FATHERING AND ACCULTURATION - IMMIGRANT INDIAN FAMILIES WITH YOUNG-CHILDREN

This study investigated the patterns of father involvement and the inf luence of acculturation in a sample of Indian immigrant families in Pe nnsylvania. The participants were 40 two-parent Indian families who we re rearing their 18- to 44-month-old children. Two I-hour, naturalisti c home observations per family were conducted near dinner time to reco rd father-child interactions. Cluster analysis revealed three types of fathers: engaged, caretaker, and disengaged. Information on accultura tion was gathered via parental self-reports and observational measures . Examination of the relation between fathering and acculturation reve aled that men belonging to the least acculturated families were the le ast involved (were disengaged), and the most acculturated fathers were more involved in almost all dimensions of fathering (were engaged).