Paternity Leave‐Taking and Father Engagement
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12494 |
| Date | 01 October 2018 |
| Published date | 01 October 2018 |
R J. P Ball State University
C K The Ohio State University∗
Paternity Leave-Taking and Father Engagement
Evidence suggests that paternity leave-taking is
associated with higher levels of father involve-
ment, but research has been limited in its focus
on cross-sectional analyses and indicators
of father involvement used. This study uses
national longitudinal data to examine whether
paternity leave-taking is associated with 2
indicators of father engagement when children
are infants, whether paternity leave-taking is
associated with trajectories of father engage-
ment during the rst few years of a child’s life,
and whether the relationships between paternity
leave and father engagement are explained
by fathering commitments and attitudes. The
results suggest that longer periods of leave
are associated with more frequent engagement
in developmental tasks and caretaking when
children are infants as well as during the rst
few years of children’s lives. There is also evi-
dence that father attitudes partially explain the
relationships between length of paternity leave
and father engagement.
Many U.S. studies have focused on work–family
balance, but research has largely ignored one
key work–family policy: paternity leave. Few
studies have focused on paternity leave because
of a lack of data on the topic and the lack of
Department of Sociology, Ball State University, 222 North
Quad, Muncie, IN 47306. (rjpetts@bsu.edu).
∗Department of Sociology, The Ohio State University, 238
TownshendHall, 1885 Neil Avenue Mall, Columbus, OH
43210.
This article was edited by Sharon Sassler.
KeyWords: fatherhood, family policy, father–childrelations,
parental investment/involvement,provider role, work–family
balance.
a national paternity leave policy. Nonetheless,
paternity leave can provide fathers with opportu-
nities to practice parenting skills and be engaged
in their child’s life while fullling breadwinning
expectations. Thus, paternity leave can enable
fathers to adhere to the expectations of both
traditional and new fatherhood by encouraging
fathers to contribute both social and nancial
resources to their families (Galinsky, Aumann,
& Bond, 2011; Marsiglio & Roy, 2012). Yet,
numerous fathers may not have access to leave,
or may not be willing to take leave, due to work-
place practices that discourage leave-taking in
the United States (Albiston & O’Connor, 2016;
Coltrane, Miller, DeHaan, & Steward, 2013).
There is also evidence that paternity
leave-taking is positively associated with subse-
quent father involvement. Studies from Europe
indicate that fathers who take longer periods of
leave engage in child-care tasks more frequently
and report closer relationships with their young
children than fathers who take shorter periods
of leave (Haas & Hwang, 2008; Huerta et al.,
2014; Tanaka & Waldfogel, 2007). There is
more limited evidence from the United States
that paternity leave-taking, and especially longer
periods of paternity leave, are associated with
higher levels of father involvement (Nepom-
nyaschy & Waldfogel, 2007; Pragg & Knoester,
2017; Seward, Yeats, Amin, & DeWitt, 2006).
Understanding whether paternity leave leads to
greater father involvement is important because
father involvement is associated with numerous
positive outcomes among children (Lamb, 2010;
Sarkadi, Kristiansson, Oberklaid, & Bremberg,
2008).
Previous research on paternity leave and
father involvement in the United States over-
whelmingly focuses on involvement at one point
1144 Journal of Marriage and Family 80 (October 2018): 1144–1162
DOI:10.1111/jomf.12494
Paternity Leave and Father Engagement 1145
in time, usually when children are infants, and
uses limited measures of involvement. Thus,
more research is needed to assess whether
paternity leave is associated with various types
of father involvement and whether taking leave
encourages fathers to remain involved as their
children get older.
We attempt to address these gaps by using
longitudinal data from a national sample to
examine whether taking paternity leave and
length of leave are associated with the following
two indicators of father engagement: engage-
ment in developmental activities and caretaking.
In the process, we analyze whether paternity
leave is associated with longitudinal trajectories
of father engagement during the rst few years
of a child’s life. We also consider whether
prenatal involvement and father attitudes may
explain the associations between paternity leave
and father engagement.
B
Access to paternity leave is important because
there have been changing expectations for
fathers. Traditional expectations of fathers serv-
ing primarily as breadwinners have expanded
to emphasize a new fatherhood ideal that also
encourages fathers to be engaged in their chil-
dren’s lives (Marsiglio & Roy, 2012). Despite
these shifting attitudes, the breadwinner ideal
persists in perceptions of American father-
hood, contributing to a “new male mystique”
in which men struggle to meet the demands
of both traditional and new fatherhood ideals
(Aumann, Galinsky, & Matos, 2011). Fur-
thermore, gendered, employer, and economic
practices continue to largely discourage pater-
nity leave-taking for U.S. men, resulting in
increased work–family conict for fathers
(Acker, 1990; Albiston & O’Connor, 2016;
Aumann et al., 2011; Coltrane et al., 2013).
Access to paternity leave is also important
because spending time with children from birth
is benecial to both parents and children. Engag-
ing in caregiving and developmentally appro-
priate activities (e.g., reading, playing) fosters
young children’s developmental growth, attach-
ment to parents, and contributes to better health,
fewer behavioral problems, and more positive
educational outcomes (Lamb, 2010; Lamb &
Lewis, 2010; Pleck, 2010; Sarkadi et al., 2008;
Waldfogel, 2006). Involvement with children
can also provide joy, encourage feelings of gen-
erativity, and help establish father identities that
emphasize parent–child interactions (Lamb &
Lewis, 2010; McKeering & Pakenham, 2000).
In fact, many fathers state that being engaged in
their child’s life is their most important role as
a father (Brandth & Kvande, 1998; Edin & Nel-
son, 2013), and most American men believe that
employers should offer paternity leave (Harring-
ton, Van Deusen, Fraone, Eddy, & Haas, 2014;
Horowitz, Parker, Graf, & Livingston, 2017).
Constraints and opportunities to take pater-
nity leave are shaped by public policies,
gendered practices, employer policies, and
economic patterns. Most countries provide paid
maternity leave, and 44% of countries have
policies that allow fathers to take paid leave
(Heymann & McNeill, 2013). However, the
United States does not have any statutory paid
leave policies. Instead, the Family and Medical
Leave Act allows employees who meet eligi-
bility requirements to take up to 12 weeks of
unpaid leave after childbirth (Han & Waldfogel,
2003; Heymann & McNeill, 2013). In addition,
ve states offer temporary disability insurance
with partial wage replacement to mothers,
and three of these states expand on temporary
disability insurance coverage to provide paid
family leave to mothers and fathers (Winston,
2014). Some workers may also have access to
employer-based leave programs, but these are
more common in high-paying jobs (Albiston
& O’Connor, 2016). This piecemeal system
prevents many workers from having access to
leave; 40% to 50% of employees are not eligible
for leave under the Family and Medical Leave
Act, statutory paid leave is not available to
fathers in 47 states, and only 17% of companies
offer paid paternity leave to some employees
(Melamed, 2014; Society for Human Resource
Management, 2015; Winston, 2014).
C F
Lamb, Pleck, Charnov,and Levine (1985) recog-
nized the following three dimensions of father
involvement: engagement (direct interaction
with children), accessibility (being available to
children), and responsibility (making decisions
about or arrangements for children). In this
study, we highlight the following two indicators
of engagement: engagement in developmental
tasks and caretaking. Our conceptual frame-
work considers patterns of father engagement,
the implications of paternity leave, and the
relevance of father identities for both paternity
leave-taking and father engagement.
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