The role of fathers in child cohorts Experiences from relevant cohort studies in Germany

1. The role of fathers in child cohortsExperiences from relevant cohort studies in Germany Prof. Dr. Bernhard Kalicki State Institute of Early Childhood Research (IFP) Munich, Germany

2. Topics and trends of our fatherhood research • The Impact of the Transition to Fatherhood on the Marital Relationship • Effects of Fathers on their Children:Outlines of a Child Cohort Study

3. 1 The Impact of the Transition to Fatherhood on the Marital Relationship

4. T1: N = 175 parental couplesT9: N = 109 complete data sets

5. Increase of Conflict Second Child First Child

6. Decline of Positive Communication Second Child First Child

7. Decline of Intimacy & Sexuality Second Child First Child

8. Labour-force Participation of Women and Menbefore and after childbirth Berufstätigkeit von Frauen und Männern vor und nach der Geburt HoursperWeek Second Child First Child

9. Relocation of Income % Personal Net-Income (DM per month)

10. Verteilung der Hausarbeit bei Ersteltern Relocation of Homework(First Child Group)

11. Changes of Life Situation Dissatisfaction with one‘s Situation • Dissatisfaction with … - Occupational Status, Job, Income - Distribution of Homework, Child-care - Parental Role (‚parenting stress‘)

12. Changes of Life Situation Individual Adaptation Dyadic Coordination Dissatisfaction with one‘s Situation • Role-Preferences & Life Plans • Expectations • Role-Competence • Allocation of Roles • Commensurability of Costs and Benefits • Procedural Norms for Fairness

13. Changes of Life Situation Dissatisfaction with one‘s Situation Constructive/Destructive Conflict Impairment of Marital Interaction • Increase of Conflict • Decline of Positive Communication • Decline of Intimacy & Sexuality Decline in Marital Satisfaction • Rising of Discrepancies in one‘s Partner Concept • Condition & Mood • Occasions (time & place) • Postponing other Tasks

14. Changes of Life Situation Dissatisfaction with one‘s Situation Impairment of Marital Interaction Attribution of perceived Changes Decline in Marital Satisfaction • Critical vs. Benevolent Attribution • Similarity of Life Situations • Perspective-Taking

15. Subjective Attribution determines Impact of Negative Partner Behaviour

16. Subjective Attribution determines Impact of Negative Partner Behaviour Critical Attribution

17. Subjective Attribution determines Impact of Negative Partner Behaviour Critical Attribution Benevolent Attribution

18. Transition to Fatherhood Changes of Life Situation Individual Adaptation Dyadic Coordination Dissatisfaction with one‘s Situation Conflict Behaviour Impairment of Marital Interaction Attribution of perceived Changes Decline in Marital Satisfaction

19. Summary and Discussion • The birth of the first child triggers a relocation of roles according to traditional gender-roles. • Emerging dissatisfaction with one‘s life situation typically leads to lower marital quality. • Fathers experience these changes in gender-specific ways. • Nevertheless the underlying processes can be explained using general psychological theories.

20. 2 Maintaining Self-esteem during the Transition to Fatherhood

21. Contradictory Evidence and Four Hypotheses

22. Decline of Marital Quality(PFB total score) Second Child First Child

23. Stability/Increase of Self-Esteem(‚Positivity‘ of Real Self) Second Child First Child

24. Stability/Decrease of Self-Discrepancy(Real-Ideal Discrepancies in Self-Concept) Second Child First Child

25. Four Hypotheses H1: The coping style of Flexible Goal Adjustment protects the person‘s self-esteem against the negative implications of the deterioration of the marital relationship. (Brandtstaedter & Greve 1994, Brandtstaedter, Wentura & Rothermund 1999)

26. Four Hypotheses H2: For men, high job satisfaction buffers the negative implications of a declining marital quality on their self-esteem. H3: For women, high satisfaction within the maternal role buffers the negative implications of a declining marital quality on their self-esteem. (Greenberger & O‘Neil 1993)

27. Four Hypotheses H4: An initially positive attitude towards pregnancy/parenthoodserves as a protective factor for the self-esteem given the deterioration of the marital relationship.

28. Flexibility of Goal Adjustment (FGA)buffers the Impact of Declining Marital Qualityon Self-Esteem of Men

29. High Job Satisfaction buffers the Impact of low Marital Qualityon Self-Esteem of Men

30. High Frustration in the Maternal Roleboosts the Impact of low Marital Qualityon Self-Esteem of Women

31. Positive Attitude towards Pregnancyboosts the Impact of declining Marital Qualityon Self-Esteem of Men

32. Summary and Discussion • Various protective mechanisms contribute to the maintainance of self-esteem given the decline of marital quality. • These processes are highly gender-specific. • Very positive attitudes of becoming fathers towards pregnancy and the forthcoming parenthood are risky given the typical course of marital quality.

33. 3 Effects of fathers on child outcomes: Outlines of a cohort study

34. Child Cohort Study • multi-center study (7 research groups) • inspired by the NICHD study on Child Care • Timeline: 2009-2012 (data collection: Feb-Jul/2010) • Main Questions: • - Effects of Type, Quantity & Quality of Care experienced during Early Childhood on Child Development • - Interplay of Care inside & outside the Family

36. Fathers in the NUBBEK child cohort study • Observation & Teacher Interview (daycare setting) • Family Interview and Testing of Child (family) • Measures of Fathering:- Quantity & Quality of Care- Educational Beliefs & Goals- Personality (Big Five)- Life Satisfaction (domain-specific)- Marital Quality

39. Thank you for your attention! Prof. Dr. Bernhard Kalickibernhard.kalicki@ifp.bayern.de