WORK AND FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS FOR FATHERS IN DIVERSE SAMPLES: AN ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
Open Access
- Author:
- Goodman, William Benjamin
- Graduate Program:
- Human Development and Family Studies
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- October 05, 2009
- Committee Members:
- Ann Caverly Crouter, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Ann Caverly Crouter, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
David Manuel Almeida, Committee Member
Michael J Rovine, Committee Member
Valarie Elizabeth King, Committee Member - Keywords:
- Family-Work Spillover
Parenting
Work Stress
Fathers
Work and Families
Latent Profile Analysis - Abstract:
- Although considerable progress has been made toward a greater understanding of fathers as parents and individuals, less is known about the characteristics that shape the work and family experiences of fathers in diverse social, cultural, and geographic samples. Guided by an ecological perspective on the work-family interface, the current investigation sought to advance research on fathers and fathering by examining paternal work and family experiences in low-income and working-class rural families and working- and middle-class African American families. Further, person-oriented analytic techniques were incorporated to provide more nuanced explorations of fathers as parents and individuals. First, the implications of rural fathers’ (n = 492) experiences of work stress for father-infant parenting quality across multiple dimensions were examined. Latent profile analysis revealed five classes of fathers based on social-affective behaviors and linguistic stimulation and complexity. Multinomial logistic regression analyses revealed that multiple work stressors predicted membership in the fathering classes, although in several instances these associations differed depending on the number of hours fathers spent in the workplace. Second, levels and determinants of African American fathers’ involvement in middle childhood and adolescence were examined (n = 270 youth in 135 families). African American fathers spent approximately seven hours per week with youth and were involved in approximately 20 percent of all youth-reported activities, although considerable variability was observed. Further, multiple family characteristics, including fathers’ worker role attitudes and child age and gender predicted paternal involvement with youth. Finally, associations between paternal individual and family characteristics and person-oriented profiles of family-to-work spillover were examined (n = 403). Latent profile analysis revealed clear and meaningful spillover classes based on combinations of both positive and negative family-to-work spillover. Further, multiple sources of family strain and support, as well as several characteristics of fathers themselves, were associated with patterns of spillover. Fathers’ membership in spillover classes characterized, in part, by high negative family-to-work spillover, was associated with significantly higher paternal depressive symptoms. Collectively, these studies make several unique contributions to our understanding of the work-family interface for fathers in diverse samples and suggest the need for future research examining the development of these linkages over time.