EXPLORE VARIOUS DETERMINANTS OF FATHER INVOLVEMENT IN CHIN:AN ANALYSIS

Abstract

Father involvement in family child-rearing is frequently disregarded in contemporary China, , whether actively or passively. The phenomenon of 'widowed parenting', characterised by the presence of 'shadow fathers' and 'cloud fathers', has emerged as a significant challenge to family parenting and a contentious issue in the context of social development in China. In this study, a qualitative research methodology was employed, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 urban Chinese fathers, with a view to exploring the factors influencing fathers' participation in parenting in contemporary Chinese society. The findings suggest that multiple influences on fathers' parenting involvement in contemporary China include fathers' role perceptions, fathers' self-efficacy, marital satisfaction, fathers' parental leave, and work-family conflict. The findings indicate that factors such as child gender and the number of children do not exert a significant influence on the level of father involvement. The findings of this study serve to expand the existing body of knowledge surrounding marital satisfaction and fathers' self-efficacy from a localised perspective, whilst concomitantly extending the exploration of the impact of peripheral environmental support and stressors, particularly information technology, on fathers' parenting involvement.