Perspectiva do Pai Acerca do seu Envolvimento em Famílias Nucleares. Associações com o que é Desejado pela Mãe e com as Características da Criança

This study explores Fathers’ perceptions about their level of involvement (relative to the mothers’) in 5 areas: Direct Care; Indirect Care; Teaching/Discipline; Play; and Leisure outside the home. Participants were 110 bi-parental Portuguese Families. The level of the fathers’ involvement desired by the mothers, child age, gender and temperament were measured as predictors of fathers’ perception of his relative involvement level. Results show that according to father’s it’s the mother who almost always performs tasks related to Indirect Care, while in the other domains the activities are shared. Mothers’ desire a greater participation of the fathers in both type of Care activities, and a lesser participation in the Play activities. Gender differences were found for Care and Play activities. Multiple Hierarquical Regression Analyses show that the better predictor for the variance in father’s participation in all areas of family routines was the level desired by the mothers. Results are discussed in each domain, considering the hypotheses of the regulatory role of the mother in the fathers’ level of involvement.