title: Relations between Fathers' and Mothers' Infant Engagement Patterns in Dual-Earner Families and Toddler Competence.
abstract: This study examined the trajectories of time new fathers and mothers in dual-earner families (N= 178) reported spending in developmentally appropriate positive engagement activities over the first 9 months of their child's life on both work and non-workdays. We also explored how paternal and maternal engagement patterns in infancy were associated with children's later social-emotional competence during toddlerhood (M= 25 months). Utilizing latent growth models, we found that, compared with mothers, fathers spent significantly less time engaging with their infants; however, both parents increased their engagement over time at relatively the same rate. Fathers' rate of increase over time and mothers' initial starting point of engagement on non-workdays were associated with toddlers' attention and mastery motivation. Findings are discussed with regards to what they mean for dual-earner couples and fathers' investment in their offspring, highlighting what they may imply about the second demographic transition and family functioning.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Sciences at The Ohio State University.
authors.forename: Sarah N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Sciences at The Ohio State University.
authors.forename: Sarah J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Schoppe-Sullivan
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Sciences at The Ohio State University.
authors.forename: Letitia E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Kotila
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Sciences at The Ohio State University.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Sciences at The Ohio State University.
authors.forename: Claire M Kamp
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Dush
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology at The Ohio State University.
authors.forename: Susan C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Johnson
keywords: Dual-Earner families; Father Engagement; Social-Emotional Competence; Time Diaries; Transition to Parenthood