BECE. Newsletter 

Vol.17, No.1, 2024, BECE 1856 

 

 

 

 

Parity between Paternal and Maternal Involvement 

and Child Subjective Well-Being: A Response Surface 

Analysis Based on Polynomial Regression 

By Ju, J., Zhou, X., Liang, L., & Bian, Y. 
Correspondence to: Yufang Bian, Beijing Normal University, China. E-mail: 

bianyufang66@126.com  

N A FAMILY with both parents working full-time, the father and mother 

need to assume plural responsibilities at work and home. As a result, 

interparental coordination and proper division of responsibilities are of 

particular importance. This article aims to examine the relation between pari-

ty between paternal and maternal involvement and child subjective well-

being, as well as the effect of gender on this relation, based on a longitudinal 

investigation of two consecutive years sampling grade-four students from 

1145 Chinese families with both parents working full-time. 

Research findings show that: 

• Overall, parity between paternal and maternal involvement was 

not directly related to child subjective well-being. Compared 

with two parents of low involvement, one parent of high in-

volvement could generate more positive effects on child devel-

opment. 

• The child experienced a higher level of subjective well-being 

with high paternal and maternal involvement than with low in-

volvement of both parents. This is because high involvement of 

both parents elicits active parent-child interactions. 

• The inequality between paternal and maternal involvement had a 

significant impact on the subjective well-being of boys, whose 

subjective well-being was increased in both the two years when 

the involvement of their fathers was higher than that of their 

mothers. Nevertheless, the disparity between paternal and mater-

nal involvement made no difference to girls’ subjective well-

being. 

Implications: 

• Both parents should be actively involved in their children’ life to 

increase parent-child interactions and work to enhance kids’ sub-

jective well-being by creating warm home atmospheres and giv-

ing them more encouragement, advice on social activities, and 

directions on emotional expression and regulation. 

I 

mailto:bianyufang66@126.com


 

Vol.17, No.1, 2024, BECE 1857 

• The father should pay more attention to the kids’ growth and 

meet their needs for emotional communication, especially in 

families having sons. Compared with girls, boys are more ready 

to turn to the father for help. 

 
Source: Journal of Psychological Science, 2023; 46(6):1478-1485.