Fathers in everyday family life Determinants of an 'active fatherhood'

"New" or "active" fatherhood is increasingly discussed in the family research literature, yet it is unclear what these terms entail, and which factors associate with the practice of such "active fatherhood". With the "AID:A II" survey (Growing Up in Germany: Everyday Life, Wave 2) the present paper uses the most up-to-date data that chart fathers' everyday activities for and with their children. A composite indicator for "active fatherhood" was built and the key determinants of father involvement were then explored. The results suggest that the employment of both parents play an important role: The more hours the father has to work beyond full-time working hours, the less likely the father is to be actively involved in childcare. Longer maternal working hours and greater proportional contribution of the mother to the family income, instead, make an active fatherhood more likely. In addition, the satisfaction with couple relationship as well as the gender concept of both parents are significant predictors of father involvement.