Fathers' parenting attitudes during a child's first year.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether fathers' interactions with their children from prebirth to 1 year of age changed the fathers' parenting attitudes as measured by the Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI).


METHODS
Nonrandomized, longitudinal, descriptive study.


METHODS
Private obstetricians' offices, prenatal clinics, and prenatal classes in a large city in the southeastern United States.


METHODS
White, well-educated, stable, upper-middle class fathers attending prenatal education classes. At time 1 (prebirth), n = 293 with 228 first-time fathers and 65 experienced fathers. At time 2 (3 months), n = 62 with 46 first-time fathers and 16 experienced fathers. At time 3 (1 year), n = 42 with 30 first-time fathers and 12 experienced fathers.


METHODS
Parenting attitudes as measured by the AAPI.


RESULTS
Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed a significant difference in two of the four constructs measured by the AAPI. When their children were 3 months old, fathers scored significantly lower in the areas of expectations and belief in the use of corporal punishment, and their raw scores did not significantly differ in the areas of empathy and appropriate family roles.


CONCLUSIONS
These fathers need education about appropriate expectations of a 3-month-old child and information regarding alternative methods of discipline.
Tiller
C M
CM
Department of Parent-Child Nursing, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta 30912, USA.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001290:Attitude; D004645:Empathy; D005219:Father-Child Relations; D005220:Fathers / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third; D011678:Punishment; D012380:Role; D012718:Set, Psychology