A qualitative study of father involvement with their young children in mainland China
IntroductionThe voices of Chinese fathers regarding their involvement with their young children remain largely absent in the existing research. Thus, it is critical to explore subjective experiences of and possible influences on Chinese fathers’ involvement with children from their point of view.Met...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-04-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1542136/full |
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| author | Yang Liu Yang Liu Mingchun Guo Cassandra K. Dittman Cassandra K. Dittman Ying Zheng Ying Zheng Divna M. Haslam Divna M. Haslam |
| author_facet | Yang Liu Yang Liu Mingchun Guo Cassandra K. Dittman Cassandra K. Dittman Ying Zheng Ying Zheng Divna M. Haslam Divna M. Haslam |
| author_sort | Yang Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionThe voices of Chinese fathers regarding their involvement with their young children remain largely absent in the existing research. Thus, it is critical to explore subjective experiences of and possible influences on Chinese fathers’ involvement with children from their point of view.MethodsThis study conducted semi-structured interviews with 35 Chinese fathers of preschoolers. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyze the interviews.ResultsChinese fathers both adhered to traditional paternal roles and increased proximity to their children while serving as maternal coparenting partners. Father involvement was related to intrapersonal, familial, and contextual factors. Intrapersonal factors included taking responsibility for being a father, optimizing children’s development and future, beliefs about parental roles, and fulfillment and joy versus tiredness and boredom. Familial factors include maternal availability for childcare and advocacy, the child’s requests and rejections, and the grandparent’s involvement and impediments to father involvement. Contextual factors include fathers’ occupational demands, networking demands, and invitations as well as opportunities for father involvement from school and community.DiscussionThe findings supported that multi-layered factors jointly influence how fathers are involved with their children. Yet, different from Western models of fathering focusing solely on child and mother characteristics, the role of grandparents was highlighted in Chinese fathers’ narratives, reflecting cultural influences on family dynamics. This highlights the need to consider the potential impact of grandparents in China and many other Asian countries, where multigenerational living is common. Additionally, the identified factors can guide the design of family programs and family-friendly policies to facilitate father involvement. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1189c041bdc148c7b0cb4b059ef4b902 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-1189c041bdc148c7b0cb4b059ef4b9022025-08-20T02:12:38ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782025-04-011610.3389/fpsyg.2025.15421361542136A qualitative study of father involvement with their young children in mainland ChinaYang Liu0Yang Liu1Mingchun Guo2Cassandra K. Dittman3Cassandra K. Dittman4Ying Zheng5Ying Zheng6Divna M. Haslam7Divna M. Haslam8School of Psychology, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, ChinaParenting and Family Support Centre, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, AustraliaSchool of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, ChinaParenting and Family Support Centre, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, AustraliaSchool of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, Central Queensland University, Bundaberg, QLD, AustraliaSchool of Psychology, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, ChinaPsychological Counseling Center, Liming Vocational University, Quanzhou, ChinaParenting and Family Support Centre, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, AustraliaSchool of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, AustraliaIntroductionThe voices of Chinese fathers regarding their involvement with their young children remain largely absent in the existing research. Thus, it is critical to explore subjective experiences of and possible influences on Chinese fathers’ involvement with children from their point of view.MethodsThis study conducted semi-structured interviews with 35 Chinese fathers of preschoolers. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyze the interviews.ResultsChinese fathers both adhered to traditional paternal roles and increased proximity to their children while serving as maternal coparenting partners. Father involvement was related to intrapersonal, familial, and contextual factors. Intrapersonal factors included taking responsibility for being a father, optimizing children’s development and future, beliefs about parental roles, and fulfillment and joy versus tiredness and boredom. Familial factors include maternal availability for childcare and advocacy, the child’s requests and rejections, and the grandparent’s involvement and impediments to father involvement. Contextual factors include fathers’ occupational demands, networking demands, and invitations as well as opportunities for father involvement from school and community.DiscussionThe findings supported that multi-layered factors jointly influence how fathers are involved with their children. Yet, different from Western models of fathering focusing solely on child and mother characteristics, the role of grandparents was highlighted in Chinese fathers’ narratives, reflecting cultural influences on family dynamics. This highlights the need to consider the potential impact of grandparents in China and many other Asian countries, where multigenerational living is common. Additionally, the identified factors can guide the design of family programs and family-friendly policies to facilitate father involvement.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1542136/fullfather involvementChinese fatherssemi-structured interviewsreflexive thematic analysisgrandparents |
| spellingShingle | Yang Liu Yang Liu Mingchun Guo Cassandra K. Dittman Cassandra K. Dittman Ying Zheng Ying Zheng Divna M. Haslam Divna M. Haslam A qualitative study of father involvement with their young children in mainland China Frontiers in Psychology father involvement Chinese fathers semi-structured interviews reflexive thematic analysis grandparents |
| title | A qualitative study of father involvement with their young children in mainland China |
| title_full | A qualitative study of father involvement with their young children in mainland China |
| title_fullStr | A qualitative study of father involvement with their young children in mainland China |
| title_full_unstemmed | A qualitative study of father involvement with their young children in mainland China |
| title_short | A qualitative study of father involvement with their young children in mainland China |
| title_sort | qualitative study of father involvement with their young children in mainland china |
| topic | father involvement Chinese fathers semi-structured interviews reflexive thematic analysis grandparents |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1542136/full |
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