From Margins to Center: A Content Analysis on the Balance of Paternal Representations in Human Behavior in the Social Environment Textbooks

Background and Purpose: Research consistently shows that a father's involvement plays a significant role in child development, influenced by various familial and ecological systems (Cabrera et al., 2014). However, this involvement often faces skepticism and exclusion in family serving systems, particularly for racial and ethnic minority fathers (Campbell et al., 2015). This gap in recognition and understanding underscores a broader issue within social work education, where paternal contributions are inadequately represented. Such oversight may perpetuate biases in family services, compromising support provided to fathers and their children. Our study seeks to highlight these disparities by examining the representation of fathers compared to mothers in Human Behavior and Social Environment (HBSE) textbooks, aiming to advocate for a more inclusive approach that recognizes the vital role of fathers.

Methods: This study employed a content analysis methodology to examine the prevalence of father-related and mother-related terms in HBSE textbooks. We systematically reviewed a purposive sample of textbooks categorized into three types: lifecycle (6 books), systems (2 books), and theory (2 books). Our analysis focused on quantitatively assessing the frequency of specific terms associated with fathers and mothers across these categories. Each textbook was scanned for occurrences of father-related and mother-related keywords, such as "father," "dad," "mother," and "mom," including their variations and related terms like "fatherhood" and "motherhood." The counts of these terms were then summed and compared across the different textbook categories. This approach allowed us to identify trends and disparities in the representation of fathers versus mothers in HBSE texts.

Results: Results indicate a marked preference for mother-related terms over father-related ones. Across all textbooks, mother-related terminology was used 2,915 times, substantially surpassing the 1,622 instances of father-related terms. Specifically, lifecycle textbooks demonstrated the most pronounced disparity, with mentions of mothers outnumbering fathers by more than a 2:1 ratio, totaling 2,855 mother-related terms to 1,386 father-related mentions. This indicates a significant skew towards maternal references in discussions on development and family dynamics within these texts. Similarly, systems textbooks also maintained the trend of maternal predominance—344 mentions of mother-related terms against 138 father-related mentions. Theory textbooks demonstrated at 3:1 ratio, noting mother-related terms 294 times compared to 98 times for father-related terms. This consistent preference underscores a trend in HBSE textbooks, emphasizing maternal roles while overlooking the diverse influences fathers have in family dynamics and development.

Conclusions and Implications: Our content analysis of HBSE textbooks highlights a notable disparity in the representation of mother-related over father-related terms. This imbalance underscores an implicit bias, potentially influencing social work students' perceptions and understandings of paternal roles in family dynamics and human development. The findings suggest a critical need for a more balanced depiction of fatherhood in HBSE texts used in social work education, emphasizing the unique and significant contributions of fathers to family systems. To better prepare future social workers for engaging effectively with diverse family structures, social work curricula should incorporate a broader spectrum of fatherhood research, including studies that explore the complexities of paternal involvement and its impact on child development.