of the fathers in this study were aware of the importance of being

involved in their children’s life, it seems less likely that they viewed

51

involvement to be the single most important factor in being a good father.
Expressed affection.

Comments in the expressed affection category included properties
expressing parental love with an emphasis on being expressive as well as
being understood by their children. Some of the examples are “constantly
telling them how much he loves them and how special they are” (#6m), “a good
father has unconditional love for children” (#12m), and “I believe a good father
is one who gives lots of love to his children” (#19m).

Nine of the 23 fathers included comments in this category. It is
noteworthy that one third of these comments included an expression of
“unconditional love.” These results indicate that fathers think it is important
to express their love in the way their children understand that they are loved.

Child 'cen teredness.

Comments that belong to the childcenteredness category contained
properties that described the importance of assisting children and
maintaining peer-like relationships. Some examples are “he should be a good
friend to his child” (#7m), “the child should be the number one priority” (#7 m),
and “I think a good father should be there as a friend” (#21m).

More than one half (12/23) of the responses included comments in this
category and two of them included more than one comment in this category. A
few of these responses indicated childcenteredness to be the central construct

of their good father views.

52

These results imply that rather than being an authoritarian figure,
many fathers in this study think it is important for a good father to maintain
friend-like relationships with his children.

Mentor:

Comments in the mentor category contained properties emphasizing
the father’s role as a guide and a figure to be modeled. Some examples include
“male role model” (#2m), “he should guide the child through their issues”
(#3m), “he should be a good role model” (#9m), “be a good example for their
children” (#10m), and “teach them to make good decisions” (#11m).

More than three quarters of the responses (18/23) included comments
in this category, and seven of these responses included two or more comments
belonging to this category. These results indicate that being a role model or a
guide is viewed as one of the important qualities for being a good father. It is
also indicated that some of the fathers in this study viewed mentor quality as
the central construct for being a good father.

Guardian.

Comments in the guardian category indicated the importance of father
as protector, provider, and disciplinarian who takes responsibility of raising
children correctly. Some of the examples are “being a good $ provider” (#5m),
“a good father should also provide safety for his child” (#7 m), and “a
disciplinarian when needed” (#20m).

More than two thirds (16/23) of the responses included comments in

53

this category and five of them included two comments that belong to this
category. Although it did not appear that guardian quality to be the single
most important element in being a good father, many fathers thought that
traditionally held father roles as being a provider, protector and disciplinarian
were still part of the father responsibilities.

Prerequisites for being a good father.

Comments that were classified into the prerequisites for being a good
father category contained properties that expressed personal characteristics
and abilities of a man for him in pursuing to become a good father, which
included physical presence, knowledge on child development, positive marital
relationship, and state of mind. Some of the examples that belong to this
category are “a man of integrity” (#8m), “available” (#8m), aware of adequate
child development” (#14m), “patient” (#15m), and “be educated” (#17 m).

More than one half (14/23) of the responses included comments in this
category and five of these responses included three or more comments in this
category. It was apparent that some fathers described their good father views
in terms of the personal quality that is required in being a good father.

Ca tegory prevalence.

Prevalence of comments in each response with regard to their
categories is examined in this section. This is to examine
multi'categoricalness of the participants’ views as well as what categories are

more recognized as important characteristics for being a good father.

54

The number of comment categories in a response ranged from 2 to 6
(mean = 3.39, SD = 1.118). It was revealed that the largest number of fathers
included comments in the mentor category (18/23), followed by comments in
the guardian category (16/23).

Every father included comments of two or more categories in his
response. Fathers with comments of three categories were most common
(9/23), followed by fathers with comments of two categories (5/23) and four
categories (5/23). When the patterns of combination of comment categories in
each response were examined, it was revealed that the combination of the
mentor and the childcenteredness was most frequent, followed by the mentor
and the guardian. The most frequent combination pattern of three categories
was the mentor, the guardian, and the childcenteredness. Also, some fathers
viewed personal quality, the ideas represented by the comments in the
prerequisites for being a good father to be very important for them to pursue
to become a good father.

These results indicate that good father views described by the fathers
in this study are multi'categorical. While the views represented by comments
in the childcenteredness (e.g., the child’s needs should be the number one
priority, a desire to establish peer-like relationships with children) were likely
to be one of the important components of the respondents’ good father views,
the fathers in this study tended to view traditionally valued father roles

belonging to the mentor and the guardian categories, such as provider,

55

protector, disciplinarian, and role model, as an important part of their father
responsibilities.
Mothers’ views of a Good Father

Again utilizing the constant comparative method, responses of the
mothers to Question 1 were analyzed. Comments belonging to all six
categories previously identified in the fathers’ comments were all present.
There were comments, however, that did not fit into these six categories,
which were classified into two newly added categories; caretaker and parental
equality.

Of the 127 comments, 17 comments belonged to the involvement
category, 19 to the expressed affection category, 26 to the childcenteredness
category, 19 to the mentor category, '15 to the guardian category, 23 to the
prerequisites for being a good father category, three to the caretaker category,
and five to the parental equality category. Examples of the comments for each
of these eight categories and description of the two additional categories
(caretaker and parental equality) are as follows.

In vol vem en t.

Examples of the comments belonging to the involvement category by
the mothers are “a good father goes to his kids’ school activities and athletic
activities” (#60, “a man who spends time with his children” (#180, and “I
think a good father is a dad who is involved with their children” (#190.

Of the 23 responses, 15 responses included comments in this category,

56

two of which included more than one comment. Several mothers stated the
importance of involvement at first in the response, followed by comments in
the other categories which served to explain more concretely how a father
should be involved in his child’s life. These results indicate that for some
mothers involvement is one of the major factors for their husbands in being a
good father.

Expressed affection.

Some examples of the comments in this category that the mothers
expressed are “he should be openly loving” (#10, “a ‘good’ father should show
affection towards his children” (#20, “most importantly he loves his child
unconditionally” (#40, “always letting the child know that they are loved”
(#70, and “a good father is someone who loves their child unconditionally”
(#239.

More than two thirds of the responses (16/23) included comments in
this category, two of which included more than one comment that belonged to
this category. Two respondents who included comments in this category in
their responses indicated that unconditional love was one of the most
important components for being a good father.

Child 'cen teredn ess.
Examples of the comments by the mothers that expressed the
importance of having the children in the center of life include “do just about

anything for them” (#180, and “a good father should put his children first no

matter what” (#230.

Nearly three quarters (17/23) of the responses included comments in
this category, 41% (7/17) of which included more than one comment in this
category. It was apparent that many mothers think that it is very important
for a father to have his children’s life in the center of his concern and try to be
as supportive as possible.

Mentor.

Some of the examples of the comments in this category by the mothers
are “a good role model for the child” (#80, “he is a role model of kindness,
honesty, and respect for others” (#90, and “teaching, guiding their child”
(#140.

Less than one half (ll/23) of the responses included comments in this
category. Of the eleven responses that included comments in this category,
three responses included two comments in this category and three responses
included three or more comments. These results indicate that although
mentor role is not as popular as other father roles, a few mothers View that
being an educator is one of the distinctive father roles.

Guardian.

Examples of the comments by the mother in the guardian category are
“he should discipline fairly” (#10, “...yet still enforce discipline at an
appropriate degree related to the child’s age and infraction” (#50, “helps

create a safe and structured home life” (#160, “he would protect them from

58

harm” (#180, and “a good father should work and support his family” (#210.

Slightly less than one half of the responses (11/23) included comments
in this category. It is likely that the mothers in this study View traditional
father roles such as provider, protector, and disciplinarian to be not as
important for a father as being involved in his child’s life or expressing love to
his children.

Prerequisites for being a good father.

Some of the examples of comments in this category by the mothers
include “available for routine needs” (#30, “a good father should be patient”
(#50, and “open-minded man so as to be understanding of a child’s changing
developmental and emotional needs” (#50.

Of the 23 responses, 12 included comments in this category, four of
which included three or more comments in this category. Although not as
apparent as involvement or affection, some mothers see that father
characteristics such as being educated, patient, and open-minded are
important factors for a father in pursuing to become a good father.

Caretaker

This category emerged as there were several comments that did not fit
into the categories previously created. Comments in the caretaker category
contained properties that emphasized the importance of a father in being
active in everyday childrearing practice, which was traditionally associated

with the mother’s role as a caretaker. Examples of the comments include “be

59

involved in their everyday care, from diapering and feeding to bathing, and
kissing boo-boos” (#20, “a good caretaker” (#170, and “care-giving
responsibilities” (#200.

Three of the 23 responses included comments in this category. Although
there were only a few responses that contained comments in this category, this
result is noteworthy, as these comments characterize the female parents’
views of a good father.

Parental equality:

This category was created as, though not many, there were comments
that did not fit into any of the seven categories previously created. Comments
in this parental equality category contained properties that emphasized
gender'neutral parenting views in which little distinction was made between
paternal parenting and maternal parenting. Examples of the comments are “a
‘good’ father is the same as a ‘good’ mother” (#140, and “a good father should
be a partner in all aspects of raising children” (#200.

Only three of the 23 responses included comments in this category.
However, two of them indicated that parental equality was their major
importance for being a good father.

Category prevalence.

The number of comment categories in a response ranged from 2 to 8
(mean = 3.83, SD = 1.154). It was revealed that the largest number of mothers

included comments in the childcenteredness category (17/23), followed by

60

comments in the expressed affection category (16/23) and the involvement
category (15/23).

Every mother except one contained comments of three or more
categories in her response. Mothers with comments of four categories were
most common (ll/23), followed by mothers with comments of three categories
(8/23). When the patterns of combination of two comment categories in each
response were examined, it was revealed that the combination of the
expressed affection and the childcenteredness was most frequent. Also,
category patterns consisting of any three of the five categories — involvement,
expressed affection, childcenteredness, and prerequisites for being a good
father — were equally prevalent among responses that contained three or more
categories.

These results indicate that good father views described by the mothers
in this study are multicategorical. Their views are represented by the
childcenteredness, the expressed affection, and the involvement categories.
Comments in the mentor and the guardian categories were present among the
responses by the mothers. However, these traditional father roles do not seem
to be the central construct of good father views for the mothers in this study.
Question 2; How are mothers’ and fathers’ views of good father difl'erent or

similar?

Responses of both the fathers and the mothers contained more than one

comment and more than three quarters of the responses in each gender

61

(18/23) included 3 to 6 comments. When comments in each response were
examined in terms of category, all responses were multicategorical, which
means that each response included at least two comments, each of which
belonged to different categories. The number of comment categories in each
response ranged from two to four for more than 80% (19/23) of the male
parents, while that in each response for the same number (19/23) of the
female parents ranged from three to four.

While comments in the mentor category were most prevalent among
the responses by the fathers (18/23), followed by comments in the guardian
category (16/23); comments in the childcenteredness category were most
prevalent among the responses by the mothers (17/23), followed by comments
in the expressed affection category (16/23). Also, it is noteworthy that,
although a few (3/23), responses by only the mothers included comments in
the caretaker category as well as comments in the parental equality category
(3/23).

These results indicate that, although good father views of the fathers
overlap with those of the mothers, they are not exactly the same. For instance,
responses by the mothers contained comments in two categories, caretaker
and parental equality that were not included in responses by the fathers. Also,
while the other six comment categories were shared by both the fathers and
the mothers, the difference in prevalence suggests that what is thought to be

important as a father is different between the fathers and the mothers.

62

Many responses by the fathers contained comments belonging to the
mentor (18/23) and the guardian (16l23) categories, suggesting that the
traditionally valued father roles such as financial provider, protector, role
model, and disciplinarian are still viewed important by the fathers. Many
responses by the mothers, on the other hand, contained comments belonging
to the childcenteredness (17/23), the expressed-affection (16/23), and the
involvement (15/23) categories, suggesting that the mothers are likely to view
being loving, friendly and involved in the child’s life to be very important
father qualities. Furthermore, although the number was small, there were a
few responses by the mothers that mentioned the importance of a father in
actively participating in everyday caretaking activities. Also, there were a few
responses by the mothers that included commentsindicating that there is no
difference between a good mother and a good father. Both of these views were
mentioned only by the mothers. Table 1 and Figure 1 below illustrate
similarities and differences between fathers’ views of a good father and

mothers’ views of a good father.

Table 1. Comment Categories in a Response

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comment Category Father Mother
Involvement 9/23 15/23
Expressed affection 9/23 16l23
Childcenteredness 12/23 17/23
Mentor 18/23 11/23
Guardian 16/23 11/23
Prerequisites for being a good father 14/23 12/23
Caretaker '''''' 3/23
Parental equality ----- 3/23

 

63

  
 

Figure 1.

Question

Fathers’ views

 
   

Prerequisites ’ r3“
, for being a i .-’ i
'. good father '

   
 

  

    

 
   

_,:.."' Child-
. centeredness

 

 

. . . . ..
i r l _:.n." l
l '5' =

     
 
 

; ‘2. Expressed

   

Guardian

    

   
 
 
   

 

 
    
 
 
   

  

  

I .
: ~, :1_ affection
‘ I , .
n ------ ‘ :‘ttq‘... " 1 ~
I ; i ‘s-.,‘e I
I .'-' 3: ,i . ‘ .n\ .
3‘ '_ Involvement
’. Caretaker g z : a . . .
”0. .~ ' 3 3.. .‘ ‘
o. Parental L, 3 ‘
, : . ‘. . :
. equahty . ,
s. Mothers’ Views
‘. o c o
O O ‘ .O
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t ‘9

.IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIID.

Views of Being a Good Father

Fathers’ views tended to center around the mentor and the guardian
categories, while mothers’ views tended to be more diverse and center
around the involvement, childcenteredness, and expressed affection
categories.

3; What factors are perceived by fathers and mothers to have
contributed to fathers’ efforts to be a good father or hindered them

from being good fathers?

Fa thers’Perception ofInfluen tial Factors in their Efforts to Be a Good Father

Time was the factor mentioned most frequently by the fathers in this

study that influenced their efforts to be a good father. They indicated that

whether or not they manage to find enough time to be with their family was

64

the key. Many fathers thought that they did not have enough time or
flexibility to be with their children due mainly to their work responsibilities.
It was also mentioned that stress from, and energy taken away by, work
negatively influenced their efforts in trying to be a good father. A few fathers
mentioned that their paternal efforts tended to be interrupted because of
overload caused by having to deal with not just work but also with multiple
father responsibilities they feel obliged. It was also mentioned by a few fathers
that how to balance themselves between father roles and personal desire was
the key.

Other factors mentioned by the fathers were related to the comments in
the prerequisites for being a good father category, such as controlling temper,
ability to be patient, and having understanding of children’s developmental
needs. Also, there was a comment that mentioned that having waited until
mature age to become a parent contributed to his being a good father.

These results indicate that the fathers in this study are aware that
being a good provider, though important, is not good enough for being a good
father; and they tend to struggle to find time to actively take multiple
responsibilities.

Mothers ’ Perception of Influential Factors in their Spouses ’ Efforts to Be a
Good Father
Time was frequently mentioned by the mothers as a factor that

influenced their spouses in their efforts to be a good father. They thought that

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although their husbands tried to act according to their good father beliefs,
they either found not having enough time or experienced time conflict. Work
was also mentioned frequently as an interrelated factor that influenced their
husbands’ efforts in trying to do well as a father. They indicated that their
husbands tended to struggle to find time or energy needed to strive to be good
fathers due to long hours required for and stress from work.

Other factors mentioned by the mothers that influenced their husbands’
fathering efforts include anger management, level of self-confidence,
childhood experience, and child factor. A few mothers mentioned that their
husbands sometimes failed to control their temper toward their children as
well as toward their spouses. There were a few other mothers who thought
that indecisiveness and lack of confidence in parenting behavior hindered
their husbands from being better fathers. A couple of other mothers thought
that their husbands’ fathering attitudes and behaviors were influenced by
how they were raised. They thought that not having a good role model during
the childhood made a man difficult to be a good father. One mother mentioned
that her husband struggled to be a good father due to their daughter being a
mother’s girl.

These results imply that it is expected for a father to spend quite a bit
of his time with his children even during regular working days, and not
having been able to do so, even though it was for him to satisfy a financial

provider role, is a negative factor for being a good father. These results are

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reflective of multiple responsibilities expected of a good father as defined by

the respondents.

Question 4; How do spousal factors, such as the mother’s view of a good father,
perceived competence of her husband as a father, and past
experience with her own father, relate to the father’s efforts to be
a good father?

Fa thers’Responses

This section analyzes spousal factors that are thought to be influential
for a father in trying to be a good father. Analyzed were fathers’ perception of
their spouses’ evaluation on them as fathers in relation to their self-evaluation
and their perception of their wives’ supportiveness.

Fathers in this study were asked to respond to the 7-point Likert scales
(1 = Not at all good, 7 = Very good) for self-evaluation of their efforts in being a
good father, their perception of how their spouses rate them as fathers, and
their spouses’ supportiveness in their efforts to be good fathers, all of which
were accompanied by qualitative comments explaining their ratings.

For 20 of the 23 fathers, there was no incongruity in the ratings
between their self'evaluation and their perception of their spouses’ rating, and
their comments were positive in general. Of these 20 fathers, three fathers
rated themselves 7 and thought that their wives rated them also 7, nine
fathers rated 6 for both ratings, seven fathers rated 5, and one father rated 4.

Of these 20 fathers, all 12 fathers whose ratings were 6 or higher also rated 6

or higher for their wives’ supportiveness.

For instance, Respondent #1m rated himself 6 for his being a good
father and he thought his wife would also rate him 6, and he then stated, “My
wife knows that I love my children and that I’m willing to help her with her
responsibilities if the daily routine changes.” He, then, rated 7 for his wife’s
supportiveness and stated, “My wife likes to see me spend time with the kids.
She is always willing to listen to my opinion on anything that involves our
family.”

Respondent #7m rated himself 7 and he thought his wife would rate
him 7. Then he stated the reason for his perception of his wife’s evaluation as,
“She knows and tells me often that I am a great parent.” His rating for his
wife’s supportiveness was also 7 and stated, “We collaborate on all major
decisions and enforce all rules equally.” Respondent #9m, whose ratings for
himself and his assumption of his wife’s rating for him as a father were both 6,
stated the reason as, “I know she thinks I’m a pretty good father. We talk
about our parenting a lot.” His rating of his wife’s supportiveness was 7 and
explained the reason as, “We both support each other completely.”

Two fathers thought that their wives’ ratings on them were lower than
their self-evaluations and one father thought the other way around. For
instance, Respondent #23m rated himself 6 but thought his wife would rate
him 4 and stated the reason for why he thought his wife would rate him lower

as, “She does not always let me be the father I want to be.” His ratings of his

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wife’s supportiveness was 4 and explained the reason as, “We were raised
differently so we don’t always agree on how things should be done.”

Respondent #8m rated himself 4 while he thought his wife would rate
him 6. He stated the reason why he thought his wife would rate him higher
than his own rating as, “She gives me a lot of credit.” His rating of his wife’s
supportiveness was 7 and he stated the reason as, “She encourages me all of
the time.”

These results indicate that fathers in this study were likely to take into
account their wives’ views in their efforts to be good fathers and the wives’
encouragements were likely to positively influence the fathers’ efforts in
trying to be good fathers. Fathers who perceived their spouses as supportive
in their efforts in trying to be good fathers were also likely to View themselves
as successful in being good fathers.

Mothers ’Responses

This section analyzes mothers’ responses related to the factors that
influenced their good father views. Mothers in this study were asked to state
what they thought has influenced their good father views.

Almost all mothers mentioned past experience with their parents,
particularly their own father, as one of the major factors that influenced their
good father views. Some examples are “From my parents. My father was
always working, so my mother would have to fulfill both sides (male and

female) of our parenting” (Respondent #10; “Of course my perception of a good

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father comes from my own father and how I was raised” (Respondent #20; “I
think I got it from the way my dad was with us and I want my kids to
experience the same things I got with my dad” (Respondent #190;and “My
own father. My dad was always kind and supportive, as a father should be”
(Respondent #230. Some other factors mentioned by the mothers include
religion, husband, TV, and parenting classes.

Mothers in this study were also asked to rate their relationships with
their own fathers (1 = Not Good at all, 7 = Very Good). They were also asked to
describe how their past experiences with their fathers might have influenced
them in their expectations on their spouses/partners as being a good father.

Their ratings varied from 1 to 7 (mean = 5.00, SD = 1.859). Of the 23
mothers, 12 mothers rated 6 or higher, eight mothers rated 35, and three
mothers rated 2 or lower. Some of the qualitative comments provided by these
mothers described how their experiences with their own father have
influenced their expectations on their spouses as fathers. For example,
Respondent #10f who rated 7 for her relationship with her own father stated
her perception of the influence of her experience with her father on her
spouse’s efforts in being a good father as the following;

Big influence! I have very high expectations for my partner. But I
know that we are not automatically made perfect parents just
because we have a child. The key is a desire to be better and do

better and to be aware of what we are doing. I feel my husband

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has that desire to learn and do better and I can see the progress
he is making. He is becoming a great father and I’m very happy
with that.

Respondent #13f rated 3 for her relationship with her own father and
stated the influence as the following;

My father was abusive. I don’t want that for my son. My dad
never took quality time for me and that is something I always
wanted. So I want my son to have the same father love, special
love is what I mean.

Respondent #14f rated 1 and stated the influence as, “I choose to be
with a person with a very different personality than my father.” Respondent
#16f rated 6 and stated the influence as “My relationship with my dad was
wonderful so I want my children to have that type of relationship with their
father.”

Respondent #17f who rated 4 stated the influence as the following;

My father worked all the time and when he got home in the
evening he sat down and watched TV and on the weekends he
worked around the house. There was no time for kids. I believe
that I do not have a lot of patience for my spouse taking time for
himself and always expect him to be doing something because of
my upbringing.

These results indicate that past experience particularly with their own

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fathers was likely to be one of the major influences for mothers in their
construction of good father views as well as their expectations of their
husbands in being good fathers. Mothers who had wonderful experiences with
their fathers were likely to expect the same high quality in their husbands for
their fathering efforts. Mothers who had poor experiences, on the other hand,
expect their husbands not to act like their own fathers and they try to
influence their husbands to act how they wished their fathers to have acted.
Question 5; To what extent are good father views and associated factors
expressed by the fathers and mothers consistent with good father
views and associated factors described in current literature?

Good Father Vie ws

Following the processes of the constant comparative method, responses
of the participants to the question that asked them to describe their good
father views were analyzed, as a result of which 238 comments were identified.
Focusing on the descriptive content of the comments (the meaning of verbally
expressed ideas), these comments were classified into eight categories;
involvement, expressed affection, childcenteredness, mentor, guardian,
prerequisites for being a good father, caretaker, and parental equality. These
categories emerged in this study are not identical to those described in current
literature. However, many of the comments included in each of these
categories compare with the elements of a good father mentioned in previous

studies.

Comments in the involvement category were expressive of the
importance of a father spending time with and sharing daily activities with
his children. This view that values paternal involvement in the child’s daily
life is consistent with the good father views proposed by many scholars and
researchers (e.g., Biller, 1993; Hawkins, Christiansen, Sargent, & Hill, 1993;
Palkovitz, 2002; McBride & Rane, 1997 ; Sanderson, 2000; Miller-Sober, 1997).
Doherty, Kouneski and Erickson (1998) who promoted responsible fathering
also included being involved in child-rearing as one of the domains for being a
responsible father.

Being a male role model, one of the elements in the mentor category in
this study, was also consistent with current literature that revealed the
importance of a father as a figure to be modeled (Bryant & Zimmerman, 2003).
To be available or to be present, one of the elements consisting of the
prerequisites for being a good father category, was also mentioned as one of
the important properties for responsible fathering proposed by Doherty,
Kouneski, and Erickson (1998).

Comments in the guardian category indicated the importance of father
as protector, provider, and disciplinarian. These elements were also discussed
in previous studies as part of father roles. For instance, Christiansen and
Palkovitz (2001) stated that, even though providing role of the father was
made less visible by many societal changes, being a good provider remains one

of the important father roles, which is considered to be a form of paternal

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involvement having a significant impact on child development. Providing
watchful protection for the mother-infant dyad as the head of household was
stated in current literature as one of the qualities of being a good father that
remains to be important (Diamond, 1997). Although quality similar to this
was mentioned by the respondents in this study, the idea of the head of
household was not explicitly mentioned.

Comments in the parental equality category in this study emphasized
the importance of both parents engaging in all aspects of parenting equally.
This view is consistent with gender-neutral, equal parenting proposed by
Deutsch (1999). However, it must be noted that comments in the parental
equality category were found only in the response of female participants.

Comments in the expressed affection categOry in this study emphasized
the importance of paternal love. Many of these comments described the
importance of fathers to be explicitly expressive of their parental love in order
for their children to be well conscious of their being loved. Some respondents
indicated, by choosing the expression unconditional love, that paternal love
needs to be the ultimate condition, and some mothers indicated this idea to be
their central construct of what it means to be a good father. There have been
previous studies that mentioned paternal love as one of the factors that affect
child development (e.g., Thisdelle, 1996; Jain & Jain, 1998). Summers and
colleagues, who examined how low-income fathers construct their roles for

being a good father, identified four types of roles (providing a stable

environment, teaching, physical interaction, and emotional support), and
mentioned providing love as one of the examples of emotional support. The
meaning which the comments in the expressed affection category in this study
convey, however, was not included as a major element of good fathering in
other good father views provided in current literature despite their
multicategoricalness.

Associated Factors

Current literature has provided many factors that were found to be
associated with paternal parenting. This section focuses on analysis of the
participants’ perception on three factors; father identity, quality of marital
relationships, and child characteristics.

Fa th er iden tit y:

Fathers in this study were asked to rate (1: Not at all, 7 = Very much)
how much thought they have given to what it means to be a good father. Their
responses ranged from 2 to 7 (mean = 5.65, SD = 1.555). Of the 23 fathers, 17
fathers (73.9%) rated 6 or higher, while 4 fathers (17.4%) rated 3 or lower.
These fathers were asked also to provide qualitative explanation. Some
examples of comments whose ratings were high are “It is important to me to
be a good father” (#18m, rating = 7), “Fatherhood has always been a goal”
(#12m, rating = 6), “I always look for more ways to help me as a father” (#9m,
rating = 6), and “I probably think about it more than most guys. Even long

before I was a father I thought about it” (#13m, rating = 6). Some examples

of the response by the fathers whose ratings were low are “I never really
thought about it” (#19m, rating = 3), and “I am comfortable with the way I
father my children” (#20m, rating = 2).

It was also revealed that 84.6% (11/ 13) of the respondents who rated
themselves 6 or higher on their self'evaluation of being a good father also
rated 6 or higher on their conscious efforts to be a good father. High ratings
and positive comments provided by nearly three quarters of the fathers, along
with their high self'evaluation of being a good father, indicate that it is one of
the important elements for fathers to be conscious of fatherhood and trying
hard to be a better father. These results do not seem to contradict the findings
of previous studies that indicated the association between paternal identity
and parenting (Christiansen & Palkovitz, 1998; Miller-Scher, 1997).

Quality of marital relationships.

Respondents were asked to rate the overall quality of their marital
relationships (1 = Not at all Good, 7 = Very Good). Responses by the male
parents ranged from 4 to 7 (mean = 6.0, SD = 1.087), and those by the female
respondents ranged from 4 to 7 (mean = 5.91, SD = 1.041). They were also
asked to provide reasons for their ratings.

More than two thirds of the fathers (16/23) rated 6 or higher, while
slightly fewer mothers (14/23) rated 6 or higher. Some examples of the reasons
provided by the male respondents who rated 6 or higher on their marital

relationship quality are “We have a great relationship! We have our

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disagreements like everyone but we really communicate well with each other.
We are best friends” (#5m, rating = 7), “I think we have a real healthy
relationship” (#9m, rating = 7), and “We help each other in raising our
children in righteous way. We love and understand each other” (#10m, rating
= 6). Examples of the comments by the female respondents are “We have had a
wonderful marriage both before and after parenthood” (#9f, rating = 7), “We
communicate well and have a lot of fun together and as a family” (#12f, rating
= 7), and “We share a lot of things together. If something bothers us we talk
about it and we both know how to compromise” (#15f, rating = 6).

Participants’ responses were also examined in a pair by combining the
ratings of both parents in each family (possible lowest score = 0, possible
highest score = 14). The rating ranged from 8 to 14 (mean = 11.91, SD = 1.857).
Of the 23 couples, six couples (26.1%) scored 14, while six couples (26.1%)
scored 10 or lower.

These results were compared with the participants’ responses to
Question 2 in the survey that asked male participants to rate themselves
using a 7 'point Likert scale (1 = Not at all Good, 7 = Very Good) for being a
good father; and that asked female participants to rate their husbands for
being a good father. These ratings of the father and the mother in each family
were also combined (possible lowest score = 0, possible highest score = 14).
The scores ranged from 9 to 14 (mean = 11.87, SD = 1.392). While two couples

scored 14, five couples scored 10 or lower. The ratings of the good father

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evaluation and the marital quality were then compared. Both couples who
scored 14 on the good father evaluation also scored 14 on the marital quality.
More interestingly, all five couples who scored 10 or lower on the good father
evaluation also scored the lowest on the marital quality rating. Qualitative
comments by these respondents whose ratings of the marital quality were low
also were reflective of their ratings. For instance Respondent #4m
(self'evaluation rating = 4, marital quality rating = 4) stated, “Problem is she
complains all the time about everything. So it puts me in a bad mood. I like
being together and doing things together when she isn’t complaining.”
Respondent #4f, his spouse (evaluation rating of her husband as a father = 5,
marital quality rating = 5), stated, “I love my husband a lot but feel he can be
very selfish. I also feel I can’t really talk to him about things. He does help out
around the house but not as much as I’d like. I don’t feel I am appreciated by
him.”

Respondent #11m (self-evaluation rating = 5, marital quality rating 4)
stated, “Having the children has taken the focus off the spouse, and put it on
the children. I think this changes the relationship not always for the better in
the short term, but long term it will get better I believe.” Respondent #11f, his
spouse (evaluation rating of her spouse as a father = 5, marital quality rating
= 4), stated, “We are spending little time together with the time demands of
two young children. We also argue about money too much.”

These results do not seem to contradict the findings of previous studies

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that pointed out marital quality as one of the factors that are associated with
paternal parenting (e.g., De Luccie, 1995; Mansfield, 2005; Bumpass, 1990;
Harris & Morgan, 1991; Bradford, 2002; Coiro & Emery, 1998; Doherty,
Kouneski, & Erickson, 1998).

Child characteristics.

Male parents were asked to rate (1 = Not at all, 7 = Very much) their
perception of influence of their children’s gender on their efforts to be a good
father. They were also asked to provide explanation for their ratings as well as
their perception of other child factors that influenced their efforts to be a good
father.

Their ratings ranged from 1 to 6 (mean = 2.04, SD = 1.870). Nearly 70%
(16/23) of the respondents rated 1, while 17.4% (4/23) rated 5 or higher. It did
not seem that these ratings were related to the gender or the age of their
children.

Most of the comments provided by the fathers who rated 1 were short
and they stated that gender did not matter in their efforts to be a good father.
A few examples of the comments are “I really don’t see it being a factor” (#5m),
“Gender has no influence” (#12m), “It doesn’t matter. I have a boy and a girl. I
take them both fishing, we all play football or we all play with Barbies” (#19m),
and “Gender does not make any difference to me” (#21m).-

Fathers who rated higher tended to provide a more detailed

explanation. Two fathers who rated 6 indicated that they feel more

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comfortable parenting their sons than daughters as they know more about
them and more to share with them. One father who rated 6 indicated that
because boys and girls have goals and outlooks that were influenced by their
genders, they needed to be treated differently. Responses of these fathers are
provided in the following as they are expressive of their honest feelings about
their fathering experience.

“I spend more time with my son. Because he likes sports like I do. I
gravitate to do more with him. I try to play games with my daughter, but it
seems more difficult to play for extended time” (#4m). “I would not know as
much about a girl and her needs” (#7m). “There is definite difference between
boys and girls so they do need to be treated differently. On the surface they
need to be treated equally because they blow when they are not. However,
they have different goals and outlooks that are influenced by their genders”
(#17 m).

Respondent #15m who rated 5 indicated the difference in his being
more protective of his daughter than his son. Respondent #2m rated 4 and
stated, “I tend to be a little harder on male children.” Also, one respondent
(#3m) commented that child’s temperament was much more important than
gender

Female parents were asked to rate (1 = Not at all, 7 = Very much) their
perception of influence of their children’s gender on their husbands’ efforts to

be a good father. Their ratings ranged from 1 to 7 (mean = 2.61, SD = 2.083).

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While slightly more than 50% (12/23) of these mothers rated 1, 21.7% (5/23)
rated 5 or higher. Their ratings did not seem to be related to their children’s
gender or age.

Some of the mothers who rated 1 provided no comments and those who
provided comments tended to be short, which stated that either gender does
not make any difference to them or their husbands were equally good fathers
to both their sons and daughters. Some of the examples of the comments by
the mothers who rated 1 on their perception of their husbands’ efforts in being
a good father are as follows; “My husband has been very consistent in treating
our girls and our son the same. All rules apply the same” (#10. “My husband is
an equally good father to my son and daughter” (#120. “It does not affect him
at all. They are treated equally” (#190.

Mothers who rated 5 or higher tended to provide a more detailed
explanation. For instance, response by Respondent #4f who rated 7 was 135
words long, which expressed that her husband was much tougher and less
affectionate with, and very critical of their son, due to his seeing a great
potential in their son, while their daughter was the father’s princess who
could do no wrong in his eyes. Her husband, as introduced previously, also
rated high (rating = 6) and commented that he spent more time with his son
than with his daughter.

The other four mothers who rated 5 or higher had children of only one

gender in the family ('IVvo families had sons only and the other two had only

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daughters). Respondent #11f (rating = 7) has two sons and no daughter but
thought that her husband loved to play boy games such as wrestling, riding
bikes, and playing with cars. Respondent #13f (rating = 6) who has one son
also thought that her husband did more with their son because he was a boy
and thought that her husband would play less frequently if they had a
daughter. Respondent #20f (rating = 5) who has two daughters and no son
thought that her husband would be more involved and play more if they had a
son. It is interesting, however, that all but one of the husbands of these four
mothers rated 1 or 2 and stated that gender of their children did not matter.
It was found that the majority of parents, both fathers and mothers, in
this study thought that gender of their children did not influence paternal
parenting. This is inconsistent with the findings of previous studies that
indicated more father involvement with sons than with daughters (Manlove &
Vernon-Feagans, 2002; Harris & Morgan, 1991). However, approximately one
quarter of the parents in this study perceived that their children’s gender
influenced paternal parenting and their comments confirmed more father
involvement with sons than daughters as stated in the previous studies
(Manlove & Vernon-Feagans, 2002; Harris & Morgan, 1991).
Summary

This chapter included the findings related to each research question

introduced in Chapter 1. By analyzing the participants’ survey responses,

good father views of the fathers as well as those of the mothers, differences

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and similarities between the views of the fathers and those of the mothers,
factors associated with the fathers’ efforts in being a good father, and
consistency between the findings of this study and current literature were
presented. The next chapter presents discussion, implications, and limitations

of this study.

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CHAPTER V
DISCUSSION

The following sections summarize, discuss, and draw conclusions about
the findings provided in the previous chapter. The implications of the findings
and the limitations of this study are also discussed.

Theoretical Perspectives

Ecological perspectives were utilized in conceptualization and
construction of this study. Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory
(Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1997) emphasizes, along with the multilevel
systems (microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem) in identifying
environmental factors, impact of proximal processes, stable continuous
interaction involving the developing person within the microsystem. It also
emphasizes contribution of biological factors of the developing person, such as
ethnicity, age, and temperament. These elements and the general systems
components (structural, dynamic, governing, information processing,
interrelationship, disruptive, and life process components) which were
incorporated into an ecological perspective proposed by Griffore and Phenice
(2001) were taken into consideration in focusing on factors to be examined as
well as in the process of data analysis and understanding of the findings.

When focusing on the father, marital relationships and spousal
supportiveness are examples of proximal processes. The father’s work and the

direct source of information related to his fathering efforts belong to the

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microsystem, mother (his wife)child relationship belongs to the mesosystem,
mother (his wife)'her father relationship belongs to the exosystem, and
sociocultural influences such as gender-neutral views belong to the
macrosystem. Father characteristics identified and categorized into the
prerequisites for being a good father category as well as age of the father are
part of the biological factors.

The number of children in the family and the family structure such as
whether there is a stepchild in the family are examples of structural
components. Communication and learning experience mentioned by some of
the participants are information processing components. Interdependence and
supportive actions mentioned by the participants in this study are considered
as interrelationship components and inflexible work schedule and
disagreement on parenting practice between the father and the mother in the
family as disruptive components. Comments expressed by the participants
that belonged to the expressed affection category are examples of dynamic
components. Change in work conditions and family size are considered to be
life process components.

Utilization of these perspectives enabled the data analysis process to be
multi'level which helped identify interrelatedness among the factors. For
instance, utilizing the bioecological perspective, in examining female parents’
good father views, past experience with her own father, a proximal process for

the mother, was found to be influential in how she constructed what it meant

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to be a good father as well as her expectations of her. husband as being a good
father. In examining factors influencing fathers’ efforts in being a good father,
quality of marital relationships, outcome of the impact of the proximal process,
was found to be influential in how the fathers perceive their competence in
being a good father.

When utilizing an alternative ecological perspective, participants’
responses contained comments belonging to all six general systems
components. The focus of analysis, however, was on dynamic, information
processing, interrelationship and disruptive components. Some participants
mentioned the importance of paternal love and having been able to reserve
physical and mental energy for father involvement after a long working day.
These are dynamic component factors influencing paternal parenting.
Comments by some fathers related to fathers’ perception that indicated
positive impact of collaborative marital relationships and mutual
supportiveness on their fathering efforts are examples of interrelationship
components. Disruptive components include factors perceived by the
participants to have hindered them in pursuing to be good fathers, such as
work responsibilities that interrupted them from engaging in father roles and
work overload due to multiple roles fathers were expected to play.

These findings suggest that factors associated with paternal parenting
are multilevel as well as multicategorical and these factors are interrelated.

The following section discusses and summarizes the findings related to good

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father views.
Good Father Views

Good father views were examined for both fathers and mothers in
relation to how they described what it meant to be a good father. As a result of
the analysis that focused on the descriptive content of the comments (the
meaning of verbally expressed ideas) in the participants’ responses, eight
categories emerged; involvement, mentor, guardian, childcenteredness,
expressed affection, prerequisites for being a good father, caretaker, and
parental equality. Two of these eight categories (caretaker and parental
equality) were identified only in the responses of the mothers. It seems that
the mothers’ views were more likely to be multicategorical than those of the
fathers.

Multicategoricalness of the good father views suggested by the
participants in this study is consistent with the good father views previously
proposed by many scholars (e.g., Doherty, Kouneski, & Erickson, 1998;
McAdoo, 1993).

In regard to quality of parenting, two views exist in current literature.
While one school of thought suggests that parenting needs to be only good
enough (Scarr, 1992; Harris, 1998), the other school suggests that parents
need to strive to be as good as they could possibly be (Hannush, 2002;
Dollahite & Hawkins, 1998). However, all the respondents in this study

shared the view that parents need to try their best to be as good a parent as

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they could possibly be.

Some of the comment categories emerged in the analysis process in this
study were not identical to classifications of father roles or good father views
discussed in previous studies. However, examination of the components of
each category, suggested the findings in this study were comparable with
what has been available in current literature. Importance of father
involvement, suggested by many researchers (e.g., Offer, 2003; Stom, et. al.,
2000; Palkovitz, 2002), were shared with both the fathers and the mothers in
this study. Parental roles traditionally associated with father responsibilities
previously suggested, such as provider (Miller-Sober, 1997), protector
(Diamond, 1997), and disciplinarian (Holland, 1994), were also found in this
study.

Ideas similar to the comments identified in this study that belonged to
the childcenteredness and the expressed affection categories were also
mentioned in the previous studies (e.g., Holland, 1994; Summers et. al., 2006).
However, while these ideas were central to some of the parents, particularly
female parents, in this study, it does not seem to be part of the major
components of the good father views proposed and encouraged by many
scholars at the moment. It is possible that parents, especially female parents,
as part of their good father views becoming multicategorical, increasingly
perceive it is critically important for parents to provide their children

emotional support by expressing their parental love. According to the

88

participants’ responses regarding their past experience with their own fathers,
it is also possible that these parents wished their fathers to be more
expressive of their parental love and hope to make sure that they as parents
provide and clearly express ample parental love to their children.

Comments equally prevalent among the parents of both genders
belonged to the prerequisites for being a good father category. Fathers as well
as mothers thought it important for a father to have acquired sufficient
knowledge related to child development and also personality traits such as
patience and open-mindedness. This View is congruous with what Sclafani
(2004) suggested.

Some responses included comments in the parental equality category
that emphasized that there should be no difference between mothering and
fathering, the idea supportive of the gender-neutral parenting approach
proposed by Deutsch (1999). Mothers who contained comments in the
caretaker category also emphasized the importance of a father actively
participating in traditionally viewed maternal tasks such as feeding milk and
changing diapers. However, these views were expressed only by the female
respondents. Sociocultural changes that have taken place in our society, such
as gender'equality, feminist perspectives, and dual-earner families, may have
impacted mothers’ views of what a good father should be like.

It was also revealed that while fathers considered parental roles

traditionally associated with fathers, such as provider or protector, as an

89

important part of their paternal responsibilities; mothers, though they did
include these roles as part of father responsibilities, tended to view that it is
more important for fathers to be involved in their children’s everyday life and
being expressive of their love than being a major provider in the family.
Fathers may be aware of their spousal views that stress the importance of
paternal involvement. However, they seem to struggle to meet their spousal
expectations due to being a major provider being central to their good father
views.

Both the fathers and mothers shared a large part of their good father
views. However, what they thought of as central to their views were not the
same. While the fathers expressed the mentor and the guardian category as
being a very important part of their father responsibilities, the mothers’ views
were more child-centered, and being expressive of parental love and actively
involved in their children’s upbringing were more important elements for a
father to strive to be a good father.

Factors Associated with Paternal Parenting

The findings indicate that fathers in this study were likely to view that
one of the key influential elements on their paternal parenting efforts was
whether or not they were able to find ample time and energy for their children
to satisfy multiple father roles while they try to fulfill a provider role, as they
tended to see a provider role as one of the key roles even if their spouses

worked fulltime. This finding is consistent with the literature by Miller-Scher

90

(1997) that a traditionally expected father role as a provider remains to be the
important paternal roles. Unless gender-neutral, parental equality becomes
more popular, it may be difficult for fathers not to view themselves as a major
provider in the family.

Numerous studies have described spousal influence on paternal
parenting (e.g., Beitel & Parke, 1998; Bonney, Kelley, & Levant, 1999; De
Luccie, 1995). The findings in this study also indicate that spousal factors
were associated with fathers’ efforts to be a good father. Fathers who
perceived their spouses to be supportive of their trying to be good fathers were
likely to perceive themselves to be successful fathers. Mothers in this study
reported that their good father views were heavily influenced by their
childhood experience with their own fathers, based on which they constructed
their expectations of their husbands’ roles as a father. Mothers who respect
gender-neutral parenting practice are very likely to expect their husbands to
be actively involved in parenting behaviors traditionally associated with
mothers, such as changing diapers, feeding and reading a bedtime story.
Fathers who are neglectful of these tasks would, therefore, receive poor
evaluation.

As presented in the previous chapter, it was also revealed that two
couples who scored the highest in the good father evaluation rating also
scored the highest on the marital quality rating and five couples who scored

the lowest on the good father evaluation rating also scored the lowest on the

91

marital quality rating. Qualitative comments provided by the respondents
whose ratings were low were reflective of their low ratings. These results
suggest that quality of marital relationships was associated with fathers’
perception of their competence in being a good father as well as their spouses’
perception of their husbands’ for being a good father. This is also consistent
with current literature that stated quality of marital relationships as a factor
that influenced paternal parenting (e.g., De Luccie, 1995; Mansfield, 2005;
Bumpass, 1990; Harris & Morgan, 1991; Bradford, 2002; Coiro & Emery,
1998; Doherty, Kouneski, & Erickson, 1998). These findings indicate that
fathers’ perception of themselves as being a good father is linked to several
spousal factors. Therefore, it is critically important to take spousal factors into
consideration when examining paternal parenting.

Also examined was impact of father identity on fathers’ efforts to be a
good father. More than 80% (11/ 13) of the fathers perceived themselves as
successful fathers when they rated high for their consciously giving a thought
to what it means to be a good father. This is consistent with previous research
findings that reported associations between father identity and parenting
(Christiansen & Palkovitz, 1998; Miller-Sober, 1997). Considering the fact
that parenting skills need to be acquired since they are not instinctive in
nature (Smith, 2005), it seems reasonable to assume that fathers’ efforts and
competence in being a good father are related to their having thought

consciously of what it means to be a good father.

92

According to the findings on impact of child’s gender on fathering
efforts, the majority of the parents, both the fathers and the mothers in this
study perceived that their children’s gender had no influence on paternal
parenting. This is incongruous with the findings of previous studies that
suggested that fathers were likely to be more involved with their sons than
daughters (Manlove & Vernon-Feagans, 2002; Harris & Morgan, 1991). Being
consistent with the findings in the previous studies, some fathers as well as
mothers in this study, though not many, reported their views that gender of
their children influenced the fathers’ efforts to be a good father. It may be
possible that many fathers, knowing the tendency that they are likely to be
more involved with their sons, consciously try to treat both sons and
daughters equally. Also, there may be other factors that were not considered
in this study, such as parents’ age, education level, ethnicity, and past
experience, that might be related to the difference revealed in this study
regarding the participants’ perception on impact of child’s gender on fathers’
parenting efforts.

Multiple factors were revealed to be influential to paternal parenting.
Some fathers focused on their own personality and work conditions, while
others focused on marital relationships and spousal supportiveness. Although
perception of the participants on the influential factors varied to some extent,
it is believed that it is very important for the findings in this study related to

factors influencing paternal parenting to be incorporated when examining

93

what it means to be a good father.
Implications of the Findings

This study revealed that good father views described by the parents,
both the fathers and the mothers, were multicategorical. Some parents
thought it important to be involved and being a role model, while others
thought it important to be a provider and well informed of developmental
needs of the child. Still others thought it critical for parents to love their
children unconditionally and being expressive of their parental love. However,
the degree of multicategoricalness of their views varied. While there were
eight categories identified in descriptions of good father views, good father
views of the majority of the parents contained three or four categories.
Introducing a variety of good father views would help parents broaden their
views, which would help them become more competent parents who are well
aware of multiple responsibilities they are expected to take.

It was revealed that there were some differences in good father views
between fathers and mothers. Also revealed was influence of spousal factors
on paternal parenting, such as spousal supportiveness on and evaluation of
her husband in his efforts to be a good father. What is expected of a father
changes along with various social and cultural changes. The findings in this
study are reflective of voices of fathers and mothers who consciously try to be
good parents. It is believed that introducing these findings to those who serve

as advocates of quality of family life and parenting, such as social workers,

94

counselors, and educators, would enable them in providing appropriate
support to fathers who strive to be better fathers as well as mothers who
desire their spouses to become better fathers. It is children in the end, who
benefit having parents, who are willing to improve themselves for the
happiness of their children.

Limitations of this Study
Considering that this study is qualitative in nature, the sample size (46
parents) may not be extremely small. However, a larger sample size would
have allowed more diversity in ethnicity, age, and educational background of
the participants. Due to ethnic homogeneity (more than 80% identified
themselves as Euro-American), views of ethnic minority parents may not have
been well described. Educational backgrounds of the respondents did not seem
to represent the population either, as more than 60% (28/46) of the
participants had bachelor’s degree or higher.

Respecting the anonymity of the respondents, the age was asked in
groups (such as 2446 years old, 37 '49 years old, etc.), which restricted age
related analysis. The same was true for the respondents’ incomes. Had the
more detailed demographic information been available, these factors might
have played a more active role in analyzing the data.

This study was designed to examine good father views of parents of
intact families. However, taking into consideration that there are many other

family forms, it is important to include views of fathers and mothers in

95

non'intact families, as their views as well as challenges could be quite
different from those from two-parent families. It is the researcher’s aim to find
an opportunity to collect data from respondents of diverse families and
incorporate their views into the findings in this study.

Each response was no more than several sentences and the sample size
was fairly small. Therefore, use of computer software for qualitative analysis
such as NVivo was not utilized. With an increased data set in the future,
however, it would be possible to utilize NVivo for data analysis, as it allows
matrix analyses as well as graphic presentations of model building,

Conclusions

Descriptions of a good father provided by the participants in this study
were diverse. Responses of 46 participants (23 fathers and 23 mothers) that
described their good father views were analyzed, as a result of which eight
categories emerged. The fathers and the mothers in this study shared most of
these categories in their views. However, there were also differences between
the fathers and the mothers in what categories they valued over the others.
Considering the spousal influence on paternal parenting, it is important to be
aware of the differences in how the fathers and the mothers define what it
means to be a good father.

Although there were fathers who expressed the importance of being
involved in their children’s lives and expressive of their paternal love, it

seemed to be more popular for the fathers in this study to view the ideas and

96

roles belonging to the mentor and the guardian categories more important.
There were mothers who included in their responses comments belonging to
the mentor and the guardian categories. However, it was found that there
were many more mothers who included comments belonging to the
involvement and the childcenteredness categories. Being expressive of
parental love was also emphasized more by the mothers than the fathers. To
be openly expressive of loving their children is not good enough. Fathers need
to make sure their paternal love was clearly understood by their children.
This view, though similar ideas were mentioned previously (Holland, 1994;
Summers et. al., 2006), does not seem to have been central to the good father
views previously proposed. It may be possible that this is one of the ideas
focused to be important due to societal and cultural changes that have taken
place in our society in recent years.

Factors examined in this study that were associated with paternal
parenting include father identity, spousal supportiveness, marital
relationships, and child’s gender. Spousal supportiveness, marital
relationships, and father identity were likely to be perceived by the
participants in this study to be influential in fathers’ efforts to be a good father.
These findings were congruous with the findings in the previous studies (e.g.,
Beitel & Parke, 1998; Mansfield, 2005; Christiansen & Palkovitz, 1998). While
current literature stated that children’s gender influenced paternal parenting

(Manlove & Vernon-Feagans, 2002; Harris & Morgan, 1991), the majority of

97

the participants in this study, both the fathers and the mothers reported
otherwise.

These findings cannot be generalized to the general population.
However, ideas and experiences expressed by the participants in this study
are valuable resources for constructing what it means to be a good father. Also,
utilization of ecological theories in this study allowed the findings to be useful
in broader contexts. Examination of human ecosystems made it possible to
focus on ecological processes, the findings of which, such as the patterns of
interaction in a family system, are believed to be applicable beyond
demographics and social residence of the participants in this study.

It is believed that dissemination of the findings in this study to social
service professionals would support them in helping parents to be more
competent in raising their children.

Time was the most popular element both the fathers and the mothers in
this study perceived to be the key for fathers in their efforts to be a good father.
Being well aware of multiple roles they are expected to play, fathers in this
study struggled to find time and energy to be with their children while
fulfilling a provider role. For some fathers, it is one of their aims to be
successful professionally, which tended to create conflict in them, as it also
takes extra time and energy to strive professionally while maintaining to be
an involved father. As fathers are expected to play more and more roles and to

be in charge of multiple tasks, it becomes crucially important for a father to

98

learn to cleverly allocate his limited time and energy to satisfy all the
expected roles and tasks while maintaining high quality of marital
relationships. This, however, must not be an easy goal to accomplish, as a
father is expected to be good at all these tasks. To be a good father may be
becoming more and more difficult, as a father must strive to be a Jack of all

trades and also master in all of them.

99

'T'

OFFICE OF
REGULATORY
AFFAIRS

Human Research
Protection Programs

BIOMEDICAL & HEALTH
INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW
BOARD (BIRB)

comuurrv RESEARCH
msnrunorut REVIEW
some tCRIRBl

SOCIAL scenes
BEHAVIORAL I eoucmou
INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW
some Isms)

202 Olds Hall

East Lansing. Michigan
48824-1046
517—355-2180

Fax: 517-432-4503

mhumanresearchmsuedu
SIRE & BIRB: lRB@msu.edu
CRIRB: crim@msuedu

MSU is an affirmative-action
cowl-opporrnnm' institution.

 

s .

APPENDIX A
MICHIGAN STATE

 

UNIVERSITY InitiallRB

Application
Ma, 4, 2007 Determination
T02 Robert Griffore *Exem pt*

116 Human Ecology

Re: IRB It X07473 Category: EXEMPT 4
Approval Date: May 3, 2007

Title: VIEWS OF A GOOD FATHER: ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES

The Institutional Review Board has completed their review of your project. I am pleased to advise you that your
project has been deemed as exempt in accordance with federal regulations.

The IRB has found that your research project meets the criteria for exempt status and the criteria for the
protection of human subjects in exempt research. Under our exempt policy the Principal Investigator
assumes the reaponaibilltlee tor the protection of human aubjecte in this project as outlined in the
assurance letter and exempt educational material. The IRB office has received your signed assurance for
exempt research. A copy of this signed agreement is appended for your information and records.

Renewals: Exempt protocols do m1 need to be renewed lithe project is completed. please submit an
Application for Permanent Closure

Revisions: Exempt protocols do M require revisions. However. if changes are made to a protocol that may
no longer meet the exempt criteria, a new initial application will be required.

Problems: If issues should arise during the conduct of the research. such as unanticipated problems, adverse
events. or any problem that may increase the risk to the human subjects and change the category of revrew.

notify the IRB office promptly. Any complaints from participants regarding the risk and benefits of the project
must be reported to the IRB.

Follow-up: If your exempt project is not completed and closed after threg ygars, the IRB office will contact you
regarding the status of the project and to verify that no changes have occurred that may affect exempt status.

Please use the IRB number listed above on any forms submitted which relate to this project, or on any
correspondence with the IRB office.

Good luck in your research. If we can be of further assistance. please contact us at 517-355-2180 or via email
at lRBQmsgegg. Thank you for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

we.

Peter Vasilenko, PhD.

SIRS Chair
c: Mikiyasu Hakoyama
1000 E. Preston

Mt. Pleasant. MI 48858

100

APPENDIX B

CMU

CENTRAL MICHIGAN
UNIVERSITY

 

(F or Male Parent)
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A GOOD FATHER?

Reason for Survey

Although there have been many studies about parenting, more of this work has focused on the role of
mothers than fathers. As a result, there is less information available to understand the experiences and
challenges of fathers. This study is, therefore, designed to increase understanding of what it means to be a
good father and what makes it difficult for fathers to be successful in their efforts.

The results from this study will be disemminated to professionals in the field and a summary will
also be shared with both the participants and the staff of the H60 Laboratory. It is our hope that everyone
will find the results interesting and will have a chance to see how their perspectives and experiences of
fatherhood compare -— helping fathers be more aware and effective in their parenting roles.

This is an anonymous survey and all questions have been worded to minimize identifying any
individual persons or families. Copies of the completed surveys will only be reviwed by members of the
research team.

Directions

There are two copies of the suvey - one for a male parent and one for a female parent. Each is
enclosed in a separate envelope. You and your spouse/partner will be answering similar questions focused
on perceptions of the father role. Please M sure that you are completing the correct surng The survey
should take approximately IO-20 minutes to complete. Once the surveys are completed, please make sure
that each is sealed and placed back into the larger envelop and returned to the box in the Human Growth
and Development Laboratory. Although there is no specific due date for the survey, please complete and
return both surveys as soon as possible, hopefully within 1-2 weeks, so as not to lose or misplace your
copies.

Surveys may be completed with either a pen or pencil. Neat writing is appreciated. There are no right
or wrong answers and we appreciate your honest thoughts and answers. If you would like more space to
answer a question, please continue on the back of the page. Also remember that you do not have to answer
any question that you do not want to. Please do not discuss your responses with your spouse/partner before
answers questions. Remember that this is an anonymous survey, so please DO NOT write your name or
address on neither this survey nor envelope.

Should you have any questions regarding this survey, please feel free to contact either:

 

Helen Hagens, Ph.D. OR Miki Hakoyama

Director, Human Growth & 243 Powers Hall
Development Laboratory Central Michigan University

I67 Wightman Hall c-mail: hakovlm@cmich.cdu

Central Michigan University
Phone: 989-774-3075

PS. We hope the enclosed packages of hot chocolate will help you relax while you complete the
survey! Thank you for your help with this project.

101

For Male Parent
1. There are many different opinions about fatherhood and what a “good” father should be. In your
own words, please describe what you think a “good” father should be like.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. As you reflect on yourself as a father, how good of a father would you say that you are?
(Please circle the number.)
Not at all Good Somewhat Good Very Good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Please explain why you give yourself this rating:

 

 

 

 

3. Where do you think your ideas of what it means to be a good father have come from? (What
has influenced your perception of what it means to be a good father?)

 

 

 

 

 

102

4. From your perspective, what makes it difficult for you to be as good a father as you would like

to be?

 

 

 

 

5. How do you think your spouse/partner rates you as a “good” father?
Not at all Good Somewhat Good Very Good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Please explain:

 

 

 

6. How supportive would you say your spouse/partner is in your efforts to be a good father?
Not at all Good Somewhat Good Very Good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Please explain:

 

 

 

7. How do you rate the overall quality of your relationship with your spouse/partner?
Not at all Good Somewhat Good Very Good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Please explain:

 

 

 

103

8. How do you think your spouse/partner’s employment status (hours, flexibility, stress level,
etc.) influence either her in supporting you or you in your own efforts to be a good father?

 

 

 

 

9. How would you say your relationship was with your own father?
Not Good at all Somewhat Good Very Good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Please explain how this might have influenced you in your effort to be a good father:

 

 

 

 

10. Do you think your children’s gender influences you in your efforts to be a good father?
Not at all Somewhat Very much

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Please explain how gender and/or other factors related to your child might affect you to be a

good father:

 

 

 

 

104

l 1. Prior to taking this survey, how much thought have you ever given to what it means to be a
“good” father?
Not at all Somewhat Very much

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Please explain:

 

 

 

 

*****************************##3##***************************************

Background Information (to help describe the participants in this study)
12. How old are you? a. 23 and under b. 24-36 c.37-49 (1. 50+
13. What is your ethnicity? a. African American b. Native American c. Hispanic

(1. Asian e. Euro-American f. other

 

14. How long have you been married/lived together with the present spouse/partner?
a. 0-5 yrs b. 6-10 yrs c. 11-15 yrs d. 16-20 yrs e. 21-25 yrs f. 26+
15. How many children ? __ 16. Gender of your children?
17. Age range of your children?_____
18.. Are your children your natural, biological children?

Yes No If no, please explain:

 

 

19. On a typical work week, how many hours do you put into your employed work including
commuting hours?
a.0 b. 1-10 c.11-20 d.21-30 e.31-40 f.41-50 g.51-60 h. 60+
20. What is your approximate individual annual gross income?
a. less than $20,000 b. $20,000 -$40,000 c. $40,001 $60,000 (1. over $60,000
21. What is the highest level of formal education that you have completed?
a. some high school b. high school graduate c. some college d. college graduate

e. master’s/post bachelor’s training f. advanced graduate degree

End. Thank you very much for your cooperation.

105

CMU

CENTRAL MICHIGAN
UNIVERSITY

 

(For Female Parent)
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A GOOD FATHER?

Reason for Survey

Although there have been many studies about parenting, more of this work has focused on the role of
mothers than fathers. As a result, there is less information available to understand the experiences and
challenges of fathers. This study is, therefore, designed to increase understanding of what it means to be a
good father and what makes it difficult for fathers to be successful in their efforts.

The results from this study will be disemminated to professionals in the field and a summary will
also be shared with both the participants and the staff of the HGD Laboratory. It is our hope that everyone
will find the results interesting and will have a chance to see how their perspectives and experiences of
fatherhood compare — helping fathers be more aware and effective in their parenting roles.

This is an anonymous survey and all questions have been worded to minimize identifying any
individual persons or families. Copies of the completed surveys will only be reviwed by members of the
research team.

Directions

There are two copies of the suvey — one for a male parent and one for a female parent. Each is
enclosed in a separate envelope. You and your spouse/partner will be answering similar questions focused
on perceptions of the father role. Please make sure that you are completing the correct surveL The survey
should take approximately lO-20 minutes to complete. Once the surveys are completed, please make sure
that each is sealed and placed back into the larger envelop and returned to the box in the Human Growth
and Development Laboratory. Although there is no specific due date for the survey, please complete and
return both surveys as soon as possible, hopeflly within 1-2 weeks, so as not to lose or misplace your copies.

Surveys may be completed with either a pen or pencil. Neat writing is appreciated. There are no right
or wrog answers and we appreciate your honest thoughts and answers. If you would like more space to
answer a question, please continue on the back of the page. Also remember that you do not have to answer
any question that you do not want to. Please do not discuss your responses with your spouse/partner before
answers questions. Remember that this is an anonymous survey, so please DO NOT write your name or
address on neither this survey nor envelope.

Should you have any questions regarding this survey, please feel free to contact either:

 

Helen Hagens, Ph.D. OR Miki Hakoyama

Director, Human Growth & 243 Powers Hall
Development Laboratory Central Michigan University

167 Wightman Hall e-mail: mikoyl mGEcmichedu

Central Michigan University
Phone: 989-774-3075

PS. We hope the enclosed packages of hot chocolate will help you relax while you complete the
survey! Thank you for your help with this project.

106

For Female Parent
1. There are many different opinions about fatherhood and what a “good” father

should be. In your own words, please describe what you think a “good” father
should be like.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. As you reflect on your spouse/partner as a father, how good of a father would you say that he
is? (Please circle the number.)
Not at all Good Somewhat Good Very Good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Please explain why you give him this rating:

 

 

 

 

3. Where do you think your ideas of what it means to be a good father have come from? (What
has influenced your perception of what it means to be a good father?)

 

 

 

 

 

107

4. From your perspective, what makes it difficult for your spouse/partner to be as good a father as
he would like to be?

 

 

 

 

5. How do you think your spouse/partner rates himself as a “good” father?
Not at all Good Somewhat Good Very Good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Please explain:

 

 

 

6. How supportive would you say you are in your spouse/partner’s efforts to be a good father?
Not at all Good Somewhat Good Very Good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Please explain:

 

 

 

7. How do you rate the overall quality of your relationship with your spouse/partner?
Not at all Good Somewhat Good Very Good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Please explain:

 

 

 

108

8. How do you think your employment status (hours, wages, content, stress, flexibility, etc.)
influence you in supporting your spouse/partner’s effort to be a good father?

 

 

 

 

9. How would you say your relationship was with your own father?
Not Good at all Somewhat Good Very Good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Please explain how it might have influenced you in your expectation on your spouse/partner as a

father:

 

 

 

 

10. Do you think your children’s gender influences your spouse/partner in his efforts to be a good
father?
Not at all Somewhat Very much

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Please explain how gender and/or other factors related to your child might affect your

spouse/partner to be a good father:

 

 

 

 

109

1 1. Prior to taking this survey, how much thought have you ever given to what it means to be a :
“good” father? iv-
Not at all Somewhat Very much

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

 

Please explain:

 

 

 

 

******************It***********************************************************

Background Information (to help describe the participants in this study)
12. How old are you? a. 23 and under b. 24-36 c.37-49 d. 50+
13. What is your ethnicity? a. African American b. Native American c. Hispanic

(1. Asian e. Euro-American f. other

 

14. How long have you been married/lived together with the present spouse/partner?
a. 0-5 yrs b. 6-10 yrs c. 11-15 yrs (1. 16-20 yrs e. 21-25 yrs f. 26+
15. How many children ? __ 16. Gender of your children?
17. Age range of your children?_____
18.. Are your children your natural, biological children?

Yes No If no, please explain:

 

19. On a typical work week, how many hours do you put into your employed work including
commuting hours?
a. 0 b. 1-10 c.11-20 d. 21-30 e. 31-40 f. 41-50 g. 51-60 h. 60+
20. What is your approximate individual annual gross income?
a. less than $20,000 b. $20,000 ~$40,000 c. $40,001 -$60,000 (1. over $60,000
21. What is the highest level of formal education that you have completed?
b. some high school b. high school graduate c. some college (1. college graduate

e. master’s/post bachelor’s training f. advanced graduate degree

End. Thank you very much for your cooperation.

110

REFERENCES

Agronick, G. S. (2001). Do fathers matter? Women’s relationships with their
fathers and mothers in adulthood. Dissertation Abstracts
In terna tional-‘ Section B-' The Sciences & Engineering, 61, 387 6.

Ainsworth, M. D. S. (1973). The development of infant-mother attachment. In
B. M. Caldwell & H. N. Ricciuti (Eds), Review of Child Development
Research, Vol. 3. Chicago, IL1 University of Chicago Press.

Ainsworth, M. S. (197 9). Infant-mother attachment. American Psychologist,
34, 932937.

Ainsworth, M. S. (1991). An ethological approach to personality development.
American Psychologist, 46', 333-341.

Ainsworth, M. S. (1989). Attachment beyond infancy. American Psychologist,
44, 709-716.;

Ainsworth, M. S. (1993). Attachment as related to mother'infant interaction.
Advances in Infancy Research, 8, 150.

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