Involved Fathers, Conflicted Lives: Structural and Normative Barriers to Fathers’ Well-Being across Europe

Stefanie Hoherz , Federal Institut for Population Research (BiB)
Claudius Garten, Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB)

Research on gender equality has long focused on how mothers’ double burden affects their well-being, while fathers’ experiences have received far less attention. This study shifts the focus towards men’s engagement in family life and investigates how structural and normative barriers shape fathers‘ well-being across Europe. Going beyond existing research, we distinguish between specific childcare tasks – from routine care to interactive activities – to understand which forms of involvement are linked to fathers’ well-being. Using data from the Generations and Gender Survey (Round II) across twelve European welfare states, we analyse fathers aged 18–49 with at least one child under six. Descriptive findings already reveal striking cross-national differences in paternal involvement, highlighting diverse models of fatherhood across Europe. Our comparative analyses and multivariate models assess both structural (working hours, commuting) and normative (gender role attitudes, societal expectations) factors influencing life satisfaction, and perceived work–family and family–work conflict. Preliminary results show that not all forms of involvement benefit fathers equally. Interactive activities such as play are associated with higher well-being, whereas time-intensive or routine tasks often coincide with increased family–work strain. The study contributes to current research by providing one of the few cross-national analyses that disentangle types of paternal involvement and demonstrate that fathers’ well-being depends not only on how much, but also on how they are involved in childcare. It highlights that fatherhood is not uniformly associated with higher well-being and underscores the need for policies that address both structural and normative constraints on active fatherhood.

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 Presented in Session 108. Fatherhood and Parental Leave