Developing a father resources questionnaire designed for use with mothers and fathers from diverse ethnicities and in research on maternal health and child well being

A father's psycho-social resources may benefit or harm the health and well being of his pregnant partner or child. Developing a brief Father Resources Questionnaire may offer a means to investigate how father's resources affect maternal health and child well being. A Father Resources Questionnaire was developed through a systematic research process starting with an extensive review of literature and national surveys to identify existing relevant scales. After identifying scales that are ready for use, three additional scales (Empathy, Masculinity, and Family Leave) were revised through qualitative research (focus groups; cognitive interviews) to shorten them and assure their clarity and relevance. The full questionnaire was pilot tested. Study participants in the qualitative and pilot studies were mothers and fathers from diverse racial-ethnic and socio-economic statuses. A brief Father Resources Questionnaire was developed for use with diverse mothers and fathers. The multidimensional questionnaire measures a range of father resources, including living arrangements at age 14, empathy, personal control, relationship quality/communication, masculinity, perceived social support, parental role strain/conflict, stress, and Family Leave. The final survey questions were identified by study participants as important to pregnant women or parenting and were rephrased for clarity based on their input. Using a well-defined, logical measure development process, with input from mothers and fathers of diverse backgrounds, and being mindful of time constraints within large surveys such as the National Children's Study, investigators developed a multi-dimensional Father Resource Questionnaire that is relevant to maternal health and child well-being and allows comparisons across groups.