Females’ Perception of the Role of Fathers in Caring for Children
Abstract
This study examined perceptions of a group of Qatari females about father’s involvement in caring for children. Participants in this study responded to a questionnaire that measures the extent of subjects’ beliefs about the importance of the father’s role to children’s development. The results revealed that the female participants’ had positive attitudes regarding fathers’ capabilities and their significant roles in children’s development. The participants’ positive perceptions about the role of fathers were positively related to their level of satisfaction with their own fathers’ involvement during childhood. Also, the study examined the relationship between participant’s attitude about father involvement and their gender role ideology. The results showed that despite their positive view about their own fathers and overall favorable attitude about the importance of fathers, they scored high in the gender ideology measure, which indicates that the majority of the females in our study favored traditional gendered-specific roles for parents.