The measurement properties of fatherhood constructs across varied populations have been neglected in fatherhood research. The goal of this project is to examine the psychometric properties of father involvement constructs in three surveys of fathers and children as part of an extraordinary ongoing project, the Developing a Daddy Survey (DADS). Measures are based on the Lamb et al., (1985, 1987) and Palkovitz (1997) conceptual frameworks that cover the constructs of engagement, accessibility, and responsibility. The proposed study will assess within and across each survey: (1) The levels of missing data and non-response on measures; (2) the reliability of father involvement scales; (3) the validity of father involvement constructs; and (4) provide benchmark estimates of father involvement constructs with other survey estimates. Weak measures will be those with substantial missing information, low reliability (for scales), those that differ unreasonably and unsubstantially from measures in comparable samples, and those that do not correlate with social and economic factors on the basis of available literature and theory. An examination of comparable measures across the three surveys may indicate that some constructs are primarily useful in one or another group, e.g. married or unmarried fathers, and could warrant the development of measures specific to these groups or the broadening of current measures to better reflect sub-group differences. The study will provide a set of father involvement measures that have been tested among varied populations, and that are reliable, valid, known to be associated with child outcomes, and which can be widely used by researchers to understand the importance of father involvement to child well-being and development. Three sources of data will be used, each of which provides a unique perspective on father involvement: The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), the Early Head Start Evaluation Study (EHS), and the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study (Fragile Families). Having reliable, internally consistent, valid measures of father involvement will be useful to researchers who will analyze these databases, who design new measures, and who are developing new surveys such as the National Child Study (NCS). This research will benefit the wider research community by identifying high quality fatherhood measures and adding to the scientific understanding of how fathers influence the development of children. ? ?
