Maternal perceptions of father involvement among refugee and disadvantaged families in Beirut, Lebanon

The role of fathers in (co-)parenting their children among refugee and disadvantaged families in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) remains poorly understood. This study sought to examine the associations among mothers’ perceptions of their husband’s involvement (hereafter referred to as paternal involvement), and her perceptions of her own well-being and a number of other variables, as well as observed mother-child interactions in families living in refugee and disadvantaged communities in Beirut, Lebanon. We analyzed baseline data from 104 mother-child dyads (mean age of children = 4.34 years; range = 2.05 to 7.93 years of age) who participated in a randomized controlled trial aimed at evaluating the impact of the Mother-Child Education Program in Beirut. In addition to the mother’s perception of paternal involvement and the videotaped mother-child interactions, data were collected concerning the mother’s well-being and her level of social support, as well as her level of stress as a parent and the way her children were disciplined in the family. Mother-child pairs were videotaped while completing a puzzle together and dyadic interactions were coded. Path analysis showed that paternal involvement was significantly associated with a higher level of maternal well-being and lower distress levels. In addition, higher levels of maternal distress were associated with higher levels of harsh discipline and parenting stress. Correlation analysis showed that higher perceptions of paternal involvement were associated with more positive affect displayed by the child, more positive regard for the child, and better mother-child synchrony during the dyadic interactions. Limitations include the cross-sectional design and the modest sample size, which hinder causal inferences and generalizability of the findings. These preliminary findings suggest that higher levels of paternal involvement may have an impact on markers of maternal mental health and positive mother-child interactions in families living in disadvantaged communities or humanitarian settings. Paternal involvement should be considered when designing and implementing parenting programs in LMICs.

低收入和中等收入国家（low and middle-income countries, LMICs）的难民与弱势家庭中，父亲在（共同）育儿过程中所扮演的角色仍未得到充分研究与认知。本研究旨在探究黎巴嫩贝鲁特难民与弱势社区家庭中，母亲对丈夫育儿参与度的认知（以下简称父职参与（paternal involvement））、母亲自身幸福感感知及其他多项变量之间的关联，同时考察该类家庭中的母婴互动情况。本研究分析了参与贝鲁特地区「母婴教育项目（Mother-Child Education Program）」效果评估随机对照试验的104对母婴配对样本（mother-child dyads），这些样本的儿童平均年龄为4.34岁，年龄区间为2.05至7.93岁。除母亲对父职参与的认知与母婴互动录像数据外，本研究还收集了母亲的幸福感水平、社会支持程度、育儿压力水平以及家庭内子女管教方式相关数据。研究人员对母婴共同完成拼图任务的场景进行录像，并对母婴配对互动情况进行编码。路径分析结果显示，父职参与水平与母亲更高的幸福感水平及更低的心理痛苦程度呈显著正相关。此外，母亲更高的心理痛苦程度与更严厉的子女管教方式及更高的育儿压力呈显著正相关。相关分析结果显示，对父职参与的更高认知与儿童表现出的更积极情绪、母亲对子女的更多积极关注，以及母婴互动过程中更好的同步性均呈显著相关。本研究存在一定局限：采用横断面研究设计，且样本量偏小，这限制了研究结果的因果推断能力与外推适用性。这些初步研究结果表明，在弱势社区或人道主义援助场景中的家庭里，更高水平的父职参与可能会对母亲的心理健康指标以及积极母婴互动产生正向影响。在低收入和中等收入国家设计并实施育儿项目时，应将父职参与纳入核心考量范畴。