Father Involvement and Early Intervention: Effects of Empowerment and Father Role Identity

The family-centered service delivery model used in early intervention is meant to empower families of children with disabilities. The present analysis examined the effects of empowerment and father identity on father involvement with children with disabilities. Father involvement was measured using...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Family relations 2015-10, Vol.64 (4), p.461-475
Main Authors: Fox, Greer L., Nordquist, Vey M., Billen, Rhett M., Savoca, Emily Furst
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attachment
Children
Disability
Early intervention
Empowerment
Family relations
Family roles
family-centered practices
father involvement
Fathers
FATHERS AND FATHERHOOD
Identity
Intervention
Parent Role
Prevention
Regression analysis
Responsibility
Satisfaction
Social services delivery
Special Needs Students
Studies
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Summary:The family-centered service delivery model used in early intervention is meant to empower families of children with disabilities. The present analysis examined the effects of empowerment and father identity on father involvement with children with disabilities. Father involvement was measured using three indices: attachment (i.e., feeling a strong connection to the child), engagement (i.e., participating in activities with the child), and responsibility (i.e., meeting the child's needs). Father empowerment and father identity, measured as salience, satisfaction, and reflected appraisals, consistently predicted higher levels of father involvement in hierarchical regression models. In addition, mediation analyses revealed that father identity partially mediated the relationship between empowerment and father involvement. These findings support the family-centered service delivery model and suggest that it may be able to improve the lives of children with disabilities by enhancing father role identity and subsequent fathering activities.
ISSN:0197-6664
1741-3729
0197-6664
DOI:10.1111/fare.12156