Toddler Development In A Family Context: Variations In Maternal Employment, Father Involvement, And Parenting Characteristics.

Abstract

To investigate relationships among toddler development and variations in family constellations, 75 families with 20-month-olds were observed in a playroom. Toddlers were seen independently with mothers and fathers: assessments were conducted of quality of attachment in the Strange Situation and child competence and parental sensitivity in problem-solving. Mothers and fathers completed questionnaires on childrearing attitudes, perceptions, satisfactions, father involvement, and maternal employment. Relationships were found among parenting, maternal employment, father involvement, and child characteristics. A combination of parents' attitudes, satisfactions, perceptions, and behavior predicted attachment and child task competence. Maternal employment was generally not related to child outcome, either directly or mediated through parenting. It was related to some attitudes, perceptions and satisfactions for mothers and fathers, but few differences according to part- vs. full-time maternal employment emerged. Results demonstrated the efficacy of examining mediators of maternal employment (stability of alternate caregiving, time of return), and family attachment constellations. Analysis of parenting characteristics revealed differences between mothers and fathers. There were more secure attachments with mothers than fathers, and mothers held more optimal attitudes and tended to exhibit more sensitivity to attachment, but only for fathers. Finally, quality of attachment was related to task competence: securely attached toddlers exhibited optimal task behavior. Results underscored the impact of father involvement--especially toddler-father time alone. As expected, high father involvement predicted positive parenting characteristics for fathers, and some maternal characteristics. Father involvement was related to child task behavior with both parents, and security of child-father attachment. Father involvement was directly related to child outcome, independent of fathers' or mothers' parenting characteristics, suggesting that the paternal role is not mediated primarily through the mother. This research has implications for families, theory, and public policy, highlighting the impact of variations in family characteristics on parents and toddlers.