The Latent Structure of Caregiving Behaviors: Examining Measurement Invariance Across Mothers and Fathers

• In Event: Poster Session 02
  In Poster Session: PS 02 Topic - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Abstract

Although research on fathers’ parenting has increased, little is known about the latent structure of paternal parenting and whether the latent structure of fathers’ parenting behaviors converge with that for mothers. In infancy, the most widely examined dimension of parenting is sensitivity. Although sensitivity is commonly assessed along a single dimension, variation at the lower end of the scale can take many forms (e.g., intrusiveness, detachment). Indeed, emerging evidence from studies using a system for coding parenting behavior developed within the context of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development indicated that instead of varying along one dimension of sensitivity, mothers’ caregiving behavior was best captured along two dimensions, one reflecting negative intrusiveness (i.e., negative regard and controlling) and one reflecting emotional engagement (i.e., positive regard and emotional connection). Extending these findings, the current study examined the latent structure of fathers’ caregiving behaviors when interacting with their infant and compared the latent structure with that for mothers.

The sample for this study comprised 142 mothers, 128 fathers, and their 6-month-old infants. Mother-child and father-child dyads were observed separately during a free play interaction (i.e., the dyad played without toys). The free play sessions were videotaped and coded using scales adapted from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care (Frosch & Owen, 2016). The following parenting behaviors were included in analyses: global sensitivity (i.e., prompt, appropriate response), intrusiveness (i.e., imposing own agenda on child), detachment (i.e., lack of emotional connection), positive regard (i.e., warmth and affection), and negative regard (i.e., physical and verbal harshness).

Factor Analysis suggested two factor solution best fit fathers’ caregiving data. The first composite comprised negative regard and intrusiveness (i.e., negative intrusiveness), and the second composite comprised detachment and positive regard (i.e., emotional engagement). Global sensitivity cross loaded on both factors. Results further suggested that the latent structure of the caregiving behavior for mothers and fathers demonstrated configural (χ2 = 1.31, p = 0.52), measurement (χ2 = 11.81, p = 0.16), and residual (χ2 = 24.40, p = 0.08) invariance. Additional analysis revealed no mean difference between mothers and fathers in latent factors (Figure 1).

Converging with prior research conducted with mothers, findings from this study indicated that paternal caregiving behavior when interacting with the infant was best captured by two factors reflecting the extent to which the father negatively regarded and controlled the infant and the extent to which the father was emotionally and behaviorally engaged during interactions with the infant. Further, this latent structure was found to be invariant across mothers and fathers, suggesting that the configuration of parenting behaviors exhibited when interacting with infants is the same for mothers and fathers. These findings converge with prior evidence that mothers and fathers exhibit comparable levels of sensitivity when interacting with their infant (e.g., Branger et al., 2019), and extend this prior evidence by providing the first evidence for the measurement invariance of the latent structure of mothers’ and fathers’ parenting behavior when interacting with their infant.

Authors

• Brooke Hoeferle, University of Missouri - Columbia
  Presenting Author

• Nanxi Xu, Vanderbilt University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Ashley M. Groh, University of Missouri - Columbia
  Non-Presenting Author