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Applying Pleck's model of paternal involvement to the study of preschool attachment quality: a proof of concept study

Applying Pleck's model of paternal involvement to the study of preschool attachment quality: a proof of concept study
Applying Pleck's model of paternal involvement to the study of preschool attachment quality: a proof of concept study
Recent re-conceptualisation of paternal involvement (Pleck, J. H. (2010). Paternal involvement: Revised conceptualization and theoretical linkages with child outcomes. In M. Lamb (Ed.), The role of the father in child development (5th ed., pp. 67–107). London: Wiley), while proving fruitful, has yet to be applied to investigations into what extent a father's level of involvement may affect child–peer interactions in the preschool age range, over and above the effects of mother–child attachment quality and socio-economic status (SES). Patterns of associations between attachment quality, sensitivity and general caregiving behaviours have also yet to be compared in equally involved mothers and fathers. Thirty preschool children (17 males:13 females) with similar SES profiles and their immediate caregivers participated in hour-long observations, conducted in the home. Even when attachment quality was controlled for, children with low paternal involvement were found to have higher levels of child–peer aggression. Further, patterns of effects between caregiver sensitivity, child–caregiver attachment quality and general caregiver interactions were similar for equally involved mothers and fathers. These preliminary data support the concept of applying Pleck's (2010) re-conceptualisation of paternal involvement to preschool attachment, and have implications towards the wider study of child–father attachment. Limitations of the current study and directions for future research are discussed.
0300-4430
1-13
Kennedy, Mark
ce519bfe-fe41-455f-94ce-f2c2658f0777
Betts, Lucy
b153aed4-1379-42f6-9c91-dd1a2868d432
Dunn, Thomas
f6fe4e99-3482-4d69-a1c4-96f2067a5d8f
Sonuga-Barke, Edmund
bc80bf95-6cf9-4c76-a09d-eaaf0b717635
Underwood, Jean
ac3ded21-e14f-4232-804d-b2b866a6702a
Kennedy, Mark
ce519bfe-fe41-455f-94ce-f2c2658f0777
Betts, Lucy
b153aed4-1379-42f6-9c91-dd1a2868d432
Dunn, Thomas
f6fe4e99-3482-4d69-a1c4-96f2067a5d8f
Sonuga-Barke, Edmund
bc80bf95-6cf9-4c76-a09d-eaaf0b717635
Underwood, Jean
ac3ded21-e14f-4232-804d-b2b866a6702a

Kennedy, Mark, Betts, Lucy, Dunn, Thomas, Sonuga-Barke, Edmund and Underwood, Jean (2014) Applying Pleck's model of paternal involvement to the study of preschool attachment quality: a proof of concept study. Early Child Development and Care, 1-13. (doi:10.1080/03004430.2014.944907).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Recent re-conceptualisation of paternal involvement (Pleck, J. H. (2010). Paternal involvement: Revised conceptualization and theoretical linkages with child outcomes. In M. Lamb (Ed.), The role of the father in child development (5th ed., pp. 67–107). London: Wiley), while proving fruitful, has yet to be applied to investigations into what extent a father's level of involvement may affect child–peer interactions in the preschool age range, over and above the effects of mother–child attachment quality and socio-economic status (SES). Patterns of associations between attachment quality, sensitivity and general caregiving behaviours have also yet to be compared in equally involved mothers and fathers. Thirty preschool children (17 males:13 females) with similar SES profiles and their immediate caregivers participated in hour-long observations, conducted in the home. Even when attachment quality was controlled for, children with low paternal involvement were found to have higher levels of child–peer aggression. Further, patterns of effects between caregiver sensitivity, child–caregiver attachment quality and general caregiver interactions were similar for equally involved mothers and fathers. These preliminary data support the concept of applying Pleck's (2010) re-conceptualisation of paternal involvement to preschool attachment, and have implications towards the wider study of child–father attachment. Limitations of the current study and directions for future research are discussed.

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e-pub ahead of print date: September 2014
Published date: 1 September 2014
Organisations: Psychology

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 369203
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/369203
ISSN: 0300-4430
PURE UUID: eb99a13f-2f6e-4d2e-b1cb-8e35c7934c93

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Date deposited: 30 Sep 2014 10:45
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 17:59

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Contributors

Author: Mark Kennedy
Author: Lucy Betts
Author: Thomas Dunn
Author: Edmund Sonuga-Barke
Author: Jean Underwood

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