¡Qué Padre! Measuring Latino Fathers' Involvement with Infants

• Published date: 01 December 2021
• Author: Sonia Molloy,Daniel B. Singley,Paul B. Ingram,Brian P. Cole,Alyssa R. Dye
• Date: 01 December 2021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12543

S MThe Pennsylvania State University, York, PA

D B. SThe Center for Men’s Excellence, San Diego, CA

P B. ITexas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, and Dwight D. Eisenhower Veteran

Affairs Medical Center, Eastern Kansas Veteran Healthcare System, Leavenworth, KS

B P. C A R. DThe University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS

¡Qué Padre! Measuring Latino Fathers’ Involvement

with Infants

Objective: The present study was designed to

examine the psychometric properties and corre-

lates of an existing measure of father involve-

ment with infants, The PaternalInvolvement with

Infants scale (PIWIS), with Latino fathers.

Background: Fathers’ involvement with their

infants is associated with positive outcomes for

family members. Father involvementis known to

vary by child, familial, societal, and cultural fac-

tors, emphasizing the need for further research

with specic populations of fathers, including

Latino fathers.

Method: Addressing this need, we examined

the psychometric properties of a multidimen-

sional measurement of father involvement with

infants, the Paternal Involvement with Infants

Scale (PIWIS), with 203 Latino fathers of infants

up to12 months ofage.

Results: Results support a ve-factor model val-

idating the PIWIS as a measurement of father

involvement with Latino fathers of infants.

Findings revealed moderate to strong construct

Human Development and Family Studies, The Penn-

sylvania State University, 1031 Edgecomb, York, PA

(sqm5495@psu.edu).

Key Words: father involvement, infants, Latinx, mental

health, cultural factors.

validity for the PIWIS and ve subscales offering

unique utility for Latino fathers. Variability

between dimensions of father involvement and

related constructs are discussed.

Conclusion: Taken together, these ndings sug-

gest that the PIWIS reects a valid and reli-

able measure of Latino fathers’ involvementwith

infants.

Implications: The PIWIS can be utilized to

deepen our understanding of the interrelation-

ships among well-established aspects of fathers’

involvement including mental health, partner

support, familial support, and cultural factors.

Quality father involvement during early child-

hood is associated with positive social (e.g.,

prosocial skills; Lindsey et al., 2010), emotional

(e.g., self-regulation, externalizing behaviors;

Paquette & Dumont, 2013; Ramchandani

et al., 2013), and cognitive (e.g., executive

function; Bronte-Tinkew et al., 2008; Meuwis-

sen & Englund, 2016) outcomes for children.

Assessing father involvement with infants can

inform practice, programmatic efforts, and poli-

cies designed to encourage fathers to take part

in their infants’ lives. A deeper understanding

of the nature of father involvement and the

factors associated with involvement behaviors

can inform interventions concentrated on family

Family Relations 70 (December 2021): 1449–14641449

DOI:10.1111/fare.12543

1450 Family Relations

and individual development. Variations in father

involvement due to child, familial, societal, and

cultural factors indicate the need for further

attention given to diverse groups of fathers

(Cabrera et al., 2011).

Latinx is among the fastest growing minor-

ity groups in the United States (U.S. Census

Bureau, 2010). The majority of existing research

on Latino fathers in the United States has used

restrictive father involvement indicators and

has not adequately addressed key cultural vari-

ables, including acculturation and familismo

(Guendelman et al., 2018). Studies comparing

Latino fathers to other groups have shown

variable results with respect to the quality and

quantity of Latino fathers’ involvement with

infants (Cabrera et al., 2011). Finally, the scant

attention that Latino fathering has received in

the academic literature often addresses fathers

of older children, neglecting the critical early

stages of infancy and toddlerhood that set the

stage for subsequent involvement behavior

(D’Angelo et al., 2012). The present study was

designed to examine the psychometric prop-

erties and correlates of an existing measure of

father involvement with infants, the Paternal

Involvement with Infants scale (PIWIS), with

Latino fathers (Singley et al., 2018).

M  P I

 I

While the father involvement literature has

grown since the emphasis was initially placed

on theorizing fatherhood (Lamb et al., 1985),

the empirical literature examining father

involvement in diverse contexts, including

developmental periods, family interactions, and

culture, is still emerging (Cabrera et al., 2018).

All members of the family system contribute to

variability in father involvement in this critical

and transitional year of development. Postpar-

tum depression in both mothers and fathers

can impact the amount of father involvement

in complex ways during infancy (Singley &

Edwards, 2015; Paulson & Brazemore, 2010).

For example, maternal postpartum depression

has been associated with an increase in father

involvement in the rst half of infants’ rst year

of life and a decrease in father involvement in

the second half (Goodman et al., 2014). Infants

caregiving needs, such as feeding, can addition-

ally lead to shifts in both type and amount of

father involvement (de Montigny et al., 2018).

Measurements and assessment of fathering

that is father-reported is needed to understand

the nuances of father involvement from the

father’s perspective. Initial research on par-

enting was primarily normed on maternal

reports and samples that focused around con-

structs such as attachment, sensitivity and

parent–child observed interactions (Adamsons

& Beuhler, 2007; Gridley et al., 2019; Marsiglio

et al., 2000). Historically, maternal involvement

measures explored caregiving and emotional

attunement and paternal involvement mea-

sures focused on father residence and nancial

assistance (Day & Lamb, 2004). Research sug-

gests that mothers’ and fathers’ involvement in

infancy varies in time spent in differing dimen-

sions of fathering (e.g., responsibility behaviors,

engagement and play behaviors) that align

with social norms of mothers as caretakers and

fathers as helpers (Kotila et al., 2013; Paquette

& Dumont, 2013). Social norms and expecta-

tions inuence father involvement in infancy

with men who identify with traditional mascu-

line ideals showing resistance to behaviors and

roles typically associated with contemporary

fatherhood norms (e.g., egalitarian coparenting,

emotional engagement, and direct caregiving;

Dette-Hagenmeyer et al., 2014; Pleck, 2010).

Moreover, type of engagement differs for

fathers as research has indicated that mothers

participate more in nurturing and attentive

behaviors (Lewis & Lamb, 2003), and fathers

display more exploratory and play behaviors

(St. George et al., 2017).

Although research in the eld of paternal

involvement continues to grow, many studies

fall short in factoring in a multidimensional

approach to father involvement while also

addressing critical cultural, individual, and

social characteristics (Cabrera & Bradley,2012).

Grounded in the knowledge that fathers and

mothers may participate in multiple dimensions

of parenting in a unique manner, the Paternal

Involvement with Infants Scale (PIWIS; Singley

et al., 2018) was initially developed to mea-

sure father-reported perceptions of parenting

behaviors with infants up to 12months old.

The PIWIS was grounded in Pleck’s (2010)

model of paternal involvement and developed

from previous research on paternal involvement

domains and a panel of subject matter experts.

The original EFA and CFA analysis of the

PIWIS resulted in 35 items that account for

ve dimensions of paternal involvement. The