The Inventory of Father Involvement (Brazilian version): verification of theoretical concepts and of instrument validity

Abstract

Father involvement is influenced by fathers', mothers' and children's psychosocial conditions, and is related to impacts on the healthy development of the children and their parents. An empirically tested theoretical model and a psychometrically sound instrument to measure this involvement would contribute to the quality of professional work in this area. The Inventory of Father Involvement (IFI) has been adapted for use in Brazil (IFI-BR), and initial evidence of its validity has been established. The objectives of the current study are to: (a) continue the process of validating the IFI-BR, (b) compare the responses of fathers who complete a printed or electronic copy of the IFI-BR, and (c) evaluate a theoretical model of father involvement. Approximately 500 fathers with children in Primary and Secondary school (from 2 to 10 years, approximately) will complete the IFI-BR, a sociodemographic questionnaire, a second measure of father involvement (the Paternal Engagement Questionnaire or the Parenting Practices Inventory), the Perceived Stress Scale, the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale, the Social Skills Inventory-Del Prette, and the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scale. The internal reliability (Cronbach's ±), internal structure (factor analysis), and correlations between the IFI-BR and other measures will be examined to further investigate the validity of the IFI-BR. The theoretical model will be evaluated using path analysis. As a result, it will be possible to develop printed and on-line versions of the IF-BR for fathers of children with two levels of schooling (Primary and Secondary school) and to test a theoretical model of father involvement. These tools will contribute to the quality of work on father-child relationships. (AU)