ABSTRACT
Prior research on paternal identity focuses on identity salience or commitment. Using an inductive approach, this study investigated paternal identity using fathers’ narratives about meaningful experiences they have had or anticipate having with their child. In an exploratory study of 28 married couples (N=56) with preschool children, the Parenting Narrative Interview (PNI) collected parents’ stories about their experiences at five different points in time (Marker Experiences), and their stories about five different areas of parenting (Domain Experiences): caregiving, promoting development, breadwinning, arranging and planning, and relationship with the child. The construct of “parenting voice” emerged during analysis of these narratives, referring to whether parents described their experiences using the first-person singular I or plural We. Parenting voice is interpreted as reflecting the degree of “conjointness” in a father’s or mother’s parental identity, i.e., the balance between self-as-solo-parent and self-as-coparent. Parental identity conjointness did not differ between fathers and mothers across narrative time (Marker Experiences). Fathers’ parental identities were more conjoint than mothers’ for four of five domains: caregiving, promoting development, arranging and planning, and relationship with the child. Use of the We voice in fathers’ arranging and planning narratives was associated with both fathers’ and mothers’ reporting more play-companionship with their child. Mothers’ use of the We voice in arranging and planning was associated with mothers doing fewer parenting tasks and working more hours, and with fathers doing more parenting tasks (caretaking, teaching, and arranging) and working fewer hours, These findings suggest that parental identity in the arranging and planning domain may function as an executive component of parental identity, associated with behavior in multiple domains.
