| Objective(1) To examine the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of Inventory of Father Involvement (IFI) and Conflict Behavior Questionnair (CBQ-F).(2) To describe the characteristics of father-child relationship in China and explore father-child relationship in relation to social-demographic variables.(3) To examine the effects of father’s parenting, father’s involvement, father’s mental health, father’s marital satisfaction and mother’s parenting on father-child relationship.(4) To examine the relation between father-child relationship and children’s emotional and behavioral development.(5) To explore children’s perception of father’s responsibility and the standard of ideal father.Methods:(1) The English version of the IFI and CBQ was translated into Chinese, By convenience sampling method,871children’ and their fathers were selected and assessed with the CBQ and IFI for item analysis, exploratory factor analysis(EFA), confirmatory factor analysis(CFA) and internal consistency analysis. Meanwhile, Self-rating Depression Scale(SDS), Self-rating Anxiety Scale(SAS) and Olson Enrich Marital Inventory were administered to test the criterion-related validity.30children and their fathers finished the CBQ and IFI again4weeks later to assess the test-retest reliability.(2) Totally663family with children aged8-15years were selected. They were assessed with Conflict Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ), the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA),the Inventory of Father Involvement(IFI), Self-rating Depression Scale(SDS), Self-rating Anxiety Scale(SAS) and Olson Enrich Marital Inventory(ENRICH),Parental Bonding Inventory(PBI), Strength and difficulty Questionnaire (SDQ) and Child behavior Checklist(CBCL) to examine the impact factors of father-child relationship and the relation between father-child relationship and children’s emotional and behavioral development.(3) One year later,258children were choosed to finished Conflict Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ),the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) and the Strength and difficulty Questionnaire (SDQ) again to test the reciprocal effects of father-child relationship and children’s adjustment.(4) Following the principal of purposive sampling,18children were selected and interviewed to explore their perception of father’s responsibility and the standard of ideal father. Results:(1) The exploratory factor analysis of IFI extracted4components, and explained64.5%of the total variance. The confirmatory factor analysis verified the4-factor model. Concurrent validity results showed that correlation between every subscale of IFI and father depression(r=-0.22～-0.34,p<0.01),father anxiety(r=-0.17～-0.28,p<0.01), father marital satisfaction(r=0.35～0.47,p<0.01)was significant. The Cronbach alpha coefficient of the four factors was0.738～0.906,the test-retest reliability coefficient of the four factors of IFI was0.703～0.821.The exploratory factor analysis of CBQ extracted2components, and explained50.4%of the total variance. The confirmatory factor analysis verified the2-factor model and the original1-factor model.Cronbach alpha coefficient of the CBQ was0.89,the test-retest reliability coefficient of CBQ was0.83.(2) Girls’ paternal attachent may be higher than boys(p<0.08). Children whose age was above12years old had lower paternal attachment than those below12(p<0.05).The children whose father had junior high school education got higher CBQ scores(p<0.05)and lower IPPA scores (p<0.05)than those whose father had high school and college education. The children whose interaction time with their fathers per week were<3h got higher CBQ scores(p<0.05] and lower IPPA scores(p <0.05) than those whose interaction time with their fathers per week were 3-7h and>7h.The children whose father’s income were higher than4000RMB per month had better relatinship with their fathers than those income were below than4000.(3) There were significant grouping features in father-child relationship. The statistic index supported the model of3latent class. According to the condition probability, we named the3group separetely as group with high conflict and low attament; group with medium conflict and medium attachment; group with low conflict and high attachment. Their proportion in the whole sample were10.6%、19.1%'70.3%. Parents’ care, father involvement and father’s marital satisfaction of the goup with low conflict and high attachment are much higher than the other groups, and the parents’ control,father depression symptom and father anxiety symptom are much lower than the other two groups. The model of determinants of father-child relationship had good fit index. Father parenting, father involvement and father’s mental health could predict father-child relationship directly; father’s marital satisfaction and father parenting could predict father-child relationship through father involvement; mother parenting could predict father-child relationship through father parenting.(4) Children with low conflict and high attachment to their father had better mental adjustment than the other two groups. Father-conflict could positively predict children’s emotional problems (β=0.28,p<0.01) and conduct problems (β=0.18, p<0.01), father-child attachment could positively predict children’s prosocial behaviors (β=0.39, p<0.01) and negatively predict children’s hyperactivity/inattention (β=-0.28, p<0.01) and peer problem (β=-0.14, p<0.05). Father-child attachment significantly moderated the relations between father-child conflict and children’s emotional problems (β=0.17,p<0.01), conduct problems (β=0.12, p<0.05), hyperactiveity/inattention (β=0.13, p<0.05) and prosocial behavior (β=-0.21,p<0.01). The reciprocal model of father-child relationship and child adjustment had good fit index. There are significant reciprocal effect between father-child relationship and children’s prosocial behavior. Father-child relationship had one-way effect on children’s emotional and behavioral problems.(5) Most children perceived that protect was the most important responsibility of father. Children could tolerate father’s rude parenting when did not apprecite it.The ideal father was someone "as father, as friend", The standard of ideal father include personality charm, no sick hobby, work hardly, respect his own parents, care for wife, take care of family, accompany children with high interaction quality, satisfy children’s material need, educate children in a positive way.Conclusion:(1) Chinese version of IFI and CBQ-F were reliable and valid assessment of father involvement and father-child conflict, and may be used to research father effects in China.(2) Contrary to boys, girls was more trusted in father, the conflict between them and their father were less; Contrary to children under the age of12, children more than12years old communicated less with their father and became more alienated.(3) Contrary to fathers who had high conflict and low attachment relationship with their children, Fathers in low conflict and high attachment relationship had less anxiety and depression symptons, more satisfied with his marrige, involved more and frequently adopted parenting style with high care and low control.(4) Father-child attachment modified the effect of father-child conflict on children’s adjustment. There are significant reciprocal effect between father-child attachment and children’s prosocial behavior. Father-child relationship had one-way effect on children’s emotional and behavioral problems.(5) The ideal father was someone "as father, as friend",not only took on fathers’traditional responsibility, and to be friends with his children. |
PDF Full Text Request