Comparing Father and Mother Reports of Father Involvement among Low-Income Minority Families

Currently available data and concerns over the validity of mother reports significantly truncate the ability of researchers to address a myriad of research questions concerning father involvement. This study aims to inform this concern by examining predictors of father involvement and father-mother discrepancies in reports of involvement within a low-income, predominantly minority sample of families with both residential and nonresidential fathers (N = 228). Paired HLM models are used to control for the interrelation between pairs of reporters. Results indicate that although father and mother reports are similar, mothers consistently report lower levels of involvement than do fathers. Parental conflict, fathers- nonresidence, father age, as well as mother education and employment predicted greater discrepancy across father and mother reports. Implications for future research and policy are addressed.