Longer paternity leave improves co-parenting dynamics between moms and dads

A longer paternity leave after the birth of a child can improve the co-parenting relationship between moms and dads in a key way, a new study finds.

Researchers found that mothers were less likely to discourage fathers’ involvement in parenting if the dads had taken more time off after their child was born.

When fathers take longer leaves, mothers might take that as a sign that fathers are more interested in being an active parent and be less likely to try to prevent them from participating in child care.”

Reed Donithen, lead author of the study and doctoral student in developmental psychology, The Ohio State University

In addition, longer leave for fathers is linked to mothers changing their attitudes about fathers and child care, said study co-author Sarah Schoppe-Sullivan, professor of psychology at Ohio State and president of the board of the Council on Contemporary Families.

When dads take more time off after the birth of their baby, moms relax unrealistically high standards for fathers’ parenting and are less reliant on others’ evaluations about their fulfillment of the maternal role.

“It is difficult to change people’s attitudes, but a longer paternity leave appears to change not only how mothers respond to fathers’ involvement in child care but how they view parental roles,” Schoppe-Sullivan said. “That is exciting.”

The study was published this week in the journal Sex Roles.

The researchers used data from the New Parents Project, a long-term study led by Schoppe-Sullivan that investigates how dual-earner couples adjust to becoming parents and how families and children develop over time. In all, 182 couples, most of whom were married, white, well-educated and of higher socioeconomic status, participated in the project.

The parents were assessed four times: when the mother was in her third trimester of pregnancy and when the baby was 3, 6 and 9 months old.

When the baby was 9 months old, mothers and fathers answered questions about what researchers call “maternal gatekeeping,” or how much the mother inhibits or welcomes the father’s involvement in child care.

They were asked how often mothers encouraged dads’ engagement in parenting through gateopening behaviors – for example, by asking for his opinion about child care behaviors. Parents were also asked how often moms engaged in discouraging, or gateclosing behaviors, such as criticizing the dad.

When fathers took longer leave, both moms and dads agreed that mothers were less likely to use gateclosing behaviors. But the researchers were surprised that it didn’t lead to more gateopening by the moms.

One reason may be that there is still this belief in our society that mothers should take the lead in child care, Donithen said.

“Mothers may think they are the default main parent and so they don’t go out of their way to encourage dads to get more involved,” he said.

The optimistic view, according to Schoppe-Sullivan, is that moms see dads who take longer paternity leaves also taking a more active role in parenting – and figure they don’t need to further encourage fathers’ involvement.

One strength of the study is that the researchers controlled for many other factors that could explain why fathers who take longer leave also may be more involved in child care. Those include a variety of psychological factors of mothers and fathers, as well as socioeconomic status.

Overall, the results suggest that longer paternity leave may set in motion multiple changes that reduce the burden that new mothers bear in child care.

“A lot of research on the transition to parenthood suggests that nearly all couples fall into this trap of having unequal roles – even highly educated, two-earner couples like those in our study,” Schoppe-Sullivan said.

“This study suggests that a longer paternity leave may be a way out of the trap, that it may lead to a situation where fathers do have more of an equal role in parenting.”

Other co-authors of the study were Miranda Berrigan and Claire Kamp Dush of the University of Minnesota.

The research was funded by the National Science Foundation and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.