Study Baruch & Barnett (1986a): study US 1980

Public

Mothers with children age 4-10, USA,1980

Sample

Respondents

N = 160

Non Response

60%

Assessment

Interview: face-to-face
Also mailed questionnaire, weekchart. Parents jointly used a chart to indicate 5 typical week days and for 2 typical weekend days the hours during which the target child and each parent were home and awake; they then indicated the nature of the child- parent interaction that typically occured during each of those hours.

Correlate

Authors's Label

Fathers' interaction time with children

Our Classification

Remarks

Parents jointly used a chart to indicate 5 typical week days and for 2 typical weekend days the hours during which the target child and each parent were home and awake; they then indicated the nature of the child- parent interaction that typically occured during each of those hours.

Distribution

Total interaction time: M = 29.48 hr per week SD =  8.07
Solo interaction time:  M =   5.48 hr per week SD =  4.84

Operationalization

A Total interaction time: Number of hours per week the father spends in intermittent and intensive interaction with child, whether or not the mother is present:
1= no interaction: parent and child are engaged in independent activity
2 = intermittent interaction: Parent and child each are doing their own things and interacting periodically
3 = intensive interaction: Parent and child are actively involved together.
Level 1 scores were omitted. Level 2 and 3 interaction scores were combined into a total interaction time score.

B Solo interaction time: Number of hours per week the father spends in intermittent and intensive interaction when the mother is out of the house or not available

Observed Relation with Happiness