Resident and Non-resident Father Involvement, Coparenting, and the Development of Children’s Self-Regulation Among Families Facing Economic Hardship
Self-regulation, or the ability to effectively manage emotions and behavior, is a critical skill to develop in early childhood. Children living in a context of economic hardship are at an increased risk for developing self-regulation difficulties. However, few studies have comprehensively examined h...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.785376/full |
| _version_ | 1818329478349193216 |
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| author | Lauren E. Altenburger |
| author_facet | Lauren E. Altenburger |
| author_sort | Lauren E. Altenburger |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Self-regulation, or the ability to effectively manage emotions and behavior, is a critical skill to develop in early childhood. Children living in a context of economic hardship are at an increased risk for developing self-regulation difficulties. However, few studies have comprehensively examined how multiple aspects of the caregiving environment, including fathers’ parenting and coparenting quality, may contribute to child self-regulation. Thus, this study applied a family systems perspective to examine whether coparenting and resident and non-resident fathers’ reports of parenting quantity and quality were associated with observations of children’s self-regulation. Participants were drawn from the Embedded Developmental Study (n = 257) of the Three-City Study, a longitudinal study of children and families facing economic hardship. At Wave 1, when children were 2–4 years old, reports of parenting (i.e., quantity and quality) and coparenting (i.e., support) were obtained. At Wave 2, when children were 3–6 years old, children participated in a snack delay and gift wrap task, which assessed their self-regulation. Multi-group path analyses indicated that resident fathers’ harsh parenting at Wave 1 predicted decreased levels of self-regulation at Wave 2. Non-resident fathers’ reported hours of involvement at Wave 1 predicted greater levels of self-regulation at Wave 2. Additionally, supportive coparenting among families with a non-resident father predicted greater self-regulation. Supportive coparenting was not associated with child self-regulation in families with a resident father. The implications for research focused on facilitating positive father–child relationships in diverse family contexts are discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T12:48:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4586dfc28b9f485db7653713825d5a34 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T12:48:42Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-4586dfc28b9f485db7653713825d5a342022-12-21T23:45:24ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782022-02-011310.3389/fpsyg.2022.785376785376Resident and Non-resident Father Involvement, Coparenting, and the Development of Children’s Self-Regulation Among Families Facing Economic HardshipLauren E. AltenburgerSelf-regulation, or the ability to effectively manage emotions and behavior, is a critical skill to develop in early childhood. Children living in a context of economic hardship are at an increased risk for developing self-regulation difficulties. However, few studies have comprehensively examined how multiple aspects of the caregiving environment, including fathers’ parenting and coparenting quality, may contribute to child self-regulation. Thus, this study applied a family systems perspective to examine whether coparenting and resident and non-resident fathers’ reports of parenting quantity and quality were associated with observations of children’s self-regulation. Participants were drawn from the Embedded Developmental Study (n = 257) of the Three-City Study, a longitudinal study of children and families facing economic hardship. At Wave 1, when children were 2–4 years old, reports of parenting (i.e., quantity and quality) and coparenting (i.e., support) were obtained. At Wave 2, when children were 3–6 years old, children participated in a snack delay and gift wrap task, which assessed their self-regulation. Multi-group path analyses indicated that resident fathers’ harsh parenting at Wave 1 predicted decreased levels of self-regulation at Wave 2. Non-resident fathers’ reported hours of involvement at Wave 1 predicted greater levels of self-regulation at Wave 2. Additionally, supportive coparenting among families with a non-resident father predicted greater self-regulation. Supportive coparenting was not associated with child self-regulation in families with a resident father. The implications for research focused on facilitating positive father–child relationships in diverse family contexts are discussed.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.785376/fullfather involvementparentingself-regulationcoparentingnon-resident fathers |
| spellingShingle | Lauren E. Altenburger Resident and Non-resident Father Involvement, Coparenting, and the Development of Children’s Self-Regulation Among Families Facing Economic Hardship Frontiers in Psychology father involvement parenting self-regulation coparenting non-resident fathers |
| title | Resident and Non-resident Father Involvement, Coparenting, and the Development of Children’s Self-Regulation Among Families Facing Economic Hardship |
| title_full | Resident and Non-resident Father Involvement, Coparenting, and the Development of Children’s Self-Regulation Among Families Facing Economic Hardship |
| title_fullStr | Resident and Non-resident Father Involvement, Coparenting, and the Development of Children’s Self-Regulation Among Families Facing Economic Hardship |
| title_full_unstemmed | Resident and Non-resident Father Involvement, Coparenting, and the Development of Children’s Self-Regulation Among Families Facing Economic Hardship |
| title_short | Resident and Non-resident Father Involvement, Coparenting, and the Development of Children’s Self-Regulation Among Families Facing Economic Hardship |
| title_sort | resident and non resident father involvement coparenting and the development of children s self regulation among families facing economic hardship |
| topic | father involvement parenting self-regulation coparenting non-resident fathers |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.785376/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT laurenealtenburger residentandnonresidentfatherinvolvementcoparentingandthedevelopmentofchildrensselfregulationamongfamiliesfacingeconomichardship |