Coyne, Annette (2015) Gender Role Conflict, Fathering Attitudes and Participation in Parenting Interventions. Coursework Masters thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
Research has consistently shown that men are less likely than women to access psychological help when necessary. Men are also less likely to be involved in parenting programs, family interventions, or to participate in therapy for their child. While it is acknowledged that there are some practical and external barriers to men’s participation, there is very little research exploring the internal factors that may be contributing. Men with high rates of gender role conflict have been found to have more negative attitudes towards help-seeking, higher levels of stigma towards mental health issues, and to be more resistant to suggestions that they seek professional help for mental health issues. The aim of this study was to explore whether higher rates of gender role conflict predicted a lower likelihood of intention to participate in parenting programs, or to facilitate the access of child therapy if necessary. The role of attitudes and beliefs towards the fathering role was also considered as a potential moderator. A sample of seventy-two Australian fathers completed an online battery of questionnaires, and five fathers completed and anonymously returned hard copies of the questionnaires. Due to a violation of assumptions in the data, the planned regression analysis was not able to be run. Alternatively, non-parametric analyses were conducted to measure the strength of correlations between the variables. There was a significant negative relationship between gender role conflict and intention to access therapy for children, and a significant positive relationship between positive attitudes towards fatherhood and intention to access therapy for children. There was no relationship between either of the variables and the intention to attend parenting programs. These results suggest that gender role conflict should be considered by mental health professionals if they wish to involve the father in the therapeutic process for his child, and lend support for the use of male specific information and advertising. The null results for a relationship between gender role conflict, attitude, and the intention to participate in parenting programs suggest that for parenting programs, resources would be better invested in addressing the external barriers to fathers’ participation.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Coursework Masters) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Counselling (1 Jan 2015 - 31 Dec 2021) |
| Supervisors: | James Brown |
| Qualification: | Masters of Clinical Psychology |
| Date Deposited: | 13 Aug 2025 23:41 |
| Last Modified: | 13 Aug 2025 23:41 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | gender role conflict ; male mental health ; parenting program participation ; father participation ; fatherhood ; child therapy and fathers |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52238 |
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