Formal and informal sources of paternal support in early parenthood

ABSTRACT

Extra-familial support has been proven to be an important resource for families during early parenthood, but little attention has been paid to what supports should be available for fathers specifically and how fathers perceive different sources of support during early parenthood in the twenty-first century. This study examined Finnish fathers’ (N?=?1069) regarding the following topics: (a) the support sources perceived as primary by the fathers and (b) the association between the father’s socio-economic status (SES) and his overall need for extra-familial support and (c) the association between the father’s SES, family structure and the perceived level of instrumental support sources available for parenting and childcare tasks. Most of the fathers’ perceptions highlight the role played by informal support sources in providing assistance for parenting and childcare. The results of binary logistic regression suggest that fathers of lower SES are more likely to have an increased need for extra-familial support.