engleski

Work-to-family conflict and father-infant bonding: The role of marital satisfaction.

Background While the factors that promote or hinder mother- infant bonding have been explored to some extent, much less is known about the factors that predict father-infant bonding. According to Belsky (1984), three domains of determinants affect parental behaviour: parental personal characteristics, characteristics of the child, and contextual factors. Since bonding can be especially challenging for employed parents, we focus on contextual factors in fathers related to work in this research. The work-to-family conflict refers to inter-role conflict, in which two domains are mutually incompatible to some extent. Some research shows that work-to-family conflict can affect marital satisfaction. Therefore, marital satisfaction may mediate between the father’s work-to-family conflict and father-infant bonding. Aims and Objectives The objective of this study was to investigate the direct effects of work-to-family conflict dimensions (time, strain, and behaviour) on father-infant bonding, as well as indirect effects through marital satisfaction. Methods In an online study, 170 employed fathers filled out the Work-Family Conflict Scale, Marital Satisfaction Scale, Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire, and a set of questions on demographic and job-related data. Results Path analysis revealed that dimensions of work-to- family conflict did not have direct effects on father-infant bonding. However, strain-based work- to-family conflict had an indirect effect on father-infant bonding, via marital satisfaction. Fathers who experienced more strain-related work- to-family conflict, had lower satisfaction with their marriage, which led to more impaired father- infant bonding. Conclusions To promote father-infant bonding particular emphasis should be on improving marital relations, while employers could develop family-friendly policies that focus on strain-related work-to- family conflict.

work-to-family conflict ; marital satisfaction ; bonding ; fathers ; infants

nije evidentirano