To elucidate the process through which househusbands, who continuously engage in housework and child-rearing, transcend gender stereotypes and free themselves from the constraints of traditional gender roles, this study interviewed 16 househusbands and analyzed the responses using M-GTA. Results revealed that the subconscious of each man and woman, and the unconscious biases contained within organizations, schools, and local communities contribute to gender role captivity. Furthermore, to free themselves from societal gender captivity, husbands must undertake the following measures: (i) increase the quality and quantity of information exchange within the partnership while assuming the responsibility of solitary parenting; (ii) confront the gender captivity inherent in society in order to uncover their unconscious biases; (iii) acquire new social support systems, such as househusband communities; and (iv) undergo a “paradigm shift” in their way of thinking. Additionally, it has been suggested that husbands' ongoing participation in housework and child-rearing may result in a cognitive transformation of their domestic role as work to an understanding of diversity and a transformation to flexible thinking.

【Research Impact】

This study found that the extremely sluggish progress in Japanese households regarding the participation of husbands in child-rearing and housework can be attributed to the gender captivity of both the spouses. We gained insight into the psychology of men who fight for balance between work and family from a novel vantage perspective that was not previously found in studies of male development in adulthood.

While lying is considered beneficial in maintaining interpersonal relationships, it has been suggested that it is linked to an increase in depression. This study examined the relationship between the tendency for prosocial lying and depressive mood in 1,034 adolescents. The results revealed that the tendency for prosocial lying had a positive total effect on depressive mood throughout adolescence. A higher tendency for prosocial lying was positively correlated with improved interpersonal relationships among university students. Furthermore, when interpersonal fatigue was used as a mediator, the tendency for prosocial lying had a positive indirect effect on depressive mood in junior high and high school students. These findings suggest that despite the consistent relationship between prosocial lying and depression, this relationship exhibits developmental changes during adolescence.

【Research Impact】

The study's findings revealed a consistent relationship between prosocial lying and depressive mood during adolescence. It was also revealed that, as adolescents' educational level progressed, the tendency for prosocial lying became more positively related to improved interpersonal relationships and less related to interpersonal fatigue. These findings indicate that the role of prosocial lying evolves during adolescence.

In childrearing and household tasks, mothers want fathers to proactively recognize and engage in the necessary work. We developed a scale to assess mothers' perception of fathers' sensitivity and responsiveness regarding their involvement in childrearing and household tasks (Mother-Perceived Father's Sensitive and Responsive Coparenting Scale: MP-FSRCS). Online surveys were administered to 497 and 499 mothers with children aged＜6 years. In Survey 1, exploratory factor analysis revealed a unidimensional structure with high internal consistency (α＝.95) across 10 scale items. High MP-FSRCS scores were significantly associated with increased encouragement and less criticism of the father's involvement by the mother, increased marital satisfaction, and an increased degree of empathy shown by fathers, as perceived by mothers. In Survey 2, criterion-related validity of MP-FSRCS was examined, and the score was significantly and positively correlated with the Japanese version of the Coparenting Relationship Scale and mothers' trust in coparenting discussions about parenting concerns. These findings suggest that the MP-FSRCS has high internal consistency and validity as a measure of the constructs associated with harmonious coparenting.

【Research Impact】

This study evaluated harmonious coparenting by measuring mothers' perceptions of the sensitivity and responsiveness of fathers' coparenting based on the latter's involvement in parenting and household tasks. By focusing on the attentive relationship between the primary caregiver (the mother in this study) and the secondary caregiver (father), this scale contributes considerably to future research on coparenting.

Although various assessment tools have been developed for measuring attachment in infancy and adulthood, there are no established measures for assessing attachment in middle childhood and adolescence. Thus, this study employed the semistructured Child Attachment Interview (CAI) to assess the mental representations of attachment in middle childhood. Specifically, it examined the psychometric properties of the Japanese version of the CAI with a nonreferred sample of 93 Japanese children (46 boys, mean age＝9.83 years), who completed the CAI, Kerns Security Scale, and subtests for verbal and performance intelligence quotient. Meanwhile, the children's parents completed the Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire. The results largely replicated those of prior validation studies, while the distribution of secure/insecure attachment patterns corresponded to the expected distribution. Moreover, although the CAI scales showed the expected correlations with the self-reported attachment measures, they did not correlate with the children's temperament. Overall, our findings support the CAI's concurrent and discriminant validities for Japanese school-aged children.

【Research Impact】

The CAI is a semistructured interview designed to assess children's mental representations of attachment in the age range referred to as the “measurement gap.” This study is the first to test the crosscultural adaptation of the CAI in a Japanese context. The findings support further research regarding this promising tool and its potential applications in clinical settings.