1. Objectifs

Intentions :
« The key question in this paper is whether methodological issues related to the time-use diary (i.e. type of day, temporary absences and childcare activity codes) explain why a non-negligible proportion of fathers spend no time with their children on their diary day, or whether non-involved fathers instead constitute a distinct subgroup in terms of their social, economic and demographic characteristics. » (p. 263)

Questions/Hypothèses :
« We expect fathers in Quebec to be more involved in light of their less traditional gender and family ideologies and possibly because of the more supportive policy environment provided to parents in Quebec (Roy and Bernier 2007). » (p. 255)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
Les données proviennent du Canadian General Social Survey (GSS) time-use survey de 2005 (Statistique Canada).

Instruments :
Questionnaire

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

« In support of the data artifact explanation, we found that non-involved fathers (as opposed to highly involved fathers) were much less likely to have filled in their diary on a weekend day, were more likely to be absent from home on their diary day (as were their children) and were less likely to have very young children. However, we also found that non-involved fathers differed on numerous characteristics, not only from the highly involved fathers, but also from those in the low and medium involvement categories. » (p. 263) « [...] [O]ur results also indicate that non-involved fathers differ in their social, economic, and demographic characteristics from other fathers. What this suggests is that the unique characteristics of non-involved fathers should be taken into account in statistical models and may require separate analyses. [...] Substantively, our findings suggest that there is a distinct group of fathers who can be legitimately labeled non-involved (i.e. those who spend no time in childcare and no time in the presence of children) and who differ in their characteristics from other fathers. » (p. 264)