Abstract

LIMA, José Albino; SERODIO, Rui G.  and  CRUZ, Orlanda. Pais responsáveis, filhos satisfeitos: As responsabilidades paternas no quotidiano das crianças em idade escolar. Aná. Psicológica [online]. 2011, vol.29, n.4, pp.567-578. ISSN 0870-8231.

Fatherhood must be broadly approached in order to highlight its biological, social, legal and symbolic matrix. It refers to concrete forms of involvement, such as the assumption of paternal responsibilities. These refer to father’s involvement in the ethical and moral guidance of the child, family’s economical sustenance, the emotional, practical and psychosocial support to the partner, or to the education and care of children. The study included 346 children (8-10 years, 175 boys and 171 girls). The Parental Responsibility Scale was used to assess the perception of children regarding the way their parents assume parental responsibilities and the Parental Involvement Satisfaction Scale to assess the degree of children’s satisfaction with parental involvement. Results show that children consider that fathers assume more responsibility in the Care and Concern dimension, which was related to the parent’s responsibility for basic care, activities and routines of the child. Another finding is that father continues to play an important role in the Authority and Disciplinary dimension, particularly with boys. The assumption of maternal responsibility relates to the level of responsibility assumed by the father, with the exception of the School dimension. Additionally findings also show that father-child play is associated with child satisfaction and it is clear that the more the father assumes responsibilities the higher is the child’s satisfaction with paternal involvement. These results are framed in a three-level paternal involvement model emphasizing the importance of proximal processes and the fundamental contribution of the father to child development.

Keywords : Child satisfaction; Father involvement; Fatherhood; Parenthood.

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