Child gender, ethnic difference, and the development of father engagement during early childhood
Type
This study examined the effect that children's gender had on the development of fathers' engagement during early childhood as well as gender's moderating effect in the link between fathers' ethnicity and their engagement. The study used panel data on Asian, Black, and White fathers' engagement from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. The main findings are as follows. First, fathers had higher levels of engagement with boys than with girls during the first year of the children's lives. Second, fathers' engagement with girls increased more over time than did their engagement with boys. Third, Asian fathers had lower levels of engagement with their children than did White or Black fathers during the first year of the children's lives. Fourth, particularly for Asian fathers, the effect that fathers' ethnicity had on their engagement with their children was moderated by the children's gender.