Father involvement among Chinese fathers in four geolocations: Exploring cultural nuances and similarities

IF 1.8 3区社会学 Q2 FAMILY STUDIES Family Relations Pub Date : 2025-02-05 DOI:10.1111/fare.13148

Susan S. Chuang, Ching-Yu Huang, April C. T. Shen, Meihua Zhu, Bethany Wu, Agnes Ng, Joyce Y. Feng

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Abstract

Objective

The objective is to explore Chinese fathers' levels of involvement in their young children's lives in four geolocations: Canada, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

Background

Fathering research has been primarily based on Westernized populations, with a dearth on Chinese fathering. Within the limited studies on Chinese fathers, the influence of sociopolitical environments and geolocation has been overlooked, decontextualizing father involvement.

Method

The study included 273 fathers across four geolocations: Canada (n = 67), Mainland China (n = 56), Hong Kong (n = 47), and Taiwan (n = 103) using time diary data (two 24-hour accounts of their latest workday and weekend day). A series of repeated-measures analyses of covariance (Father Involvement treated as the repeated measures; covarying Fathers' Age and Levels of Education) were conducted to explore the nuances and similarities of father involvement.

Results

Fathers' levels of engagement (play, care) differed. Fathers from China reported spending the most time playing with their child than did other fathers. Taiwanese and Hong Kong fathers spent similar amounts of time playing with and caring for their children. Other father involvement dimensions also differed by geolocation.

Conclusion

Our findings demonstrate that Chinese fathers cannot be “collapsed” into one group. Due to differing sociopolitical environments, fathers' involvement in various dimensions varied.

Implications

Chinese fathers are actively involved in their children's lives, contrary to the beliefs of fathers being “aloof and distant.” However, there are differences among Chinese fathers; thus, taking geolocation into account when providing programs and services is essential to Chinese communities.

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四个地区中国父亲的父亲参与：探索文化差异和相似之处

目的本研究的目的是探讨在加拿大、中国、香港和台湾四个地区，中国父亲对幼儿生活的参与程度。父权研究主要基于西化人群，缺乏对中国父权的研究。在有限的关于中国父亲的研究中，社会政治环境和地理位置的影响被忽视了，使父亲参与脱离了语境。该研究包括来自四个地区的273名父亲：加拿大（n = 67）、中国大陆（n = 56）、香港（n = 47）和台湾（n = 103），使用时间日记数据（他们最近工作日和周末的两个24小时记录）。一系列重复测量的协方差分析(以父亲参与作为重复测量；共同改变父亲的年龄和教育水平)，以探讨父亲参与的细微差别和相似性。结果父亲的参与程度（玩耍、照顾）存在差异。据报道，中国的父亲比其他国家的父亲花在孩子身上的时间最多。台湾和香港的父亲与孩子玩耍和照顾孩子的时间相似。其他父亲参与维度也因地理位置而异。结论：我们的研究结果表明，中国的父亲不能“崩溃”为一个群体。由于社会政治环境的不同，父亲在各个维度上的参与也有所不同。中国父亲积极参与孩子的生活，这与人们对父亲“冷漠和疏远”的看法相反。然而，中国父亲之间存在差异；因此，在提供项目和服务时考虑地理位置对华人社区至关重要。

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来源期刊

Family Relations Multiple-

CiteScore

3.40

自引率

13.60%

发文量

164

期刊介绍： A premier, applied journal of family studies, Family Relations is mandatory reading for family scholars and all professionals who work with families, including: family practitioners, educators, marriage and family therapists, researchers, and social policy specialists. The journal"s content emphasizes family research with implications for intervention, education, and public policy, always publishing original, innovative and interdisciplinary works with specific recommendations for practice.