1
|
Scheifele C, Van Laar C, Steffens MC. Predictors of expectant fathers' parental leave-taking intentions before birth: masculinity, fatherhood beliefs, and social support. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1247193. [PMID: 38410400 PMCID: PMC10895060 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1247193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Despite continuing progress, men remain underrepresented in childcare, domestic labor, and other care work. Because parental leave is discussed as a gateway to increasing men's childcare engagement, we aimed to gain insights into predictors of men's parental leave-taking intentions during the transition to parenthood. Using outcomes on a continuum from behavioral preferences to more behavior-oriented measures, we examine how masculinity and fatherhood beliefs as well as social support become relevant during men's formation of their leave-taking intentions. Planned analyses of data collected from 143 expectant fathers in Belgium and Germany revealed that the support men perceive from their partners for taking leave predicts their parental leave-taking desire, intention, and planned length of leave. Moreover, men's conception of a prototypical man, especially in terms of agency, was linked to their desire to take leave. Against expectations, father role attitudes and workplace support did not emerge as relevant predictors of men's intended leave-taking. Results of exploratory analyses suggest that care engagement of peers, expected backlash, and self-efficacy beliefs additionally play a role in men's intended leave-taking. We discuss parental leave as a negotiation process within couples and review the role of men's normative environment for their intended leave-taking.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Carolin Scheifele
- Center for Social and Cultural Psychology, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- PhD Fellow of the Research Foundation-Flanders, Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Social, Environmental, and Economic Psychology, RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau, Landau, Germany
| | - Colette Van Laar
- Center for Social and Cultural Psychology, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Melanie C Steffens
- Department of Social, Environmental, and Economic Psychology, RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau, Landau, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Saxler FM, Dorrough AR, Froehlich L, Block K, Croft A, Meeussen L, Olsson MIT, Schmader T, Schuster C, van Grootel S, Van Laar C, Atkinson C, Benson-Greenwald T, Birneanu A, Cavojova V, Cheryan S, Lee Kai Chung A, Danyliuk I, Dar-Nimrod I, de Lemus S, Diekman A, Eisner L, Estevan-Reina L, Fedáková D, Gavreliuc A, Gavreliuc D, Germano AL, Hässler T, Henningsen L, Ishii K, Kundtová Klocová E, Kozytska I, Kulich C, Lapytskaia Aidy C, López López W, Morandini J, Ramis T, Scheifele C, Steele J, Steffens MC, Velásquez Díaz LM, Venegas M, Martiny SE. Did Descriptive and Prescriptive Norms About Gender Equality at Home Change During the COVID-19 Pandemic? A Cross-National Investigation. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN 2024:1461672231219719. [PMID: 38284645 DOI: 10.1177/01461672231219719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2024]
Abstract
Using data from 15 countries, this article investigates whether descriptive and prescriptive gender norms concerning housework and child care (domestic work) changed after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results of a total of 8,343 participants (M = 19.95, SD = 1.68) from two comparable student samples suggest that descriptive norms about unpaid domestic work have been affected by the pandemic, with individuals seeing mothers' relative to fathers' share of housework and child care as even larger. Moderation analyses revealed that the effect of the pandemic on descriptive norms about child care decreased with countries' increasing levels of gender equality; countries with stronger gender inequality showed a larger difference between pre- and post-pandemic. This study documents a shift in descriptive norms and discusses implications for gender equality-emphasizing the importance of addressing the additional challenges that mothers face during health-related crises.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Toni Schmader
- The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Ivan Danyliuk
- Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine
| | | | | | - Amanda Diekman
- Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA
- Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
| | | | | | - Denisa Fedáková
- Centre of Social and Psychological Sciences SAS, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Inna Kozytska
- Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Carolin Scheifele
- University of Leuven, Belgium
- Research Foundation Flanders, Brussels, Belgium
- University of Kaiserslautern-Landau, Landau, Germany
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|