Fatherhood in the context of security threat.

In the last decades, fathers in modern society have experienced rapid social changes which have influenced their parental roles and led to an increase in their participation in child rearing functions. As a result, the research literature, which until the mid-1970s focused mainly on the mother-infant relationship (Nagar, 1997), shifted its focus to the paternal role and the consequences of paternal involvement in children's lives. Evidence began to accumulate of a positive correlation between paternal involvement and the child's cognitive, emotional, behavioral and social development throughout the course of life (Hawkins, Lovejoy, Holmes, Blanchard & Fawcett, 2008). However, since the paternal role is not clearly defined by society in comparison with the maternal role, the former seems to be more flexible and accommodates to the specific social context in which it exists. As a result, it has come to be understood that fathers' contribution to raising their children is closely associated with the unique context of their lives.

Exposure to security threat is an inherent part of life in Israel. In the last two decades, that exposure has been characterized by wars and terror attacks against the civilian population, which cannot predict when or where it will strike, or defend itself against it. Some of the security events that befell Israel were acute, meaning intense and limited in time, such as Operation Cast Lead (which lasted almost three weeks from December 2008 to January 2009). Others were of a chronic nature, posing a long-term threat or including prolonged recurring experiences (Lahad & Leykin, 2010). One example of that is the recurring firing of Qassam rockets on the residents of Sderot and the “Gaza envelope” (Otef Aza) communities from 2001 to this day.

The consequences of exposure to security threat have been studied in children, individuals and communities and indicated an increase in the frequency of anxiety and posttraumatic symptoms, along with positive growth (Dekel & Nuttman-Shwartz, 2009). However, there has been scant reference to parenting in this context. Since parental functioning is a critical coping resource for children in trauma situations (Laor, Wolmer & Cohen, 2001), it is valuable to study the parental aspects affected by the security situation.

In light of the aforesaid, this study explored the fathering of men who live in the context of security threat. The existing research indicates that fathers who are exposed to security threat experience feelings of stress due to their responsibility to protect their spouses and children (Pagorek-Eshel, 2006). However, the parental aspects related to such situations are not sufficiently clear.

This study was based on the model of Cabrera et al. (Cabrera, Fitzgerald, Bradley & Roggman, 2007), which presumes that the father's personal characteristics contribute to his involvement in his children's lives and that familial and contextual characteristics may moderate the association between the father's characteristics and his involvement.

Accordingly, the purpose of the present study was to examine the association between the father's characteristics –parental self-efficacy, parenting style and mental health – and his involvement in his children's lives, with reference to coparenting and exposure to security threat as moderating factors.

The research hypotheses were that fathers who are exposed to security threat would report a lower sense of parental self-efficacy, display a more authoritarian parenting style and report greater emotional distress, compared to the control group. Consequently, those fathers would report less paternal involvement. We also hypothesized that chronic exposure to security threat would have more negative consequences for fathers' parental characteristics and involvement than acute exposure. We also presumed that the association between the father's characteristics and his involvement would be moderated by coparenting and exposure to security threat.

The study included 293 married fathers who are fathers of children ages 1-12 years. The fathers were divided into three groups according to the exposure to security threat in their place of residence: prolonged exposure (n=88) – a group of fathers from Sderot and the Gaza envelope; acute exposure as a result of Operation Cast Lead (n= 106) – fathers from the areas of Ashdod and Beersheva; and a control group (n=99) of fathers from central Israel.

Exposure to security threat was examined both objectively, namely the father's place of residence and an examination of the types of exposure to terror that he experienced, and subjectively, through fathers' sense of safety (Hantman, 1992). Furthermore, the fathers filled out questionnaires about their paternal involvement (Geper-Dor, 2004); general parental self-efficacy (Johnston & Mash, 1989) and specifically in reference to the security situation; parental style (Buri, 1991); mental health (Florian & Drory, 1990); coparenting alliance (Abidin & Brunner, 1995); and a demographic data questionnaire. The data collection process began in February 2009, about two weeks after the end of Operation Cast Lead, and ended at the end of March 2009. The fathers were recruited mainly through kindergartens, schools and workplaces.

The research findings indicate that as opposed to the research hypotheses, fathers who are exposed to security threat perceive their parental self-efficacy in the security situation as higher than fathers in the control group. Fathers who are exposed to security threat do report a greater sense of danger, but in conjunction with a greater sense of confidence in authorities, compared to the control group. Of the fathers who are exposed to security threat, those exposed to chronic threat have a more authoritative parenting style than the fathers exposed to acute security threat. No significant differences were found between the research groups in mental health, involvement and coparenting.

The research hypotheses about the association between the father’s characteristics and his involvement in his children's lives were mostly confirmed. A high sense of parental self-efficacy, a more authoritative parenting style and a higher level of well-being were associated with greater paternal involvement in terms of direct caretaking, spending time with one's child and emotional care. Involvement in terms of imposing discipline was negatively correlated with general parental efficacy and positively associated with authoritarian parenting style and emotional distress. The association between the mental health variables and paternal involvement was mediated by the parental efficacy variables.

Furthermore, chronic exposure in conjunction with a low level of emotional distress, and sense of danger, moderated the association between parental self-esteem in security situations and paternal involvement in direct caretaking and spending time together. Acute exposure in conjunction with authoritative parenting style moderated the association between parental self-esteem and involvement in direct caretaking. Acute exposure and coparenting moderated the association between authoritative parenting style and involvement in spending time together and emotional care. Moreover, coparenting was found to moderate the association between parental efficacy in security situations and involvement in imposing discipline.

The findings indicate that fathers display resilience in the face of the security situation and even experience positive outcomes as a result of it, such as high parental self-efficacy when dealing with security threats. That feeling in itself seems to help cope with the situation and increases paternal involvement.

Exposure to security threat, whether acute or chronic, causes fathers whose involvement is low in normal conditions as a result of their parental characteristics, to be more involved in conditions of security threat. However, the motives might vary depending on the nature of the stressor. In a state of acute exposure, the characteristics of the situation seem to outweigh the father's personal characteristics. When the stress is at its peak, the involvement may be an instinctive reaction, reflecting the parent's basic responsibility to protect his child, and is stronger than other paternal characteristics, such as parenting style. However, in a state of chronic exposure, involvement seems to constitute a compensation mechanism, whose sources might be feelings of guilt over the choice to continue living in the risk area. In both situations, the involvement might satisfy the father’s need for control, which is undermined by the security situation.

In light of these findings, fathers might have a unique contribution to families facing security threats, which consists of practical knowledge, positive conceptions of the situation and active involvement in different aspects of the child's life.