Fathers' Role Beliefs and Their Associations to Paternal Involvement, Sensitivity, and Parenting Stress
Open Access
- 28 October 2026
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in Family Relations
Abstract
Objective: This paper investigates how fathers' role beliefs relate to their involvement, sensitivity, and parenting stress. Background: Research has consistently shown that fathers play an important role in children's development across multiple dimensions, including their presence in children's lives or the quality of their interactions. However, less is known about how fathers' perceptions of their parenting role relate to the ways in which they engage in fathering. The current study focuses on fathers' role beliefs and how these are associated to different domains of parenting, that is, observed paternal sensitivity, paternal involvement, and parenting stress. Method: The sample consisted of 60 fathers and their preschool‐aged children. Fathers reported their beliefs of the fathers' role in the Role of the Father Questionnaire. Paternal involvement and parenting stress were also assessed using questionnaires. Paternal sensitivity was coded from behavioral observation during a semi‐structured father–child interaction. Results: The central finding shows that fathers' role beliefs were associated not only with self‐reports but also with observed paternal sensitivity. Regression analyses revealed fathers' role beliefs were linked to paternal sensitivity and parenting stress. Conclusion: Fathers who considered themselves to play a significant role in their child's development interacted more sensitively with their children and reported less parenting stress. Implications: Interventions aiming to foster paternal sensitivity should simultaneously target fathers' role beliefs, highlighting that their presence and availability matter for their child's development. Promoting paternal identification of being a sensitive father may be an important starting point to support child development in the longer term.Keywords
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