A Father's Role in Cognitive Development During Late Childhood

The role of fathers has not been as widely studied as that of the mother in relation to cognitive development. As more studies emerge on the importance of paternal relationships, there is more evidence that fathers can be beneficial to the development of their children. Paternal involvement may lead to increased cognitive and language scores, decreases in behavioral issues, decreases in psychological issues and higher rates of academic achievement.

  1. Cognitive Development and Behavioral Issues

    • Paternal involvement may increase cognitive scores and decrease psychological and behavioral issues in children according to Swedish research published in the pediatric medical journal "Acta Paediatrica" in 2008. In this review of twenty-four previous studies, researchers Sarkadi, Kristiansson, Oberklaid and Bremberg found that face-to-face engagement, or direct interaction, with the father led to improved scores on social and cognitive measures -- such as increased test scores. Additionally, boys had the benefit of decreased behavioral issues -- such as fighting -- and girls benefited from reductions in psychological issues -- such as depression -- with father involvement.

    Cognitive Development and Depression

    • Children with support from their fathers may enjoy higher cognitive functioning and less depression according to University of Maryland research published in "Child Maltreatment" in 2001. In this study, researchers examined data from 855 children and their caregivers to determine whether paternal support -- or the child's perception of paternal support -- was associated with better development and function. They found that father involvement was associated with better cognitive development -- such as higher language scores. Children who reported higher father support also had stronger social competence and fewer depressive symptoms.

    Advanced Language Skills

    • Language development in early childhood -- which may be pervasive in later life -- can be effected by paternal involvement according to research out of The College of New Jersey published in "Early Childhood Research Quarterly" in 2010. In this study, researchers found that the father's educational level and father's vocabulary levels during picture book reading were associated with more advanced language skills at both 15 months and 36 months of age (pg 21). Maternal vocabulary in this reading task was not significantly associated with increased vocabulary in children, suggesting that fathers may play an important role in language development, a cognitive skill that may continue from earlier ages into later childhood.

    Cognitive Development and Scholastic Achievement

    • Cognitive development, and the advanced schooling that likely follows, may be increased with paternal involvement according to University of Oxford research published in the "British Journal of Educational Psychology" in 2004. In this study, researchers Flouri and Buchanan found that in both boys and girls, paternal involvement at age 7 predicted educational attainment by age 20. This suggests that father involvement is an important factor throughout the childhood experience, and may continue to increase cognitive development over time.

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