Abstract
This research examined the relationship between parents' concepts of work, children and paternal participation in child care. A factor analysis of questionnaire responses by 416 pairs of fathers and mothers of young children yielded 4 factors for conceptualizations of work : "fulfilment/self-actualization", "constraint/burden", "work-centeredness", and "economicmeans/obligation". There were also 5 factors for conceptualizations of children : "fulfilment/pleasure", "constraint/burden", "social-existence", "value in life" and "indifference/low-worth". An examination of the vanables predicting father's involvement in child care showed that concepts of "work-centeredness" and child rearing "indifference/low-worth" and working hours were all most related to paternal participation. Social aspects such as occupational and financial condition also influenced parents' values and concepts. The results suggest that it's import to consider subjective aspects of how parents evaluate working and parenting, as well as social factors, to understsand their child care.
