Risk and Protective Factors Related to Fathers’ Positive Involvement and Negative Reinforcement With 1-Year-Olds

SYNOPSIS

Objective. Guided by a social interaction learning model, this study investigated potential risk and protective factors related to fathers’ early parenting behaviors. Design. Parenting behaviors in 726 Norwegian fathers with their 1-year olds (51.7% boys) were assessed by both micro social coding and global ratings from direct observation of structured interactions. Father and child factors were reported by fathers when the child was 6 months and 1 year old. Results. Fathers’ positive involvement was associated with children’s observed sustained attention, and lack of positive involvement was associated with children’s communicative risk and fathers’ lower education. Fathers’ negative reinforcement was associated with children’s developmental difficulties and communicative risk. Positive involvement and negative reinforcement were not correlated and were predicted by different factors, indicating they are separate dimensions of parenting. Conclusion. Multiple predictors relate to different parenting dimensions and point to factors that may enhance father–infant interaction and identify fathers and children who may benefit from early intervention.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors are grateful to the Behavior Outlook Norwegian Developmental Study staff and to the participating families for their valuable time and effort.