Agreement between Fathers’ and Mothers’ Reported Stimulation and Associations with Observed Responsive Parenting in Pakistan
Parental stimulation and responsiveness are associated with improved early child development outcomes. However, the majority of studies have relied on maternal-reported measures of only mothers’ parenting practices. The purpose of this study was to assess the agreement between fathers&...
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doaj-40d22cac83154173abf8b607cc68f6022021-04-02T08:24:57ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672019-10-0161011410.3390/children6100114children6100114Agreement between Fathers’ and Mothers’ Reported Stimulation and Associations with Observed Responsive Parenting in PakistanJoshua Jeong0Saima Siyal1Aisha K. Yousafzai2Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USADepartment of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi 74800, PakistanDepartment of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USAParental stimulation and responsiveness are associated with improved early child development outcomes. However, the majority of studies have relied on maternal-reported measures of only mothers’ parenting practices. The purpose of this study was to assess the agreement between fathers’ and mothers’ reports of their own and their partner’s engagement in stimulation and assess the degree to which parents’ reported stimulation correlated with their observed responsive caregiving behaviors. Data were collected from 33 couples (33 fathers and 32 mothers) who had a child under 5 years of age in rural Pakistan. Paternal and maternal stimulation were measured based on reports of their own and their partner’s practices in play and learning activities with the child. Paternal and maternal responsiveness were observed in a subsample of 18 families. Moderate agreement was found between paternal and maternal reports of their own and their partner’s practices. Moderate associations were also found between self-reported measures of stimulation and observed responsive caregiving for both fathers and mothers. The strengths of agreement and associations were greater among couples who had higher quality coparenting relationships. Findings highlight the feasibility, reliability, and promise of assessing fathers’ parenting in a low-resource setting, using similar methods as for mothers’ parenting, to triangulate measures between reported and observed parenting and gain a deeper understanding of fathers’ and mothers’ unique caregiving contributions.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/6/10/114parentingstimulationresponsivenessparent–child interactionfathersearly childhoodpakistan |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Joshua Jeong Saima Siyal Aisha K. Yousafzai |
spellingShingle |
Joshua Jeong Saima Siyal Aisha K. Yousafzai Agreement between Fathers’ and Mothers’ Reported Stimulation and Associations with Observed Responsive Parenting in Pakistan Children parenting stimulation responsiveness parent–child interaction fathers early childhood pakistan |
author_facet |
Joshua Jeong Saima Siyal Aisha K. Yousafzai |
author_sort |
Joshua Jeong |
title |
Agreement between Fathers’ and Mothers’ Reported Stimulation and Associations with Observed Responsive Parenting in Pakistan |
title_short |
Agreement between Fathers’ and Mothers’ Reported Stimulation and Associations with Observed Responsive Parenting in Pakistan |
title_full |
Agreement between Fathers’ and Mothers’ Reported Stimulation and Associations with Observed Responsive Parenting in Pakistan |
title_fullStr |
Agreement between Fathers’ and Mothers’ Reported Stimulation and Associations with Observed Responsive Parenting in Pakistan |
title_full_unstemmed |
Agreement between Fathers’ and Mothers’ Reported Stimulation and Associations with Observed Responsive Parenting in Pakistan |
title_sort |
agreement between fathers’ and mothers’ reported stimulation and associations with observed responsive parenting in pakistan |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Children |
issn |
2227-9067 |
publishDate |
2019-10-01 |
description |
Parental stimulation and responsiveness are associated with improved early child development outcomes. However, the majority of studies have relied on maternal-reported measures of only mothers’ parenting practices. The purpose of this study was to assess the agreement between fathers’ and mothers’ reports of their own and their partner’s engagement in stimulation and assess the degree to which parents’ reported stimulation correlated with their observed responsive caregiving behaviors. Data were collected from 33 couples (33 fathers and 32 mothers) who had a child under 5 years of age in rural Pakistan. Paternal and maternal stimulation were measured based on reports of their own and their partner’s practices in play and learning activities with the child. Paternal and maternal responsiveness were observed in a subsample of 18 families. Moderate agreement was found between paternal and maternal reports of their own and their partner’s practices. Moderate associations were also found between self-reported measures of stimulation and observed responsive caregiving for both fathers and mothers. The strengths of agreement and associations were greater among couples who had higher quality coparenting relationships. Findings highlight the feasibility, reliability, and promise of assessing fathers’ parenting in a low-resource setting, using similar methods as for mothers’ parenting, to triangulate measures between reported and observed parenting and gain a deeper understanding of fathers’ and mothers’ unique caregiving contributions. |
topic |
parenting stimulation responsiveness parent–child interaction fathers early childhood pakistan |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/6/10/114 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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