Types of fathering insufficiency and their association with children's emotional well being: a latent profile.

Abstract

Background: Father absence has become an increasingly concerning social issue. The physical absence of fathers often leads to a lack of paternal functioning, but the two are not entirely equivalent. Therefore, this study coined the term "fathering insufficiency" to describe insufficiency in paternal functioning.

Objective: This study had three objectives: (1) to identify the types of fathering insufficiency using latent profile analysis; (2) to explore the proportion of fathering insufficiency in different family structures; and (3) to compare differences in children's emotional well-being across different types of fathering insufficiency.

Methods: A total of 3,199 junior middle school students were surveyed using the Inventory of Father Involvement (short version), the Inventory of Mother Involvement, and the Emotional Experience of Well-being Questionnaire.

Results: Children were categorized into four classes: moderate parental functioning (M), high parental functioning (H), mild parenting insufficiency (MI), and fathering-lack-high-mothering (L-H). Both the MI and L-H classes were characterized as experiencing fathering insufficiency. The proportion of fathering insufficiency observed in the present sample was 21.4% in dual-parent co-resident families, 29.9% in left-behind families, and 66.1% in divorced families. The emotional well-being of children in the L-H class was significantly lower than that in the M class, but significantly higher than that in the MI class.

Conclusions: Both the MI and L-H classes exhibited characteristics of fathering insufficiency, with different patterns showing distinct associations with children's emotional well-being. Parenting programs can offer family education on fathering insufficiency. Fathers should use fragmented time and digital tools to raise engagement. Couples need constructive conflict management and careful divorce consideration.