Disagreement in Parental Reports of Father Involvement

Children benefit from having involved fathers, but it can be difficult to quantify a father’s level of involvement. This study compares the amount of father involvement reported by mothers with what the fathers themselves report. The researchers used data from 113 fathers and 126 mothers to assess father involvement, and they found that fathers reported significantly higher levels of involvement than mothers. When mothers reported a more positive relationship with fathers, the discrepancy in reported levels of involvement was smaller, while single mothers reported a greater level of discrepancy than married mothers. The authors emphasized the importance of obtaining reports of father involvement directly from fathers.