Fathers' Relating Behaviors to Their Children in Early Adolescence

Abstract

　　The purpose of this study was to classify relating behaviors of fathers to adolescents and to explain their characters. We conducted a survey on 412 fathers who have junior high school children. In order to sample the pattern of the balance between the relating behaviors and consciousness, we conducted a cluster analysis, and the results were classified in to 5 types; “behavior-before-words type”, “words-without-behavior type”, “ideal type”, “expression-centered type”, and “unconcerned type”. Based on these classifications, we investigated the characters of fathers by analysis of variance . The analysis showed there was a tendency that fathers who cooperate with their wives and think that they were concerned with their own fathers are classified into the “ideal type” rather than the “word-without-behavior type”, the type having high consciousness unaccompanied by behavior. This factor is interesting in that it indicates a difference between fathers who can't show concern for their children in spite of their efforts, and those who are able to show concern. Furthermore, we conducted a semi-structured interviews with the 15 fathers who were classified into the “words-without-behaviors type”; “expression-centered type”; and “ideal type”. the results showed that there are 2 kinds of fathers in “words-without-behaviors type”. One kind is the father whose ideal concerning his consciousness is realized, and the other is the kind of father who thinks that he can't show concern for his children. Moreover, compared with “ideal type”; it was suggested that “words-without-behaviors type” and the “expression-centered type” fathers don't have a concerned image, and do not cooperate with their wives. It was found that expression-centered type fathers tend to have latent rage toward their wives and their own fathers. These results suggest that in order to have richer concerns, it is necessary to enhance the cooperation between fathers and mothers, to suggest the concerning model, and to have an experience in which family members can exchange their e motional signals.