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FATHERS’ AND MOTHERS’ PABENTIN G DUIUNG THE FIRST THREE YEABS: PREDICTORS AND CORRELATES

Sarah C. Mangelsdo~, Cynthia A. Frosch, and Jean L. McHale

Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL 6 1820

For many years, tithers were virtually ignored in the study of young children’s so&i-emotional development. Begin&g in the 1970’s, researchers began to explore father-child relationships as important influences on chil~‘s fimctioning. Early &dings indicated that &hers could be as sensitive as mothers (Parke 0 Sawin, 1976), and that children do form attachment relationships with their fathers (Lamb, 1977). Models of parenting based on maternal behavior (e.g., Beckwith, 1990; Belsky, 1984) suggest that factors as family history, personality, and marital quality are related to parenting competence. Yet, it is unclear the extent to which these same factors arc also relevant for the quality of paternal behavior during the first years of life. Moreover, we know relatively little about how paternal behavior is related to later socioemotional development. Thus, the goals of the current investigation were to examine whether the correlates of parenting competence were similar for &hers and mothers, whether maternal and paternal behavior was stable over time, and how maternal and paternal behavior during the first 3 years related to preschoolers’ functioning.

One hundred mothers, fathers, and their children participated in this investigation. Parents were observed in their homes during parent-infant play at 6 months, and during a puzzle task at 3 years. Parents completed a series of questionnaires prior to the home visits assessing their personality, self-esteem, marital adjustment, and relationships within their family of origin. Observed marital behavior was also assessed at both 6 months and 3 years. In addition, children’s extemaliig behavior problems were rated by observers inthehomeat3years.

Results indicated significant differences in mothers’ and fathers’ parenting behavior at both 6 months and 3 years. Mothers were rated as more sensitive than fathers at 6 months, and a providing higher quality instruction, more support, and more effective limit setting at 3 years. The correlates of parental behavior also di&red for mothers and &hers. Fathers’ sensitivity was positively associated with positive atfectivity (extroversion), self esteem, and reports of marital adjustment, and negatively associated with negative affectivity (neuroticism). Maternal sensitivity, by comparison, was related to reports of more positive relationships within the family of origin, and to greater observed marital harmony. Examination of the stability of parenting over time revealed that mothers’ behavior was significantly stable over time- sensitivity at 6 months was related to more positive (r = S2, p < .OOl) and less hostile (r = -.61, p< .OOl) parenting at 3 years. There was no stability in the quality of paternal behavior from 6months to three years. Interestingly, both maternal and paternal behavior were predictive of child behavior problems at 3 years. Specifically, maternal sensitivity at 6 months, maternal positive parenting at 3 years, and paternal positive parenting at 3 years, were all negatively related to observers’ ratings of child behavior problems. When exam&d together, mothers’ and fathers parenting jointly explained 35% of the variance in children’s externalizing problems (F = 7.43, p < .OOl), suggesting that both parents contribute to children’s socio- emotional functioning. While these findings suggest stability in maternal parenting behavior, they also underscore the importance of examini ng the correlates and consequences of parenting separately for mothers and fathers.