Expanding the evaluation of father involvement: structural equation modelling, time diary studies, and cross-cultural comparisons

• Grant number: 17/27162-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: September 01, 2018
• End date: June 30, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Fundamentals and Assessments in Psychology
• Principal Investigator: Elizabeth Joan Barham
• Grantee: Ligia de Santis
• Supervisor: Susan Chuang
• Host Institution: Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Guelph, Canada
• Associated to the scholarship: 15/25053-5 - The Inventory of Father Involvement (Brazilian version): verification of theoretical concepts and of instrument validity, BP.DR

Abstract

Father involvement affects children's lives as well as the wellbeing of both parents. However, few researchers have empirically challenged the theoretical models of father involvement which is imperative to better understand and evaluate the relevance and meaning of father involvement and fathering. With a particular interest in positive father-child relationships, one of the primary objectives of this project is to evaluate a theoretical model of father involvement on a sample of Brazilian fathers. Data collection is still in progress, but, to date, 100 fathers with children between 6 to 10 years of age have completed: the Brazilian version of the Inventory of Father Involvement (IFI-BR), a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Social Skills Inventory-Del Prette, and the Inventory of Parental Practices. The theoretical model will be evaluated using structural equation modelling. A second objective of this proposal is to gain new research skills by collaborating with the analysis of an existing international dataset on father involvement, fathering, and father-child relationships in six societies of different ethnic groups. To measure father involvement, a time diary procedure was used, as this is a useful way of gaining more detailed information about fathers' behaviors, and cross-cultural comparisons can illuminate the potential similarities and cultural nuances that affect father involvement. The goal would be to then implement the time diary method in a Brazilian context, which will provide further evidence for the validation of the IFI-BR. (AU)