Father Identity Enactment and Paternal Psychological Well-Being: The Moderating Roles of Contexts

Drawing upon the refined version of identity theory, this study examined whether the indirect path from father role identity salience (FRIS) to paternal psychological well-being via father involvement would differ depending on within- and outside-family contexts (i.e., the presence of preschool-aged child[ren] and work-to-family conflict [WFC]). To examine the moderated mediation hypothesis, multigroup path analysis with the bootstrapping method was conducted using self-reports of working fathers with a child[ren] under 18 years old (N = 244). Results revealed that the direct association between greater FRIS and better paternal psychological well-being was significant regardless of the presence of preschool children or levels of WFC. The indirect association through father involvement was 1) significant for fathers both with and without preschool-aged children, but significantly greater for fathers with preschoolers, and 2) only significant for fathers with low WFC. To enhance fathers’ well-being, more efforts are necessary to support the enactment of father identity and to create father-friendly workplaces.