Role of father involvement and co-parenting relationship quality in social-emotional behaviors of children and adolescents in Pakistani cultural context. Research model moderated by father’s working hours

The current correlational study aimed to examine the relationship between father involvement, co-parenting relationship quality, and social-emotional behaviors of children and adolescents ages 4–17 in the collectivistic, patriarchal societal context of Pakistan. A purposive sampling strategy was used to collect data from 160 fathers, who gave information about their involvement in child-rearing activities, co-parenting relationship quality with their wives, and the social-emotional behaviors of their children. The results indicated that father involvement has a negative correlation (r = .11; p = .07) with child problem behaviors; moreover, there was a significant positive correlation with child pro-social behaviors (r = .15; p = .04). Whereas co-parenting relationship quality had a significant negative correlation (r = .30; p < .001) with child problem behaviors and a significant positive correlation of (r = .29; p < .001) with child pro-social behaviors. Results of the moderation analysis showed that the working hours of the father moderate the relationship between father involvement and the pro-social behaviors of children (B =  − .014, p = .02). In conclusion, it can be stated that flexibility in the work hours of fathers and helping them be involved with their families can aid the healthy development of children and families in Pakistan.