영아기 자녀를 둔 아버지의 돌봄 참여 관련변인들 간의 구조적 관계

A Structural Analysis of the Variables Influencing Father Involvement in Infant Care

The purpose of this study was to conduct a structural analysis of the variables influencing fathers' involvement in infant care. The subjects were 203 fathers with infants aged 0-36 months who were attending day care centers in the Chungnam area in Korea. The data were analyzed with Pearson's correlation, a statistical program for structural equation modeling, to assess the hypothesized structural equation model. The mediating effects were analyzed using a Bootstrap method. The results were as follows: first, parental emotional motivation has no direct effect on infant care. However, role-confidence was found to mediate the relationship between parental emotional motivation and participation in infant care. Second, spousal support directly affected the level of involvement in infant care, and role-co+G4nfidence mediated the relationship between spousal support and participation in infant care. The implications of this study and the need for follow-up studies were also discussed.