%0 Journal Article
%T Exploring Low Levels of Inter
%A David M. Patrick
%A Gareth D. Mercer
%A Jane A. Buxton
%A Julie A. Bettinger
%A Monika Esser
%A Rachel Jewkes
%A Ying C. MacNab
%J The Journal of MenĄ¯s Studies
%@ 1933-0251
%D 2018
%R 10.1177/1060826517711160
%X High rates of residential separation of fathers and children in South Africa demand reliable methods of collecting data on the parenting practices of nonresident fathers. Using questionnaire data from matched mother¨Cfather pairs, we assessed the reliability of motherĄ¯s reports of fatherĄ¯s involvement in infant care as a proxy for fatherĄ¯s own reports. Agreement between parental reports was reasonable for fatherĄ¯s financial provisioning and time spent with the infant, but poor for fatherĄ¯s engagement in direct caregiving, decision-making responsibility, and assistance with household chores. Across a range of activities, fathers reported higher levels of involvement than were acknowledged by mothers. Disagreement over definitions of the underlying parenting practices being assessed and definitions of the response categories on the questionnaire appeared to contribute to low levels of overall agreement. Mother and father reports should not be treated interchangeably in research on father involvement. Ideally, future research will incorporate data from multiple observers
%K fatherhood
%K father involvement
%K caregiving and carework
%K co-parenting measurement
%K interrater agreement
%K South Africa
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1060826517711160