Role of father involvement, co-parenting relationship quality, and father’s work hours in social-emotional behavioral outcomes of children in the Pakistani cultural context

Abstract This study aimed to examine the direct and indirect relationship between father involvement, co-parenting relationship quality, and social-emotional behaviors of children in the collectivistic, patriarchal societal context of Pakistan. The study is a correlational study that was conducted on children and adolescents ages 4-17. A purposive sampling strategy was used to collect data from 160 fathers, who gave information about their involvement in child-rearing activities, co-parenting relationship quality with their wives, and child social-emotional behaviors. The results indicated that father involvement has a negative correlation (r= .11; P= .07) with child problem behaviors, and a significant positive correlation with child pro-social behaviors (r= .15; P= .04). Whereas, co-parenting relationship quality had a significant negative correlation of (r= .30; P=.00) with child problem behaviors and a significant positive correlation of (r= .29; P=.00) with child pro-social behaviors. Results of the moderated mediational analysis showed that co-parenting relationship quality does not mediate the relationship (B= .014, p= .74) between father involvement and child pro-social behavior, but working hours of father do moderate the relationship (B= .014, p= .02). In conclusion, it can be stated that flexibility in the work hours of fathers and helping them be involved with their families can aid the healthy development of children and families in Pakistan.