Abstract

For decades, various researchers were in agreement that the role of the father was only as an economic provider. Nevertheless, with the historical changes during the last decades, many psychologists became interested in discovering what are the father´s roles and what happens to the father during a child´s gestation. It has been shown that a father´s sociocultural and socio-demographic characteristics influence his role and transition to paternity. Thus, this study aims to analyze the differences between the dimensions of the Fatherhood Sensitivity Questionnaire and socio-demographic variables such as: father´s age, academic level, civil status, work status, number of children, children´s ages and gender. A sample of 170 fathers with children below 2 years of age was tested, using a descriptive design. The instruments used were the Fatherhood Sensitivity Questionnaire and an ad hoc socio-demographic questionnaire. Results show that there are differences between fatherhood sensitivity and father´s age, the child´s age and the parental education level, however no differences were found between sensitivity and marital status, employment situation, quantity of children and their sex. In conclusion, fatherhood building and development depends on several variables such as: social and cultural context, current situation, among others, and their mix will decide the way that the father will bond with his child

Keywords: Fatherhood; Transition; Sensitivity; Males; Socio-demographic Variables; Birth