Fathering and Attachment in the USA and Taiwan: Contextual Predictors and Child Outcomes.

This study examined connections between fathering context (stress, social support, and fathers' internal working models), fathering dimensions, children's attachment to fathers, and children's social-emotional and academic outcomes within two culturally diverse samples in the USA and Taiwan. Participants included 274 fathers and their eight- to 11-year-old children. Fathers completed questionnaires regarding their close relationships, stress, social support, and children's academic achievement. Children completed measures of fathering dimensions, attachment, and standardised social-emotional assessments. Fathering context was related to fathering dimensions and children's attachment to fathers, which were related to children's social-emotional and academic outcomes. MANCOVA was used to test for differences in children's outcomes by nationality, while controlling for context, fathering dimensions, and child attachment to fathers. Fathering dimensions, children's attachment, and nationality were all uniquely predictive, but fathering context was not. These findings suggest that cross-cultural differences in context, fathering practices, and children's attachment security partially explain children's outcomes. (Author abstract)

Note: This article is part of the journal special issue entitled Emerging Topics on Father Attachment: Considerations in Theory, Context and Development.