Citation

Mallette JK, O'Neal CW, Winkelman Richardson E, Mancini JA. Fam. Process 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Family Process Institute, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/famp.12566

PMID

32638359

Abstract

Father involvement can promote the psychosocial health of family members (i.e., fathers, mothers, and children). However, the association between father involvement and individual members' psychosocial health may depend on the quality of the marital relationship and the perceptions of the reporting family member. Research with multiple reporters from the same family is needed identify how family members perceive the impact of father involvement on family member well-being. Using a risk and resilience theoretical framework applied to a family systems perspective, the current study examines associations between father involvement, family flexibility, marital quality, and psychosocial health with a sample of 207 military families (including fathers, mothers, and their adolescents). After accounting for military context, a conditional structural equation model was used to examine the associations between fathers' involvement and family members' psychosocial health. Family flexibility was examined as a mediator between these associations and marital quality as a moderator.

FINDINGS suggest that when fathers are more involved, both mothers and fathers report less family flexibility, and that family flexibility was positively associated with family member (father, mother, and adolescent) well-being. Further, father involvement was indirectly related to mothers' psychosocial health through family flexibility, and father involvement was directly associated with better psychosocial health for fathers and adolescents. Marital quality moderated these associations for fathers, mothers, and adolescents. Given the combined benefits of father involvement, family flexibility, and positive marital relationships, clinical efforts to provide information to increase knowledge and skills around maintaining a healthy relationship could serve to promote psychosocial health by improving marital quality and family flexibility.

Language: en

Keywords

Military; Resilience; Family Functioning; Father Involvement; funcionamiento familiar; militar; modelo de ecuaciones estructurales; participación del padre; Psychosocial Health; resiliencia; salud psicosocial; Structural Equation Model; 军方; 家庭功能; 心理复原力; 心理社会健康; 父亲参与; 结构方程模型