Household chaos as a moderator of the link between parents' inhibitory control and parenting quality.

This study considered how mothers' and fathers' inhibitory control, an aspect of executive functioning (EF) that reflects how well an individual can suppress a dominant response to perform a subdominant response, is associated with observations of their parenting quality when children were 7.5 years old. Furthermore, aspects of the daily home environment may strengthen or undermine parents' ability to draw on their inhibitory control and exhibit high-quality parenting. Household chaos, including clutter, confusion, and ambient noise, may impair parents' ability to successfully activate inhibitory control and engage in high-quality parenting. Thus, additional analyses examined whether parents' perceptions of household chaos moderated associations between inhibitory control and parenting. Data came from a sample of approximately 102 families headed by different-sex parents (n = 99 mothers; n = 90 fathers) of 7.5-year-old children who participated in a study of family development. Findings from multilevel models indicated that inhibitory control predicted greater positive-sensitive parenting in contexts of low household chaos. Associations between inhibitory control and parenting quality were not statistically significant in contexts of average or high household chaos. These findings highlight the importance of considering household chaos and inhibitory control as factors associated with parenting quality for fathers and mothers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Correlates and predictors of parenting self-efficacy in new fathers.

Parenting self-efficacy is a critical determinant of high-quality parenting behavior, but this aspect of parenting cognitions has been understudied for fathers. Longitudinal data from a sample of 182 fathers of firstborn infants in dual-earner families were used to assess how expectant fathers' rearing history, personality and personal characteristics, and family relationships were associated with their initial levels of parenting self-efficacy in the early postpartum period. Expectant fathers completed surveys assessing their rearing history, personality, and personal characteristics during the third trimester of pregnancy and reported on their perceptions of coparenting and parenting self-efficacy at three months postpartum. Results of hierarchical regression analyses showed that new fathers were at risk for lower parenting self-efficacy when they had greater attachment anxiety and neuroticism, believed that mothers are inherently better caretakers, and planned to use their own fathers as models for childrearing. In contrast, new fathers had greater parenting self-efficacy when they perceived their coparenting relationships with children's mothers more positively. These findings inform theory about the development of fathers' parenting cognitions and behavior and practice with expectant and new fathers, and, if replicated in a larger, more representative sample, may be used to identify expectant fathers at risk for low parenting self-efficacy and in the design of policy initiatives to enhance father-child relationships. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

The Best and Worst of Times: Predictors of New Fathers' Parenting Satisfaction and Stress.

This study examined predictors of new fathers' parenting satisfaction and stress using data from 182 fathers in dual-earner couples who were followed across their transition to parenthood. Expectant fathers completed surveys about their personal characteristics (anxiety, belief in maternal essentialism, parenting self-efficacy expectations) and family relationships (confidence in the couple relationship) during the third trimester of pregnancy. At three months postpartum, fathers completed surveys about their family relationships (maternal gatekeeping) and child characteristics (infant negative emotionality, infant gender), as well as their parenting satisfaction and stress. Results of regression analyses indicated that expectant fathers with greater parenting self-efficacy expectations reported less parenting stress and greater satisfaction at three months postpartum. More anxious expectant fathers were at risk of experiencing elevated levels of parenting stress postpartum, as were fathers with lower endorsement of maternal essentialism and infants highly negative in mood. Fathers were more satisfied in their roles as parents when mothers engaged in greater gate-opening behavior, particularly when those fathers expressed less confidence in their couple relationships prior to their child's birth. Results indicate the importance of screening expectant and new fathers for anxiety, strengthening expectant fathers' parenting self-efficacy, and encouraging greater maternal support for engaged fathering.