Factors inffuencing parental role satisfaction among Korea fathers of young children in the COVID-19 endemic era

1.1 Significance of the study

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on societies worldwide, including quarantine measures, social distancing, school closures, travel bans, border closures and the collapse of healthcare systems [1, 2]. In response to the severity of COVID-19, South Korea classified it as a “social disaster” under the “Framework Act on the Management of Disasters and Safety”. A social disaster refers to incidents that affect the health and safety of the public due to the occurrence of epidemics and infectious diseases [3]. Social disasters disrupt the daily lives and quality of life of children and can severely impact developmental tasks across various stages, including infancy, preschool, school age and adolescence [4, 5, 6]. Due to their developmental vulnerability and often limited ability to protect their own health and safety, children may find it challenging to actively respond to social disasters [7]. Consequently, the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the critical role of caregivers in providing essential support, guidance and protection to help children navigate these difficult times. In South Korea, various policies, including “quarantine” and “social distancing” were established and implemented to prevent COVID-19 infections. The spread of COVID-19 led caregivers to work from home and delay sending children to childcare and educational institutions [8, 9]. The postponement of school attendance, in particular, increased the caregiving burden on parents, significantly escalating the multi-role burden among dual-income parents [10, 11, 12]. This situation prompted a social shift towards more active paternal involvement in childcare, challenging the cultural norm in South Korea where the caregiving burden predominantly fell on mothers [13]. COVID-19 has served as a crucial catalyst in transforming the role of fathers from mere economic providers to more active and engaged caregivers. This shift has significantly impacted the social perception of fatherhood and contributed to the reconfiguration of the family environment. As the transition to the endemic phase of COVID-19 occurred, studies showed that fathers took more leave/vacation and used flexible work arrangements at higher rates than mothers [7]. This indicates an increase in paternal involvement in childcare and an expansion of parental roles. Paternal involvement provides diverse qualitative stimuli and influences on children’s growth and development [14, 15]. According to Pruett’s research [6], when fathers engage in high-quality interactions with their children during the ages of 1 to 3, it has been shown to enhance children’s emotional stability and the development of social skills. The early childhood period, in particular, is a critical time when children move beyond infancy and require stable attachment relationships with their parents, while also being exposed to and adapting to new environments. It is also the stage before school age, where parental influence remains significant. Therefore, this study focuses on fathers with young children and examines the factors influencing their satisfaction with their parental roles. Previous studies have found that fathers’ satisfaction with their parental role is significantly influenced by their involvement in parenting and the quality of their relationship with their children [16]. The more actively fathers participate in parenting, the higher their satisfaction with their role, which in turn positively impacts their children’s emotional development. Furthermore, research indicates that fathers who perceive themselves as better parents, especially when they acknowledge and take on more responsibility in parenting, experience greater satisfaction with their role [16]. This reinforces the idea that a father’s role is not limited to economic support but is also crucial in providing emotional support and actively participating in child-rearing. In Korea, traditional Confucian values have historically shaped family roles, with fathers often seen as financial providers rather than active caregivers [5]. However, societal changes, such as increasing urbanization, the influence of global perspectives on parenting and shifts in gender roles, are leading to a transformation in how fatherhood is perceived [5]. Modern Korean fathers are increasingly expected to be more involved in child-rearing and emotional support, particularly in light of government policies promoting paternity leave and work-life balance [5]​. By investigating Korean fathers, the study can illuminate how these cultural factors influence paternal engagement and child development in ways that differ from Western models. This focus can also help bridge the literature gap and provide insights into how Korean cultural values shape father-child interactions. Additionally, it strengthens the argument for the need to study non-Western fatherhood experiences, ensuring that research in this field is more globally representative. To justify this focus, you could explore these culturally unique aspects of fatherhood in Korea and emphasize how they influence the development of the father-child relationship differently from other cultural contexts. This approach reinforces the importance of studying Korean fathers to gain a more nuanced understanding of paternal roles in a changing society [5]. A review of previous studies on fathers’ parental role satisfaction highlights several influencing factors. While some research has focused on fathers’ characteristics related to parenting stress [16, 17] and aspects of the parenting environment such as social support and socioeconomic status [18, 19], there is a relative scarcity of studies examining parental role satisfaction in relation to fathers’ characteristics like parenting beliefs [20], children’s characteristics like gender [19] and temperament [21] and parenting environment factors such as emotional support from the spouse [22]. Each family may have unique characteristics in their parenting methods and experiences. While children go through the same developmental stages, variations can occur due to the child’s individual temperament and personality or the situational context in which the parents have lived or are currently living. Consequently, many fathers raising children in similar conditions but different environments are likely to have distinct experiences. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the factors influencing the parental role satisfaction of fathers with young children in the context of the COVID-19 endemic era, focusing on changes in the parenting process, fathers’ parenting behaviors, father-child interactions (Father-child relationships) and parenting stress to provide foundational data for developing intervention strategies to enhance parental role satisfaction.

1.2 Research objectives

The purpose of this study is to identify the factors influencing the parental role satisfaction of Korea fathers with young children in the COVID-19 endemic era.

2.1 Research design

This study is a descriptive survey aimed at identifying the factors influencing the parental role satisfaction of Korea fathers with young children in the COVID-19 endemic era.

2.2 Research subjects

The study’ participants were fathers of 1- to 3-year-old children attending daycare centers in the Seoul, Gyeonggi and Jeonnam regions of South Korea. They were selected via convenience sampling and consented to participate. Using G*Power 3.1 (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, NRW, Germany) for multiple regression analysis, with a significance level of 0.05, a medium effect size of 0.15, a power of 0.80 and 21 predictors, the minimum required sample size was determined to be 160 [21]. To account for a potential 25% dropout rate, the target sample size was increased to 200 fathers. All 200 fathers responded to the survey, but 28 questionnaires were excluded due to incomplete responses, resulting in 172 valid questionnaires for the final analysis, thereby meeting the required sample size.

2.3 Research instruments

2.4 Data collection and ethical considerations

The researcher directly visited daycare centers located in Seoul, Gyeonggi and Jeonnam regions of South Korea and conducted the study with the cooperation of the daycare center directors. Data were collected through surveys from 01 March to 30 May 2024. Participants were recruited using the “notification mobile app” utilized by the daycare centers. Those who expressed interest in participating were met in person at the daycare center’s education room. The researcher provided detailed explanations about the study using an information sheet, covering the background, purpose, subjects, methods, duration, participation and withdrawal, benefits and risks and confidentiality. Participants who provided written consent were then selected for the study and asked to complete the survey.

2.5 Data analysis methods

The data collected in this study were analyzed using SPSS/WIN (Version 24.0, IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) software as follows: The general characteristics of the study participants were calculated using frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. The parenting behavior, father-child relationship, parenting stress and parental role satisfaction of the study participants were analyzed using mean and standard deviation. Differences in parenting behavior, father-child relationship, parenting stress and parental role satisfaction according to the general characteristics of the participants were analyzed using t-test or ANOVA, with post-hoc tests conducted using the Scheffé test. The correlations between parenting behavior, father-child relationship, parenting stress and parental role satisfaction were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. The factors influencing parental role satisfaction were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression analysis.

3.1 General characteristics of the subjects

The study included 96 male children (55.8%) and 76 female children (44.2%). Regarding age, 57 children (33.1%) were between 6 months and less than 9 months old. According to the fathers’ perceptions, 84 children (48.8%) were considered to be in “very good health” and 97 children (56.4%) were perceived to have an “average” temperament. The age distribution of the fathers in the study indicated that 68 participants (39.5%) were between 31 and 35 years old. In terms of education, 68 fathers (39.5%) had completed a university degree. Regarding employment status, 101 fathers (58.7%) were employed and 71 fathers (41.3%) were on parental leave. The majority of the families were nuclear families, with 162 families (94.2%) fitting this description. The average monthly income for the majority of the fathers was between 3 million and 4 million KRW (Korean Won), with 58 fathers (33.7%) falling into this income bracket. For marital duration, 77 fathers (44.8%) had been married for between 5 and 10 years, and 107 fathers (62.2%) had two children (Table 1).

3.2 Differences in parenting behavior, father-child relationship, parenting stress, and parental role satisfaction based on general characteristics of the subjects

An analysis of parenting behavior based on the general characteristics of the subjects revealed a significant difference related to the employment status of the caregivers (t = −2.20, p = 0.029). The father-child relationship also showed a significant difference based on the employment status of the caregivers (t = −2.28, p = 0.024). Parenting stress varied significantly with the duration of marriage of the caregivers (F = 6.46, p < 0.001). However, there were no significant differences in parental role satisfaction based on the general characteristics of the subjects (Table 1).

3.3 Levels of parenting behavior, father-child relationship, parenting stress, and parental role satisfaction of the subjects

The levels observed among fathers of young children were as follows: parenting behavior scored an average of 3.67 ± 0.34 points, father-child relationship scored 3.64 ± 0.27 points, parenting stress scored 3.70 ± 0.72 points and parental role satisfaction scored 3.37 ± 0.32 points (Table 1).

3.4 Correlation between parenting behavior, father-child relationship, parenting stress, and parental role satisfaction as perceived by study subjects

The correlation analysis among the variables, as perceived by fathers of young children, revealed significant relationships (Table 2).

3.5 Factors influencing parental role satisfaction among fathers of young children

To determine the impact of parenting behavior, father-child relationship and parenting stress on the parental role satisfaction of fathers with young children, a multiple regression analysis was conducted. Multicollinearity among the independent variables was checked using tolerance limits and the Variance Inflation Factor (VIF). The results showed tolerance limits ranging from 0.42 to 0.89, all above the threshold of 0.1, and VIF values ranging from 1.00 to 1.45, all below the threshold of 10, indicating no issues with multicollinearity. Additionally, the Durbin-Watson value was 2.23, which is close to the ideal value of 2, indicating no significant autocorrelation in the error terms. Residual analysis also confirmed that the model met the assumptions of linearity, normality of error terms and homoscedasticity. The regression model was found to be significant (F = 22.18, p = 0.004), with an explanatory power of 61.2%. The factors that most significantly influenced the parental role satisfaction of fathers with young children were found to be parenting behavior (β = 0.36, p = 0.009) and parenting stress (β = −0.22, p = 0.003). Parenting behaviors were positively related to paternal role satisfaction, while greater parenting stress was associated with lower paternal role satisfaction Table 3.