Father-Child Interactions in a Shopping Mall: A Naturalistic Study of Father Role Behavior

Two hundred and fifty-three mother-father-child triads were unobtrusively observed within a community shopping mall to investigate the nature of naturally occurring father-child interactions. In 91% of fathers' active responses to children's demands, fathers behaved in ways categorized as instrumental or controlling. Affectional or expressive behaviors were observed only 9% of the time. Analysis of patterns of behaviors suggests that ignoring and controlling behaviors were used selectively to promote a relationship consistent with traditional sex-role definitions of behavior. Father-child interactions occurred more frequently when the mother was absent, but the pattern of behavior was not affected by mothers' presence or by the age of the child. The pattern of father-child interactions was affected by the behavior setting and the sex of the child.