Parental attitudes and fathers' interactions with their 5-month-old infants.

Forty couples and their 5-month-old infants participated in a study investigating the relationships between parental attitudes and fathers' behavioral and affective involvement with their children during a brief home-based observation. Attitudinal measures included fathers' and mothers' views on the role of the father, fathers' sex role orientation, empathic tendencies, and social desirability scores. The fathers' sex role orientation and both parents' views concerning the role of the father were found to be significantly correlated with observed levels of paternal activity. Implications for paternal support programs are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)