Paternal Self-Efficacy and Father Involvement: A Bi-Directional Relationship

Background and Purpose:  Research has excluded fathers from most parenting self-efficacy studies (Prinz & Jones, 2005).  Recent interest in paternal self-efficacy has discovered that father involvement within the first 3 months of a child’s life appears to contribute to fathering confidence as well as maternal perceptions of paternal self-efficacy (Tremblay & Pierce, 2012).  A recent study of Israeli fathers indicates that paternal self-efficacy may be a significant predictor of involvement especially during challenging times (Pagorek-Eshel & Dekel, 2015).  These studies would suggest a bi-directional relationship between father confidence and involvement.  Other factors identified to have an impact in father involvement include co-parenting alliance, relationship satisfaction, and income earner status.  While these factors appear to be important for father interventions, a looming question remains about the relationship between paternal self-efficacy and these relational factors.  This study examines the relationship of paternal self-efficacy with father involvement by comparing factors of father involvement including self-efficacy, co-parenting alliance, relationship satisfaction and earner status surveyed from both maternal and paternal observations.

Method:  Researcher conducted a cross sectional mixed methods study of perceptions of father involvement with contact of 37 social service agencies across the United States.  Mothers and fathers (n=191) provided answers to electronic surveys about their observations of father involvement and relationship factors.  Non-resident and same sex couples were included in the sample.  Surveys consisted of five previously validated scales to measure the impact of paternal self-efficacy, co-parenting alliance, relationship satisfaction, partner support for fathering, expectations of involvement, and demographics on actual father involvement. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine factors predicting high and low paternal self-efficacy and greater involvement.

Results:    Results indicate a bi-directional relationship between paternal self-efficacy and father involvement.  Results from the first paper indicate that father involvement was a significant predictor for parents reporting high paternal self-efficacy (Wald (df = 1) = 9.60, ES = 4.21, p =.002).  Additionally, the discrepancy between expectations for involvement and actual involvement were associated with lower levels of paternal self-efficacy (rs = -.355, p < .001) when expectations are greater than involvement.  Results from the second paper indicate predictors of father involvement included paternal self-efficacy (Wald_{(df = 1)} = 10.68, ES = 2.431, p = .001), co-parenting alliance (Wald_{(df = 1)} = 3.810, ES = 1.848, p = .05) and unemployment (Wald_{(df = 1)} = 5.461, ES = .092, p = .02).  Relationship satisfaction was not found to be a predictor of father involvement.    

Conclusion:  Overall, these results suggest that there is a significant relationship between paternal self-efficacy and father involvement. Fathers with high confidence were more than three times as likely to be involved and fathers who were involved were twice as likely to have more confidence.  While co-parenting alliance and earner status were predictors of father involvement, fathering confidence appeared to have greater impact.  Greater expectations of involvement with lower levels of actual involvement appear to impact fathering confidence.  The results identify paternal self-efficacy as a key factor for intervention to increase involvement and child outcomes.