2"1"o whom correspondence should be addressed at Utrecht University, Department of ..... Mod- erately caring fathers live significantly more often in (big) cities.
Sex Roles, Vol. 36, Nos. 3/4, 1997
Caring Fathers in the Netherlands 1 Vincent Duindam 2 and Ed Spruijt Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Data from two studies on heterosexual men and their care work at home are discussed. Five groups of fathers are distinguished. They range from the traditional father (hardly any care work within the home) to the very caring father (who does at least as much as his wife). What makes the difference between these five groups of men? Measures at three levels have been studied: present social context, value orientation, and family of origin of the fathers. Measures at the first and second levels seem to be the most important. The role of the female partner is also discussed. Caring men do not report a lesser degree of well-being, including the quality of their relationship.
Women combining paid labor and care work often seem to be heavily burdened, particularly when they have (young) children. This makes us curious as to the position of men trying to combine these different tasks. Are men who combine care and work in the same situation as women who combine care and work? What factors correlate with the amount of care that men give? We are interested in heterosexual men with a partner and one or more children. How much time do they spend on caring for their children, preparing meals, cleaning windows, etc? How can differences in care giving between men be explained? There are studies now available from several countries: The United States (e.g., Radin, 1982; Pruett, 1983), Sweden (e.g., Lamb, Frodi, Hwang, C.-P. Frodi, & Steinberg, 1982b), Australia (e.g., Russell, 1987), and Israel (e.g., Sagi, 1982). We would like to compare these studies with the situation in the Netherlands. Moreover, we are interested in the well-being 1We thank Peter Zuithoff and the anonymous Sex Roles reviewers for their valuable comments on earlier drafts. 2"1"owhom correspondence should be addressed at Utrecht University, Department of General Social Sciences, Heidelberglaan 2, P. O. Box 80.140, 3508 TC, Utrecht, The Netherlands. 149 0360-0025/97/0200-0149512.50/00 I997 PlenumPublishingCorporation
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of the fathers who combine care and work. To what extent are caring fathers satisfied with their life situation? Are the relationships with their partners more conflicting or more peaceful than those of more traditional fathers? A general conclusion that the literature on this issue permits is that men are not involved in care work very much. This corresponds with the fact that women's gender roles have changed more than men's (Weisner, Gamier, & Loucky, 1994; Starrels, 1994; Hochschild, 1989). If we could reveal the determinants of care by fathers, we may also be able to explain the gender difference in care. Even men with egalitarian opinions do not seem to manage to do a considerable amount of care work. The conclusion of Weisner et al. (1994) is, "Even when mothers worked outside the home, they had only slightly more assistance in domestic tasks. This suggests there were constraints . . .facing even families with very strongly-held egalitarian beliefs, when these families tried to alter their domestic task arrangement" (p. 49). Even if the opinions of men are quite egalitarian, practice seems to lag behind. Maybe having egalitarian opinions is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for care-work by men. On the other hand, some men do housework without them (or their wives) having the opinions or values that would lead them to do so. Without too many thoughts or words they seem to be "helping" their wives out. In Hochschild's study (1989) relationships benefitted from this situation. It is not quite clear, however, whether more care work by men improved the relationship, or vice versa, good relationships were a precondition for caring fathers. A number of studies point out the relevance of the views and relative resources of the men's partners. In six different investigations it has been reported that the amount of housework that a man does is related to the attitude of his wife (Duindam, 1991). In some of the investigations there even seemed to be more of a relationship between the man's participation in housework and his wife's ideas than with his own ideas (Barnett & Baruch, 1987). The relative earning capacity of women and men is also an important factor. Van der Lippe (1993), for instance, shows that financial factors play a role. In fact, men do more household chores the more their wives earn. In the traditional situation (the man earns more), however, this effect is also present but to a higher degree. So it can be argued that the opinions, or internalized norms, of women and men also play a role. A similar situation exists when we look at parenthood leave. On the one hand, men who receive financial support while taking parenthood leave do this more often than men who do not receive financial support. On the other hand, women take more parenthood leave than men, even though more women work part time than men.
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Theoretical Issues
In the literature a large number of possible determinants of care work by men have been pointed out. Some of them were discussed above. Others will be referred to below. Both the views of men and women and their present social context seem to be important. In addition, there has been much debate about the family backgrounds of caring fathers. One of the questions is whether they are imitating their own inspiring father (Chodorow, 1978), or compensating for his lack of involvement. The latter hypothesis seems so far to have gained more support. It may, in fact, be helpful to structure the different background variables into just these three levels: present social context, value orientation, and family of origin of the father. We will now look in greater detail at the different factors at these levels. Present Social Context. Variables having to do with the fathers' position in the labor market are very relevant. Is he employed? What sort of occupation does he have, and at what level? How many hours are invested in it? How much "free time," apart from hours spent in the labor market, is left over? What is his income per hour? To what SES group does he belong? Is flexibility in working hours an option? The latter situation appeared to be the case in the Australian study (e.g., Russell, 1987). Are there arrangements for taking leave? This was an important factor in Sweden (e.g., Lamb et al., 1982). Life course dynamics seem important too. How old is the father, and more particularly, what was his age at the birth of his first child? Men who are older when their first child is born seem to do more housework (Starrels, 1994). This could be explained by their attitudes and position (they no longer need to "prove" themselves so much) and by the gender role beliefs of their wives. The number and age of his children have also often been studied. These are an indication of the amount of housework to be done. In the Australian study involved fathers generally cared for fewer children and older children (e.g., Russell, 1987). In addition, the attitudes of his friends and, more importantly, of his wife are relevant, as is her power/relative resources, such as educational level, employment, and relative income. In a number of studies her level of power/relative resources is the most important predictor of care work by husbands (Starrels, 1994; Ericksen, Yancey, & E. Ericksen, 1979; Huber & Spitze, 1983; Russell, 1986). In fact, in almost all countries studied so far, the role of the female partner seems to be very relevant. We can see this in the United States (e.g., Radin, 1982; Pruett, 1983), in Sweden (e.g., Lamb et al., 1982) and in Australia (e.g., Russell, 1987). Maybe we can conclude that the mother's desire for a career is an important factor propelling families into paternal child-rearing arrangements (Radin, 1982).
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Value Orientation. In addition to social-context variables, views, attitudes, opinions, etc., also play a role. Researchers link these up with socialization history: What norms are internalized during the life course? Factors such as political views and religious attitude can all make a difference. Special focus is usually on gender role beliefs. Modest support is generaUy found for a relationship between egalitarian gender role beliefs and the amount of care work by men (Lamb et al., 1982c; Baruch & Barnett, 1981; Barnett & Baruch, 1987; Feldman, Churnin Nash, & Aschenbrenner, 1983). Maybe more attention should be paid to the perceived value of paid work in the labor market in comparison to unpaid care-work at home. Family of Origin. The third level under discussion involves the family of origin. In one of the American studies both caring fathers and their partners had mothers who used to work outside the home (Radin, 1982). Further, according to some theories, caring men imitate their own father with whom they have been able to identify in a personal way, because he was an available and positive model. However, it has been difficult to confirm predictions based on this theory. In most studies quite the opposite appeared to have been the case (Pruett, 1983; Gr~nseth, 1975; Eiduson, Kornfein, Zimmerman, & Weisner, 1982; De Frain, 1979; Radin & Goldsmith, 1985; Barnett & Baruch, 1987; Finkelstein & Rosenthal, 1978). Often the active and involved fathers have had to miss their own father, either because there was no (longer) a father present, or because he was hardly ever at home. Consequently, these fathers did not have happy memories of their own fathers. There were only very few studies that could confirm the predictions based on the imitation theory: Manion (1977) and Sagi (1982). This last study was carried out in Israel. Generally, these results seem to argue against the theory. This has led some researchers to replace the imitation hypothesis by a compensation theory. Most research attention has gone to the relationship fathers had with their own father and mother. The role of siblings is not often discussed. Yet there are several interesting theoretical possibilities. Caring fathers may have learnt to do so by interacting with younger brothers and sisters. Or, alternatively, they may have been taught to care by their elder siblings. We have now divided different possible measures associated with care by men into three levels. Support for the idea that different levels should be taken into account can also be found in recent work in women's studies. Both Segal (1990) and Bjerrum Nielsen, and Rudberg (1993) distinguish different levels each in their own terms: (1) the social (cultural and social possibilities), (2) the ideological (gender identity), and (3) the personal (gendered subjectivity). These roughly coincide with the division into present social context, value orientation, and family of origin (Duindam, 1995).
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In this article, data from two studies will be used. Generally, it is difficult to define a "caring father." In our two studies, measures will be used in which both care for the children and care for the household are combined. These measures are taken together because, in the Netherlands, caring fathers are also expected to work in the household. In addition, there is a high correlation between caring for the children and caring for the household in both studies (for instance Cronbach's alpha is .74 in Study 1, see p. 152). We will distinguish five types of father. They range from the traditional father (hardly any care work within the home) to the very caring father, who does at least as much as his wife. What makes the difference between these men? To answer this question, we will study measures on the three levels discussed above. What level seems to be most important? And is there a relationship between the amount of care by men and their well-being, including the quality of the relationship with their partner? Therefore, the research questions in this article are as follows: (a) What are the main differences in social context, value orientation, and family of origin between fathers whose amount of care spent • on the family differs? (b) What are the differences in well-being between not caring, slightly caring, moderately caring, caring, and very caring fathers? Our analysis aims to test three hypotheses: 1.
2. 3.
Present social context, men's value orientation, and antecedents in the family of origin correlate with the amount of care of the fathers. Most caring are fathers with both an egalitarian value orientation and an appropriate present social context. Caring fathers do not have more negative opinions about their life situation and do not have fewer feelings of well-being.
STUDY 1
Method In this section we describe the main characteristics of not caring, slightly caring, and moderately caring fathers in the Netherlands and their opinions about their life situation. Data were used from the USAD (Utrecht Study of Adolescence Development) national panel study. The USAD (Meeus & 't Hart, 1993) is a longitudinal panel study, based on a
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representative national sample of 3393 young people from 12 to 24 years of age. One of the parents of the young people concerned was also interviewed: the mother or the father. The random selection was based on statistics on households and young persons living independently, from the National Script Panel and the National Mini Census. The percentage of refusals was 26.1%. For this article, we used the data of 542 fathers in the sample from 31 to 49 years of age. The panel survey gathers its information from one hour face-to-face interviews and questionnaires (which also take about one hour) with the youngsters and questionnaires with the parents.
Measures Typology of Fathers. In order to measure differences in care-giving activities of the fathers in this study, we used three 7-point items about care-giving activities. First, two questions about family life in the (recent) past were used. "Please remember the time your children were 6 through 12 years old (at the moment of interviewing that was about 5 years ago). Did you participate in child care activities, and, did you participate in housekeeping?" (1 = never, 2 = occasionally, 3 = sometimes, 4 = often, 5 = very often, 6 = always). Second, one question about housekeeping division between wife and husband at the moment (1 = wife alone, 2 = occasionally husband, 3 = sometimes husband, 4 = often husband, 5 = very often husband, 6 = husband alone). Using factor analysis, the scalability of the three items was subsequently tested. The scale formed by means of these items is called "fathers' care-giving activities" (Cronbach's alpha is .74) and is used as an indicator of the involvement degree of the fathers (range 3-18). In order to gain insight into the opinions of the caring fathers, we made a comparison between three groups of fathers (not caring, slightly caring, and moderately caring) and several opinions about family life: family communication, role division, relational views, division of power. Moreover, we made a comparison between the three groups of fathers and their attitudes about relational problems. The three items involved are (1) father participated in child care activities (score 1-6). (2) father participated in housekeeping (score 1-6), (3) housekeeping division between wife and husband at the moment (score 16). The criterion for being slightly caring is a sumscore of at least 10 points (one item at least a score of 4: often). The criterion for being moderately caring is a sumscore of at least 12 points [at least a score of 4 (often) form all the three items]. Therefore, the slightly and moderately caring fathers in our study (32% and 16%; Table I) are really slightly moderately caring, respectively. Fathers with a higher amount of care than moderate can be found in Study 2. After all, Study 1 is a representative sample of all fathers
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155 Table L The Fathers in the USA/) Study (Study 1)
Not caring Slightly caring Moderately caring Total
(Score 3 to 9) (Score I0 or 11) (Score 12 or higher)
283 174 85 542
52% 32% 16% 100%
in the Netherlands and because really caring fathers are only to be found in a small part of the population, the number of substantially caring fathers in Study 1 is very small and only 16% are moderately caring. Study 2 is especially directed to effectively caring fathers. Background Variables. In this article we distinguish background measures on three levels: the present social context, father's value orientation, and his family of origin. In Study 1 we only pay attention to Levels 1 and 2. We divide up the present social context in father's characteristics, mother's characteristics, and a number of features of his marriage and family. The social class characteristics are based on three 12-point scales about education, occupation, and income. The characteristics have been recoded according to the Hollingshead Index of Social Status. Father value orientation is operationalized by a number of standardized attitude scales: views on relationships, views on family life, views on power division in relationships, and views on role division in relationships. Table II presents the mean scores on the Level 1 and Level 2 measures of not caring, slightly caring and moderately caring fathers.
Results The average age of all men is 43.5 years; caring fathers are only slightly younger (43.2 years). They were married 20 years ago and only 4 fathers in our sample cohabit. Most fathers (50%) have two children; there is no difference between the three groups. The other mean scores on the measures of Level 1 and Level 2 are shown in Appendix 1. With regard to present social context measures, it can be concluded that moderately caring fathers have a slightly lower average number of job hours per week, and that their wives earn a greater part of the family income. Age, occupational level, and unemployment do not correlate with the amount of care. No correlations can be demonstrated with duration of the marriage, family income, and family size. Partners of caring fathers have a relatively high occupational level and their number of job hours per week is relatively high, compared with the partners of not-caring fathers. Moderately caring fathers live significantly more often in (big) cities.
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Table EL Scores on Present Social Context Measures and Value Orientation Measures o f Not Caring, Slightly Caring, and Moderately Caring Fathers (n = 542)
Level 1: Present social context Father's characteristics Age (34-39) Educational level (1-7) Occupational Level (1-6) Employed (0 = no, 1 = yes) Average number of job hours per week Income division (1 = father alone, 7 = mother alone) His partner Educational level (1-7) Occupational level (1-6) Partner employed (0 = no, 1 = yes) Average number of job hours per week HIS marriage and family Marriage duration in years Family income per week Social class (1-5) Family size Place of residence (1 = small village, 7 = big city) Level 2: Value Orientation Political view (1 = conservative) Religion (0 = no, 1 = yes) Open communication (1 = few to 5 = much) Views on relations (0 = conservative) Views on family life (0 = conservative) Views on power division (0 = conservative) Views on role division (0 = conservative)
Not Caring Fathers (a)
Slightly Moderately Caring Caring Fathers Fathers Significant (b) (c) Contrast/'
43.4 3.40 3.44 0.94 38.5 a
43.6 3.41 3.43 0.94 37.5 a
43.2 3.76 3.80 0.91 37.0a
a-b, c
2.0a
2.2 a
2.8a
a, b-c
3.0 2.6a 0.46a 5.5a
3.0 2.6a 0.55a 7.5a
3.2 2.9a 0.60a 13.0a
a, b-c a-c a, b-e
19.7 $410 3.0 4.3
19.9 $430 3.0 4.2
19.5 $455 3.0 4.2
4.0a
4.2°
4.3°
a-c
5.3°
5.7a
5.8a
a-b, c
0.6 °
0.6 °
0.4 a
a, b-c
3.4a 5.2a 4.0a 3.5° 4.0a
3.6° 5.8a 4.4° 4.3a 5.0a
3.8a 6.7a 4.9a 5.2a 6.5a
a, b-¢ a, b-c; a-b a-e a, b-c; a-b a, b-c; a-b
p < .05. Use has been made of the least significant difference (LSD) analysis to check which o f the categories of fathers differ significantly.
With respect to Level 2, it can be concluded that the opinions of moderately caring fathers in general are more progressive in comparison with those of not caring and slightly caring fathers. Especially the scale views on role division, with items such as "looking after a family is more important for a woman than work outside the home" and "it is logical that a man has fewer duties in the household than a woman" show a different score of the three groups of fathers.
Caring Fathers
157 Table HI. OLS Multiple Regression Analysis of Not Caring, Slightly Caring, and Moderately Caring Fathers and Measures on Levels 1 and 2 (Study 1)
Predictor
Beta
Views on role division Income division Social class N u m b e r of fathers' job hours per week Open communication Views on power division
.23 a .21 a .16a -.10 a .I0 a .10 a
Educational level father Place of residence Number of mothers' job hours per week Religious orientation Occupational level father Occupational level mother F Significance Multiple R
b
11.648 .000 .457
p < .05. Not significant. Table V¢. The Three Groups of Fathers and Their Opinions About Their Life Situation (Study 1)
Stress score Divorce thoughts Marital satisfaction
ap =
Not Caring Fathers
Sligthly Caring Fathers
Moderately Caring Fathers
3.6 1.3 4.2
3.6 1.2 4.3
3.8a 1.4a 4.3a
Not significant.
Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) RegressionAnalysis. Table III provides an insight into the relative significance of the measures from Levels 1 and 2. What is the relative importance of present social context characteristics compared with father's value orientation in understanding the differences in amount of care fathers are practicing? The main predictor for the amount of father's care is his view on the division of roles in marriage. The division of income between husband and wife is a second main predictor. Not caring fathers are overrepresented in the lower social classes. The main conclusion is that both measures from Level 1 as well as measures from Level 2 correlate with the amount of care fathers practice in their families (see Table III). Father's Well-Being. Table IV provides an insight into the well-being of the fathers. The main conclusion is that there are no significant differences
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in the well-being of not caring, slightly caring, and moderately caring fathers. The scores of the three groups on the stress scale, on the number of thoughts on divorce, and on marital satisfaction, are similar.
STUDY 2 In Study 2 we distinguish between "caring fathers" and "very caring fathers." We have divided our subjects into two subgroups: those caring for children and household up to two shifts of 4 hours per week, and those caring more than two shifts (weekends and evenings excluded). The carers cared, on average, 1.81 shifts per week, the very caring fathers cared 4.99 shifts. The carers had an average of 32.96 paid work hours per week, and the very caring fathers did 25.58 hours paid work per week. In what respects do these men differ? We will attempt to relate the differing amounts of care-work to measures at the present social context, value orientation, and family background. In addition, we will look at variables aiming to measure the quality of the relationships with their partner.
Method Our subjects were contacted in a number of different ways. Twenty-nine percent responded to an advertisement in the Dutch feminist monthly Opzij [to be translated as "out of my way, her way"]. These fathers knew the names of other fathers. The snowball method was used to send a questionnaire to 226 men, 182 of whom filled it in and returned it. This amounts to a response rate of 81%. Of course this group of fathers cannot be called representative of "the Dutch father." This was an objective in Study 1. In Study 2, we were particularly aiming at caring fathers. It should be stressed that in this study the perspective of the fathers was the central focus. In the questionnaire, however, there were also questions about the partners. These were answered by the men, too. This may readily lead to some distortion. At fn'st we will present an analysis of the results of the questionnaires returned by the total group of fathers. What are their main characteristics? The average age of the men is 38.2 years; that of their (female) partner 36.7 years. The mean number of children these fathers have is 1.9 (This will increase, since some of the partners were pregnant when the data were collected.) The men are very highly educated (see Table V). Eighty-two percent of the fathers work part time. They have substantial part-time jobs. Interestingly, although there are significant differences, their partners have a similar labor-participation level. In comparison with the more common
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Table V.. Scores on Present Social Context Measures, Value Orientation Measures, and Measures of the Family of Origin of Caring and Very Caring Fathers Caring Fathers Average hours on household per week Average number of job hours per week Level 1: Present social context: Father's characteristics Age Age at birth first child Occupational level (0-1) Employed (1 = yes) Educational level (1-6) Income father (netto per week) Income per hour Flexibility in working hours (3 = much) Government employed (1 = yes) Main breadwinner (1-7; man = 7) Obstacles at work (0-1; 1 = yes) His partner Age Educational level (1-6) Occupational level (0-1) Income partner (per week) Income per hour Flexibility in working hours (3 = much) Employed (1 = yes) Government employed (1 = yes) Average number of work hours per week Important of work (1-3; 3 = much) Her political views (1-7; 1 = right) Her religious conviction (1 = yes) Average hours on household per week HIS marriage and family Married (1 = yes) Family income Working together on household (1-3; 3 = yes) Attitude friends (1-4; 4 = negative) Hours paid help in household (week) Number of tasks by man in household Number of children Age first child Level 2: Value orientation Political views (1-7; 1 = right) Importance of work (3 = not important) Preference work or household (1 = work) Religious conviction (1 = yes) Who started first about children (1 = partner) Responsibility in household Responsibility in income
72.4 33.98
Very Caring Fathers 19.95 25.25
N 160 161
38.43 32.57 .74 1.00c 5.45a $415c $12.50 1.56 .71 4.83c .75
37.99 31.21 .67 .83c 5.14a $280c $12.70 1.39 .58 3.48c .73
175 175 178 178 179 160 159 161 160 169 179
36.81 5.27 .73 $325 $12.20 2.37a .98 .69 28.04 2.07 6.32 .31 15.5
36.59 5.23 .76 $305 $11.05 2.07a .93 .73 28.21 2.20 6.25 .29 14.6
175 176 166 169 165 169 176 162 165 170 154 174 158
.59 $740c 1.92 1.15a 2.24c 29.5c 1.80 5.82
.50 $585c 1.75 132 a .77c 34.0c 1.99 6.74
178 155 175 176 177 179 178 178
6.24 1.82a .73 .29 1.82 2.14b 1.85c
6.24 2.00a .59 .33 1.70 1.98b 2.11c
168 161 t68 179 165 177 177
160
Duindam and Spruijt Table V. Continued.
Caring Fathers Level 3: Familyof origin Older sister (1 = yes) Older brother (1 = yes) Younger sister (1 = yes) Younger brother (1 = yes) Inspired by own father ( 1 = yes) Activity of own father with children Activity of own father in household Employment own mother (1 = yes) Better relation with father or mother (1 = mother)
.38a .47 .51 .56 .04 1.90 1.95 .32 1.80
Very Caring Fathers .56a .48 .46 .58 .11 1.84 1.89 .33 1.69
N 177 178 177 177 178 174 172 176 172
~:~ .05.
~P< .01. cp < .005.
Dutch situation (see Study 1), the similarity in paid hours between the partners is striking. About as many fathers (39) as mothers (42) took parental leave. Twenty-five percent of the men (and 20% of the women) work in business. The income situation of the men and their partners is also comparable: there is no significant difference in what the men and women earn per hour. More information about this group of fathers as a whole can be found in Appendix 2. From now on we will work with the two subgroups: caring and very caring fathers.
Results At the first level, the present social context, we take into consideration the characteristics of the father, his work situation, his partner, and their family and household. A number of measures rather directly relate to the work situation. Caring fathers are significantly more often employed, they work (8.73) hours more per week, they earn more per week, and their family income is higher. They also earn relatively more than their partner. They have significantly more paid help in the household. A number of measures that might have been expected to differ significantly, did, in fact, not. The occupational level of caring fathers was not significantly higher, neither were they less often government employees (in fact, this was more often the case, although the difference was not significant). And, importantly, their income per hour did not differ significantly. Although all fathers in this sample are very highly educated, we do fred a difference here: caring fathers are relatively more highly educated than very caring fathers.
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Most fathers did meet obstacles in their attempts to realize an involved fatherhood. In this respect there was no difference between caring and very caring fathers. Nor was this the case with the flexibility in their working hours. If we look at their family situation all fathers seem to form a homogeneous group. Their age is about the same (38.2), the mean number of children is almost 2, and the mean age of their (eldest) children does not differ significantly. Being married or cohabiting did not make a difference. The difference in the age of the father at the birth of the first child does, however, almost reach significance 09 = .07). Very caring fathers were somewhat younger than caring fathers at the birth of their trust child. There is a difference in the number of tasks that fathers perform in the household. Very caring fathers perform more tasks. When we turn to the partners of these fathers, it is striking how few differences we find. These women work 28 hours per week regardless of whether their partner is caring or very caring. The same applies to their earing time: 15.5 and 14.6 hours respectively, a difference of less than one hour--which is not significant. Neither were there differences in educational level, occupational level, income per hour, employment by the government, nor in political views or religious conviction. Only two differences could be found. In the first place, the partners of caring fathers had more flexibility in working hours. In the second place, the partners of very caring fathers tended to consider their work relatively more important (p = .07). The second level involves the value orientation of the men, their internalized norms, and their opinions. We questioned them about their political views, religious convictions, and about their views on paid labor and care work. The significant differences we found had to do with the importance of success at work, feeling responsible for the income, and feeling responsible for the domain inside the home. Caring fathers did find success at work more important, felt more responsible for the income situation, and less responsible for the domain inside. In addition, there was an almost significant finding (p = .06): if they had to choose, caring fathers tended to opt for full-time paid employment rather than for being a full time househusband more often than very caring fathers. A number of measures did not make a significant difference. Whether the man or the woman frrst started to talk about wanting to have children did not make a difference. Neither did political views or religious conviction make a difference. In this respect the whole group is left-wing oriented and not very religious. Study 2 also attempts to shed light on the backgrounds of these caring fathers. One of the relevant questions seems to be, are these men imitating their own (caring) father or are they compensating for a lack of involvement on behalf of their own father? It seems that the great majority of caring fathers could not see their own father as a positive model. Fewer
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than 7% of the men who participated in this study state that they were inspired by their own father. And a number of men state--without my asking, it is written in the margin of the questionnaire--that they are actually reacting against their father. One respondent talked of his "antiheroes." It should be stressed, however, that the few men who were inspired by their own father, are to be found more among the very caring fathers (p = .06). There are, perhaps, a number of different ways that lead to caring fatherhood: the father having had a caring father himself, which, in recent decades, has not often been the case, could lead to identification with him and a continuation of the caring attitude. Possibly this option can be seen in a minority of cases (7%). It should be noted, however, that fathers of very caring fathers were not more active in the household than fathers of caring fathers. Neither were they more active with their children. If there had not been an inspiring father, however, sons may have found other ways of becoming a caring father. One hypothesis is that the presence of younger siblings could possibly place an elder child in the position where he/she can learn to care. A second hypothesis would be that the presence of an older brother would give the opportunity to identify with him. If fathers are mainly absent, maybe elder brothers can take their place. This could help the younger boy to develop a stable masculinity, which in its turn could prevent fear of "female" work. And third, possibly an elder sister could play a role in "coaching" her younger brother in caring work (almost all the men come from traditional families). On the basis of the available material, we have had to reject these three hypotheses, except for the last one: very caring fathers have significantly more often an elder sister than caring fathers. In the regression analysis we clearly see the effect of the average number of job hours per week of the father. This should not be surprising since this variable negatively correlates with the number of caring hours, which was the criterion to distinguish between the groups of fathers in the first place. Nevertheless, it confirms that hours spent in market labor cannot be put into care work. The number of hours of paid help in the household also reduces the amount of care work by fathers. The role of the partner is a second issue. The more important she finds her work, the more he cares. This effect is even stronger than the importance to him of his work. (See qhble VI.) In "lhble VII caring and very caring fathers are compared against measures of well-being. Most of the variables do not distinguish between the groups in a significant way. Generally these fathers say they have happy relationships and that they communicate well. Conflicts related to the division of tasks can be found in the same degree in both groups. And the same applies to most of the other variables. Three significant differences were found. Very caring fathers are slightly more satisfied with their fatherhood. Partners of very caring fathers feel more appreciated for their work in the
Caring Fathers
163 Table VL OLS Multiple Regression Analysis of Caring and Very Caring Fathers and Measures on Levels 1, 2, and 3 Predictor
Beta
Average number of job hours per week
-AS a
Importance of work (for mother) Hours help in household (week)
-.1~ b
Government employed (mother; 0 = no) Inspiration by own father (0 = no) Importance of work (for father) Primary responsibility in household Examples for caring fatherhood F Significance Multiple R
13.093 .000 .688
p < .05. ot significant.
Table VII. Caring and Very Caring Fathers and Their Satisfaction and Well-Being
Her being appreciated for household (1 = yes) His being appreciated for household (1 = yes) Satisfactory communication (1-5; 5 = very good) Satisfaction with relation (1-5; 5 = much) Conflicts related to task division (1-3; 3 = many) Measure of burdensomeness (1-4; 4 = heavy) Measure of complaining (1 = yes) Negative effects on relationship (1 = yes) Satisfaction with fatherhood (1-3; 3 = much) Enough time for partner (1 = yes)
Caring Fathers
Very Caring Fathers
N
.54b .77 3.94 4.25 1.56 2.17 .26 .11 2.76a .41a
.78b .77 3.89 4.24 1.57 2.07 .22 .13 2.93a .59
160 168 177 173 176 175 175 174 179 168
< .05.
< .01.
household. Finally, very caring fathers more often say that they have enough time for their partner. It should be stressed that these measures correlate positively with measures of weU-being (more satisfaction, fewer conflicts). Conclusion. What makes the difference between a caring and a very caring father when we take into consideration the three different levels that we have described: present social context, Value orientation, and family of origin? At the first level we have seen that caring fathers were employed more often, had a higher income, and were the main breadwinner more often. There was no significant difference in their income per hour, how-
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ever. And although the group as a whole is very highly educated, surprisingly, the very caring fathers were slightly but significantly less highly educated. Another surprise is the fact that so few differences between the female partners of the men were found. Their educational level, occupational level, income, and number of hours in paid work were the same. And also the hours spent in caring were not significantly different. Only two significant differences could be found. Partners of caring fathers were more flexible in their working hours and partners of very caring fathers tended to find their work more important. The last finding returned more strongly in the final regression analysis. Generally, in this sample the opinions of the partner seem to be more important than her actual resources. A possible explanation for this may be that these female partners are all relatively powerful in terms of education, occupation, and income. At the second level the importance of his work for the father is a relevant factor. Caring fathers find their work more important. In addition, they feel relatively more responsible for the income situation and less responsible for the household domain. Their political views do not differentiate between these two groups of fathers. They are homogeneously left-wing oriented. At the third level, the presence of an elder sister in the father's family of origin was significantly more common with the very caring fathers. These elder sisters may have coached the men into a caring role. In addition, men who were inspired by their own father were found more in the group of very caring fathers (p = .06).
DISCUSSION
In this article our first research question was, what factors correlate with the amounts of care that men give? How can differences in care giving between men be explained? A second question that we wanted to answer relates to the well-being of the fathers. Are caring fathers more satisfied or are they, on the contrary, less satisfied? In her thorough review of studies carried out in four different countries, 3 Norma Radin (1994) reaches the conclusion that across these different cultures two determinants of fathers' functioning as the major care giver in intact families emerge: (1) the parents' perceptions of the fathering they had experienced as children; and (2) financial-employment factors, particularly problems in the fathers' obtaining jobs, the mothers' working, and maternal career aspirations (Radin, 1994, p. 44). However, different studies do not agree on the possible importance of "a belief system 3See the beginningof this article for referencesof the studies carried out in the United States, Australia, Sweden, and Israel.
Caring Fathers
165
about sharing child rearing" (Radin, 1994, p. 42). How do these conclusions relate to the findings in this study? The most important conclusion from both studies is that the more fathers care, the less time they invest in paid labor (see "lhbles III and VI). In addition, in Study 1, more care by fathers is associated with modern views on the task division between men and women, and with (higher) social class. In Study 2 virtually all fathers hold these modem views. Moreover, in Study 2 a more important role is played by the importance fathers attach to their work. The more important fathers consider their work, the less care work they do in the home. It should be added that fathers in Study 2 generally do not find their work unimportant. In Study 1 educational level and political views only indirectly differentiate between the different groups of fathers, because the key variable here is modern views. These differences in political views and educational level are also found between the total groups of fathers in Study 1 and in Study 2. They disappear, however, when the caring and very caring fathers are compared. It is remarkable that a number of measures that might have been expected to be related to the amount of care by fathers were in fact not. The occupational level of the father and his being employed by the government were not independently relevant in this respect. Neither were his partner's occupational level and her number of paid hours. Of course, again these factors play a certain indirect role, because, for instance, modern views correlate with high occupational level. But the OLS regression analysis demonstrates the relatively important significance of modern views of the fathers with respect to their amount of caring. In particular, in Study 2 the role of the partner was important. Her views and the importance she attached to her work were relevant, more so than her actual resources such as income. In this article we have distinguished three different levels: present social context, value orientation, and family of origin. The first two levels seem to be the most important, which confirms Hypothesis 2. The third level, the object of investigation only in Study 2, was not very much present in the final regression analysis. Inspiration by (his own) father did have some modest effect, which was not significant, however. For future research it might be fruitful to study the group of fathers and partners that lies between the third group of Study 1 (he 37.5 hours of paid labor and she 13 hours) and the first group of Study 2 (he 34 hours of paid labor and she 28 hours). In particular, the difference in hours of paid labor of the partners is striking. Study 2 demonstrates that the importance of work for the mother is a significant measure with regard to the analysis of the amount of father's care. When we compare these findings with those obtained in the other countries, a number of similarities emerge. The time a father is able to spend or wants to spend in paid labor, and maternal career aspirations seem to be the most important of these. Furthermore, our fred-
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ings may be useful in the discussion on the possible role of a belief system about sharing child rearing. Particularly in Study 1, modem views on these issues were relevant in predicting the amount of fathers' care. The second question we set out to answer in this article pertains to the relationship between the measures of care and the well-being of fathers. It can be concluded that there is not much difference in this respect between the groups of fathers. Very caring fathers are not less satisfied with their family, their life situation and their marriage. Finally, although the "caring fathers" combine care and work just like "working mothers," caring fathers do not define themselves as too heavily burdened. Appendix 1. Means and Standard Deviations of Background Measures Study 1 (N = 542) Mean
SD
43.46
3.58
3.50 3.55 .94 38.05 2.51
1.32 1.37 .24 1.59 1.08
3.05 2.63 .51 7.54
1.32 1.14 .50 1.51
19.72 $430a 3.02 4.28 4.10
3.01 2.41 1.12 1.00 1.47
Level 2: Value orientation Political view (1 = conservative) Religion (0 = no, 1 = yes) Open communication (1 = few to 5 = much) Views on relations ( 0 = conservative) Views on family life ((3 = conservative) Views on power division (0 = conservative) Views on role division (0 = conservative)
5.51 0.57 3.51 5.74 4.25 4.01 4.72
1.86 0.49 0.99 3.06 2.52 2.53 2.52
Well-being and quality of relationship Psychological stress (0-9) Thoughts about divorce (1-4, 1 = never) Satisfaction about marriage (1-5, 5 = much)
3.62 1.26 4.24
2.56 .61 .89
Level 1: Present social context Father's characteristics Age (34--39) Educational level (1 = elementary education to 7 = at least college degree) Occupational level (1 = lower working class to 6 = upper class) Employed (0 = no, 1 = yes) Average number of job hours per week Income division (1 = father alone, 7 = mother alone) His partner Educational level (1-7) Occupational level (1-6) Partner employed (0 = no, 1 = yes) Average number of job hours per week His marriage and family Marriage duration in years Family income per week Social class (education and occupation) husband and wife (1-5) Family size Place of residence (1 = small village, 7 = big city)
al US$ = 1.75 Dutch F1.
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167
Appendix 2. Means and Standard Deviations of Background Measures Study 2 Mean
SD
N
Average hours on household per week Average number of job hours per week
14 29.86
8.10 7.98
160 161
Level 1: Present social context Father's characteristics Age Age at birth first child Occupational level (0 = low, 1 = high) Educational level (1-6) Employed (1 = yes) Income father (neRo per week) Income per hour Flexibility in working hours (3 = much) Government employed (1 = yes) Main breadwinner (man = 1; 1-7) Obstacles
38.20 31.86 .71 5.27 .90 $350 $12.60 2.52 .65 4.14 .74
5.64 5.04 .46 .93 .29 226.7 15.75 .62 .48 1.72 .44
175 175 160 179 178 160 159 161 160 169 179
His partner Age partner Educational level partner (1-6) Occupational level partner (0-1) Income mother (netto per week) Income per hour Flexibility in working hours (3 = much) Employed (1 = yes) Government employed (1 = yes) Average number of workhours per week Importance of work (1-3; 3 = much) Political views (1 = right) Religious conviction (1 = yes) Average hours on household per week
36.65 5.24 .75 $315 $11.70 2.21 .95 .71 28.13 2.14 6.27 .30 14.98
4.51 .81 A4 193.8 7.10 .77 .22 .46 8.17 .54 1.05 .46 7.12
175 176 166 169 165 169 176 162 165 170 154 174 158
His marriage and family Family income (netto per week) Working together on household (1-3, 1 = yes) Attitude friends (1-4; 4 = negative) Hours paid help in household (week) Number of tasks by man in household Number of children Age first child
$665 1.83 1.24 1.47 31.87 1.90 6.31
334.0 .74 .81 2.01 9.63 .81 5.84
155 175 176 177 179 178 178
6.22 1.91 .66 .31 .54 1.76 1.94 2.02
1.03 .53 .47 .46 .50 .80 .48 .42
168 161 168 179 178 165 177 177
Level 2: Value orientation Political views (1-7; 7 = left) Importance of work (3 = not important) Preference work or household (1 = work) Religious conviction (1 = yes) Married (1 = yes) Who started first about children (1 = partner) Responsibility in household (1-3; 1 = partner) Responsibility in income (1-3; 3 = man)
Duindam and Spruijt
168 Appendix 2. Continued. Mean
SD
N
Level 3: Family of origin Older sister (1 = yes) Older brother (1 = yes) Younger sister (1 = yes) Younger brother (1 = yes) Inspired by own father (1 = yes) Activity of own father with children Activity of own father in household Employment own mother (1 = yes) Better relation with father or mother (1-3; 3 = father)
.47 .47 .48 .58 .07 1.88 1.92 .33 1.73
.50 .50 .50 .50 .26 .54 .63 .47 .72
177 178 177 177 179 174 172 176 173
Well-being and quality of relationship Her being appreciated for household (1 = yes) His being appreciated for household (1 = yes) Satisfactory communication (1-5; 5 = very good) Satisfaction with relationship (1-5; 5 = much) Conflicts related to task division (1-3; 3 = many) Measure of burdensomeness (1--4; 4 = heavy) Measure of complaining (1 = yes) Negative effects on relationship (1 = yes) Satisfaction with fatherhood (1-3; 3 = much) Enough time for partner (1 = yes)
.66 .77 3.91 4.25 1.56 2.11 .24 .12 2.85 .50
.47 .42 .78 .74 .61 .69 .43 .33 .35 .50
160 168 177 173 175 175 175 174 179 168
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