THE FATHERS ROLE DURING INFANCY - FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE MATERNAL EXPECTATIONS

Objective: To describe factors that influence maternal expectations of the father's role during infancy. Research Design: Cross-sectional su rvey. Setting: Postpartum obstetric ward of an inner-city teaching hos pital. Subjects: Mothers who were residents in the inner-city communit ies that surround the hospital and who were recently delivered of a ne wborn. Selection Procedure: Consecutive sampling from March to May 199 2. Measurements: Through structured maternal interviews, the father's expected role was measured in terms of accessibility, engagement in ch ild care tasks, and decision-making responsibility. Influences include d demographics, the mother's desire for the father's involvement, and her perceptions of his motivation, prenatal support, and ability to pa rent. Results: Of 226 eligible mothers, 197 (87%) were interviewed. Ex pectations varied widely. Concerning accessibility, 48% and 18% of the mothers expected to see the father daily and less than weekly, respec tively. Concerning engagement, 81% of the mothers expected some patern al involvement; the average mother assumed that the father would parti cipate in one third of child care tasks. Concerning decision-making re sponsibility, 34% of the mothers expected to share all decisions; 30% expected to share none. In all areas, expectations were positively ass ociated with the mother's desires, the strength of the parents' relati onship, and the mother's perceptions of the father's motivation and ab ility to parent and the father's prenatal involvement (all, P<.001). E xpected accessibility and engagement were greater for fathers who work ed; expected engagement and decision-making responsibility were greate r for fathers without children from other relationships (all, P<.03). Conclusions: The maternal desire for the father's participation, the s trength of the parents' relationship, the mother's perception of the f ather as a parent, and the father's prenatal involvement are all consi stently associated with the maternal expectations of the father's role . The demographic characteristics of either parent are not as strongly or consistently associated with the maternal expectations.