Costs and benefits of increased paternal involvement in childrearing: The societal perspective

In recent years, scholars have paid considerable attention to the role of the father, providing evidence for potentially significant paternal contributions to child development and family life (Lamb, 1981; Yogman, 1981). Wolins (see Chapter 7), going beyond the usual micro level analysis of parent-child interac- tion and its effects, provides a broader perspective in which the father is viewed as an asset to the psychological, physical, and economic situation of the family. Others have studied father-absent families in order to assess the father’s signifi- cance (e.g., Hetherington and Deur, 1972). There is also a growing body of knowledge showing that increased paternal involvement in child rearing contrib- utes to the well being of both father and family (Heath, 1978; Radin, 1982; Russell, 1982; Sagi, 1982).