The purpose of this study was to analyze the trends of research on the parenting participation of fathers of children with developmental disabilities including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability in Korea and provide the prelimi...
The purpose of this study was to analyze the trends of research on the parenting participation of fathers of children with developmental disabilities including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability in Korea and provide the preliminary data for the future studies. For this purpose, the present study analyzed the 39 studies from 1988 when the first paper on the fathers’ parenting participation was published until 2018 in order to distinguish the variables affecting the father’s parenting participation from the variables affected by father’s parenting participation.
The results were as follows: first, an increasing number of research on the parenting participation of fathers of children with developmental disabilities has been found just after the related legislation was amended or enforced. Second, the variables affected by father’s parenting participation was the most frequently explored and were predominantly related to children’s mother. Third, the variables affecting father’s parenting participation focused mainly to father’s socioeconomic status. Fourth, only one study regarding the education effect of parenting participation of father was identified.
These results suggest the importance of systematic approach to embrace the psychological change of fathers after parenting participation. Furthermore, the findings highlight the necessity to facilitate the father’s parenting participation ultimately leading to the change of their developmental disabled children and their family as a whole.