To better understand the role of wives in families in which fathers raise the children, data were analyzed from a previously conducted study of partial role reversals in two-parent families. The sample consisted almost exclusively of 59 white, middle-class families with a child 3 to 6 years of age. Data gathered in separate interviews with mothers…

In a follow-up study of paternal involvement in childrearing, it was found, as hypothesized in terms of role theory, that families in which fathers had been the principal caregiver showed least stability in child care arrangements. Also, sex differences and parental attitudes were indicative of varying amounts of paternal involvement in child…

A study was made to assess whether middle-class men who were primary caregivers for their preschool-age children continued as such when their children were of school age. The attempt was made to predict level of paternal involvement 4 years later; also explored were the stability and predictors of father involvement over a 4-year period when the…