Faculty Articles

Associations between Father Involvement and Father-Child Attachment Security: Variations Based on Timing and Type of Involvement

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-1-2018

Publication Title

Journal of Family Psychology

Volume

32

Issue/Number

8

First Page

1015

ISSN

1939-1293

Last Page

1024

Abstract/Excerpt

This study examined associations between father involvement and father-child attachment security, and whether those associations differed as a function of timing (workday and nonworkday) and/or type (accessibility, caregiving, and play) of involvement. Eighty father-child dyads participated when children were approximately 3 years old. Fathers completed a time diary interview assessing the various forms of involvement, and attachment was assessed using the Attachment Q-Set (Waters, 1995) following 90 min of father-child observation in the home. On nonworkdays, father involvement in play predicted greater attachment security and involvement in caregiving was marginally associated with greater attachment security. On workdays, father involvement in caregiving was related to greater attachment security, whereas father involvement in play was related to less attachment security. Results were independent of observed paternal sensitivity and relevant demographic covariates. Findings highlight the differential impact of father involvement for the father-child attachment relationship depending on when involvement occurs and what types of activities fathers engage in. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000472

PubMed ID

30299135

Peer Reviewed

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