Filipino Fathers Parenting in the Context of Household and Neighborhood Risk: Familism as a Protective Factor

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-23-2020

Abstract

Objective: Familism, a cultural value that emphasizes strong family connectedness, has been associated with warm parenting behaviors among fathers and may moderate the effects of stress on parenting. However, few studies have examined familism as a protective factor against household and neighborhood risks. This study examined (a) the relations of poor living conditions and neighborhood disorder to paternal warmth and rejection, and (b) familism as a moderator of relations between poor living conditions, neighborhood disorder, and paternal warmth and rejection. Methods: Low- income urban Filipino fathers (N = 84, Mage = 44.85, SD = 8.89) completed orally administered questionnaires. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to examine associations between poor living conditions, neighborhood disorder, familism, warmth, and rejection. Results: Poor living conditions, measured as a composite risk index of housing status, water supply, access to electricity, and food insecurity, were significantly associated with lower levels of warmth. Neighborhood disorder was also significantly associated with greater rejection. Fathers reported high familism values, on average. Familism was significantly associated with greater warmth, indicating a promotive role of familism in fathers parenting. However, moderation analyses suggest that familism may have a risk-amplifying role. Specifically, poor living conditions were significantly associated with greater paternal rejection at higher and mean levels of familism and not at lower levels of familism. Conclusions: The findings suggest that familism may be a promotive and risk factor that contributes to Filipino fathers parenting; this multifaceted role should be considered in the design of programs and interventions for low-income Filipino fathers.

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