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BEYOND ROUGH AND TUMBLE: FATHERING AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN 24-MONTH-OLDS
Jacqueline Shannon, Catherine S. Tamis-LeMonda, Kevin London, and Mark
Spellmann
New York University
Natasha Cabrera
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
The Early Head Start Fathers' group emerged out of a need to understand the nature and meaning of father involvement in low-income families. Studies that have examined fathering in low-income families often emphasize their deficits (Furstenberg and Harris 1993). In addition, much research on fathers' interactions has emphasized paternal "rough-and-tumble" play styles (Parke 1996). Few studies, however, have examined how fathers' interaction styles relate to toddlers' interactions and development. In response to these limitations, we focus on positive aspects of low-income fathers' interactions with their toddlers, and examine whether fathers' interactions with their toddlers predict the cognitive development of their toddlers.
Participants were 45 father-child dyads (23 boys) taken from the first wave of participants in the 24-month cohort in New York City. Fathers' average age was 26 years (SD = 7.23). Children were between 23 and 30 months of age. Approximately 42 percent of the fathers were living with their children.
During home visits, father-child interactions were videotaped during semistructured free play for 10 minutes in the three-bag task (described as the parent-child structured play task in this report). Bayley Mental Development Index scores were obtained on the children. Father-child interactions were assessed using the Caregiver-Child Affect, Responsive and Engagement Scale (C-CARES; Tamis-LeMonda and Spellmann 2000). The C-CARES measures parent-child interactions on 23 parent behaviors and 16 child behaviors. Each item was rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1, "not observed," to 5, "constantly observed."
Factor analyses on father items indicated a three-factor solution (explaining 66 percent of the variance). The first factor, Responsive-Didactic (eight items loaded, which ranged from .57 to .82), reflects paternal behaviors that are positive, responsive, emotionally attuned, and didactic. The second factor, Negative-Unresponsive-Intrusive (seven items loaded, which ranged from -.4 to -.71 and from .6 to .79), reflects paternal behaviors that are parent-driven and achievement-oriented, through use of highly structured, negative verbal reinforcement and unresponsive, intrusive, and inflexible behaviors. The third factor, Inflexible-Teasing (two items loaded, which were -.43 and .92), reflects paternal behaviors that are inflexible with high levels of teasing. Due to poor reliability, we deleted this factor from further analyses.
The factor analysis on child items revealed a three-factor solution (explaining 72 percent of the variance). The first factor, Cognitive-Playful (five items loaded, which ranged from .63 to .86), reflects child behaviors that were positive in affect, sophisticated in language and play skills, and highly involved with the toys. The second factor, Social (four items loaded, which ranged from .36 to .92), reflects child behaviors that are positive, participatory, responsive, and emotionally attuned toward their father. The third factor, Regulated-Persistent (four items loaded, which were -.82, and ranged from .37 to .87), reflects child behaviors that are highly regulated and persistent.
Responsive-Didactic father behaviors related to all three child behaviors (ts range = .33 to .73, p's < .05 to .001). Negative-Unresponsive-Intrusive father behaviors were negatively associated with child Cognitive-Playful behaviors (t = -.31, p < .05). Responsive-Didactic father behaviors and child Cognitive-Playful and Social behaviors positively related with child scores on the MDI (ts range = .34 to .44, p's < .05 to .01).
Children's mean score on the Bayley MDI was 86.13 (SD = 11.87). Twenty-five of the children were not developmentally delayed (MDI > 85), and 20 were developmentally delayed (MDI < 85). A binary logistic regression analysis was performed with children's MDI scores [not delayed/delayed] as the outcome variable, and three predictor variables: Cognitive-Playful and Social child behaviors and Responsive-Didactic father behaviors.
In the logistic regression model, child Cognitive-Playful and Social behaviors were not significant predictors of delay status (social: p = .18, play-language: p = .82). Only father Responsive-Didactic behaviors retained their unique significance as predictors of delayed status (p = .01). Based on the nonsignificance of child behaviors, a second model was then run, including only father Responsive-Didactic behaviors as a predictor, to eliminate spurious expansion effects. This model yielded an odds ratio of 10:1, p = .001. The Nagelkerke R2 indicated that this model explained 33 percent of the variance of children's delayed status. The model correctly classified 80 percent of the children who were delayed and 72 percent of children who were not delayed (overall total: 76 percent).
To summarize, this investigation of fathers playing with their 24-month-olds indicated two distinct parental styles of engagement: Responsive-Didactic and Negative-Unresponsive-Intrusive. Fathers scoring higher on Responsive-Didactic behaviors were 10 times less likely to have children who scored in the delayed range of the Bayley MDI than fathers scoring lower on Responsive-Didactic behaviors. Responsive-Didactic behaviors in fathers contributed unique variance to Bayley scores, over and above child behaviors during the interaction. Although this suggests the relevance of fathers to the cognitive status of their toddlers, the concurrent nature of the study still leaves the question of causal relationship open. This finding is particularly relevant to understanding the plight of many minority children who begin dropoff in IQ scores when they are 2 years old.
These findings are important because they suggest that (1) low-income men interact with their children in a variety of ways, some very positive; (2) there are powerful predictors of fathers' interaction styles that carefully crafted program interventions can address; and (3) fathers and children develop complex and nurturant relationships that can have potent effects on children's mental development.
References
Furstenberg, F., and K. Harris. "When and Why Fathers Matter: Impacts of Father Involvement on the Children of Adolescent Mothers." In Young Unwed Fathers: Changing Roles and Emerging Policies, edited by R. Lerman and T. Ooms. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1993, pp. 117-138.
Parke, R.D. Fatherhood. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1996.
Tamis-LeMonda, C.S., and M. Spellmann. "Caregiver-Child Interaction Rating Scale." Unpublished manuscript, 2000.
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