Dataset Information

Fathers' Paternity Leave-Taking and Children's Perceptions of Father-Child Relationships in the United States.

ABSTRACT: Paternity leave-taking is believed to benefit children by encouraging father-child bonding after a birth and enabling commitments to fathers' engagement. Yet, no known U.S. studies have directly focused on the associations between paternity leave-taking and children's reports of father-child relationships. Understanding the potential consequences of paternity leave-taking in the United States is particularly important given the lack of a national paid parental leave policy. The present study uses five waves of data on 1,319 families, largely socioeconomically disadvantaged, from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to analyze the associations between paternity leave-taking and 9-year-old children's reports of their father-child relationships. We also assess the extent to which these associations are mediated by fathers' engagement, co-parenting quality, parental relationship satisfaction, and fathers' identities. Results indicate that leave-taking, and particularly 2 weeks or more of leave, is positively associated with children's perceptions of fathers' involvement, father-child closeness, and father-child communication. The associations are explained, at least in part, by fathers' engagement, parental relationship satisfaction, and father identities. Overall, results highlight the linked lives of fathers and their children, and they suggest that increased attention on improving opportunities for parental leave in the United States may help to strengthen families by nurturing higher quality father-child relationships.

SUBMITTER: Petts RJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7030161 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Fathers' Paternity Leave-Taking and Children's Perceptions of Father-Child Relationships in the United States.

Petts Richard J RJ Knoester Chris C Waldfogel Jane J

Sex roles 20190504 3-4

Paternity leave-taking is believed to benefit children by encouraging father-child bonding after a birth and enabling commitments to fathers' engagement. Yet, no known U.S. studies have directly focused on the associations between paternity leave-taking and children's reports of father-child relationships. Understanding the potential consequences of paternity leave-taking in the United States is particularly important given the lack of a national paid parental leave policy. The present study use ...[more]

PMID: 32076360

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Project description:Background: During the transition to parenthood, a complex network of relationships unfolds between father, mother and the child. Expectant parents begin bonding with their unborn child, with this antenatal process supposedly being predictive for later postnatal attachment and child mental health. At the same time, couples may experience a change in partnership quality. While the majority of previous studies focused on associations between psychopathology, partnership quality and attachment from the perspective of mothers, the changes in partnership quality and attachment from the perspective of fathers has gained far less attention. Methods: Data were derived from the Maternal Anxiety and it's Relation to Infants' Development (MARI) study. N = 109 expectant fathers were recruited during mid-pregnancy (22 to 26 week of gestation). Lifetime anxiety and depressive disorders (DSM-IV) were assessed with a standardized diagnostic interview (CIDI). Paternal partnership characteristics and father-to-child attachments were assessed using standardized questionnaires at the second trimester, 10 days after delivery and 4 months after delivery in N = 76 fathers. Analyses were based on bivariate, robust and multivariate regression analyses. Results: Fathers did not report an overall decrease in partnership quality during the peripartum period. However, fathers with comorbid anxiety and depressive disorders reported lower partnership satisfaction at postpartum, as compared to unaffected fathers. Fathers with pure depressive disorders reported lower intensity of antenatal attachment. Paternal antenatal partnership quality was positively associated with antenatal father-to-child attachment. Furthermore, antenatal father-to-child attachment, as well as ante- and postnatal partnership quality in fathers, were positively related to postnatal father-to-child attachment. Conclusions: Antenatal father-to-child-attachment and paternal partnership quality appear to be promising targets for the prevention of postnatal attachment problems in fathers. The associations between partnership quality and attachment to the child further support an interpersonal approach in perinatal research, treatment and intervention, and may also feed into awareness programs that encourage expectant fathers to actively engage in relationships as early as during pregnancy-both with the mother and the unborn child.

Project description:BACKGROUND: Patients who leave hospitals against medical advice (AMA) may be at risk for adverse health outcomes. Their decision to leave may not be clearly understood by providers. This study explored providers' experiences with and attitudes toward patients who leave the hospital AMA. OBJECTIVE: To explore providers' experiences with and attitudes toward patients who leave the hospital AMA. METHODS: We conducted interviews with university-based internal medicine residents and practicing internal medicine clinicians caring for patients at a community hospital from July 2006 to August 2007. We approached 34 providers within 3 days of discharging a patient AMA. The semi-structured instrument elicited perceptions of care, emotions, and challenges faced when caring for patients who leave AMA. Using an editing analysis style, investigators independently coded transcripts, agreeing on the coding template and its application. PARTICIPANTS: All 34 providers (100%) participated. Providers averaged 32.6 years of age, 22 (61%) were men, 20 (59%) were housestaff from three residency programs, 13 (38%) were faculty, hospitalist physicians, or chief residents serving as ward attendings, and one (3%) was a physician assistant. MAIN RESULTS: Four themes emerged: 1) providers' beliefs that patients lack insight into their medical conditions; 2) suboptimal communication, mistrust, and conflict; 3) providers' attempts to empathize with patients' concerns; and 4) providers' professional roles and obligations toward patients who leave AMA. CONCLUSION: Our study revealed that patients who leave AMA influence providers' perceptions of their patients' insight, and their own patient-provider communication, empathy for patients, and professional roles and obligations. Future research should investigate educational interventions to optimize patient-centered communication and support providers in their decisional conflicts when these challenging patient-provider discussions occur.

Project description:ImportanceBenchmarking attitudes surrounding parental leave among posttraining North American ophthalmologists may reveal possible areas for intervention.ObjectiveTo evaluate perceptions of current parental leave policy and culture among posttraining North American ophthalmologists.Design, setting, and participantsThis nonvalidated survey used a 19-item online questionnaire. A convenience sample of 186 self-identified North American-based ophthalmologists who had completed training was obtained using listservs, residency program coordinators, and social media. Data collection occurred from May to July 2022.Main outcomes and measuresDescriptive analysis demonstrated response frequencies. Pearson χ2 comparison of means was performed for categorical variables. Two-tailed t tests were performed for continuous variables.ResultsAmong the 186 surveys completed, 105 respondents (56.5%) identified as female, 76 (40.9%) worked in academia, 133 (71.5%) were 1 to 20 years out of training, and 156 (83.9%) had children. Attitudes toward stop-the-clock policies, or delays in tenure/promotion/partnership review when taking leave, were mixed. Of 171 respondents, 78 (45.6%) thought that stop-the-clock policies should be optional, 39 (22.8%) thought that they should be required, and 31 (18.1%) thought that they should be removed. Of 76 academicians responding, 56 (73.7%) and 49 (64.5%) were unaware if their institution had a stop-the-clock policy for tenure review or promotion review, respectively. Male and female respondents differed in feeling comfortable with taking leave (36 of 66 [54.5%] vs 67 of 90 [74.4%], respectively; P = .04), as well as in their ratings of stress about peer perception on a scale of 0 to 10 (3.70 vs 4.81, respectively; P = .05). Private practitioners and academicians differed in confirmation of leave options for both parents (52 of 101 [51.5%] vs 49 of 69 [71.0%], respectively; P = .02) and ratings of financial stress (7.10 vs 5.43, respectively; P = .004) and research considerations (1.60 vs 3.85, respectively; P < .001).Conclusions and relevanceResults of this survey study support the hypothesis that demographic factors affect attitudes toward parental leave among posttraining ophthalmologists; policies could be better publicized. Feelings regarding policies and leave were mixed. These findings should be viewed as hypothesis generating because the survey was not validated and the associations provided could be due to confounding factors.

Dataset Information

Fathers' Paternity Leave-Taking and Children's Perceptions of Father-Child Relationships in the United States.

Publications

Fathers' Paternity Leave-Taking and Children's Perceptions of Father-Child Relationships in the United States.

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