The Relationship between Maternal Gatekeeping and Fathers’ Involvement in Caring for Preschool Children with Special Needs

Abstract We aimed to investigate the relationship between maternal gatekeeping and father involvement in caring for and supporting children with special needs aged between 3 and 6 years (n = 255 couples). Data were collected using the Maternal Gatekeeping Scale–Mother Form and the Father Involvement Scale. We found that maternal gatekeeping and father involvement differed according to the child’s gender and diagnosis but did not differ according to the child’s age. In addition, we determined that father involvement significantly and negatively correlated to mothers’ discouraging behaviors but significantly and positively correlated to mothers’ encouraging behaviors.