Kids behave worse when dads feel unsupported

Children are more likely to display troublesome behaviour in families in which the father feels unsupported by his partner, says a study.

The ways in which parents work together in their roles is a key factor in relation to the behaviour of their children.

"My results suggest that in the long term, family therapeutic interventions that aim to improve the co-parent relationship may be informed by paying particular attention to how much fathers feel supported by their co-parent," said researcher Rachel Latham from the University of Sussex.

The findings were presented at the Annual Conference of the British Psychology Society being held in Liverpool.

Fathers do not feel as confident or competent in their role because, although it is changing, commonly they are still less likely to be the primary child carer.

For the study, mothers and fathers from 106 families were sent questionnaires about parenting practices relating to their relationship quality and co-parenting techniques.

For fathers, perceptions of poor support from their partner were negatively associated with their children's behaviour.

This related to more reported incidents of a child acting defiantly or deliberately breaking toys.

For mothers, feeling unsupported by their partners did not relate to their child's behaviour.

The findings highlight the importance of involving fathers as well as mothers in the study of family and children's well-being.

The findings are scheduled to be presented at the annual conference of the British Psychology Society in Liverpool.