Father Involvement and Children’s Social Behavior: A Three-Level Meta-Analysis

The relationship between father involvement and child development has received increasing attention. This study employed a three-level meta-analytic model with the aims of clarifying the relationship between father involvement and children’s social behaviors (positive/negative) and analyzing the factors influencing the differences in this relationship. Through literature retrieval and screening, 37 studies were included in this research, and a total of 249 effect sizes were extracted. The results of the meta-analysis show that there is a moderate positive correlation (r = 0.203) between father involvement and children’s positive social behavior, and a low negative correlation (r = −0.087) between father involvement and children’s negative social behavior. This relationship was significantly moderated by children’s age stage, family socioeconomic status, type of father involvement, reporter of father involvement, cultural background and study quality, while children’s gender exerted no moderating effect. These findings highlight the importance of the father’s role in the development of children’s social behaviors. Future research could further focus on the quality of father involvement in different cultural backgrounds and the impact of mother involvement on children’s development.