Although many studies have investigated adolescent motherhood, only a few have focused on adolescent fatherhood. It is believed that since the adolescent already has several tasks to deal with concerning his own adolescent period, he would be overwhelmed by the additional tasks regarding fatherhood. As a result, his interaction with his baby would be less responsive than an adult father´s. This study aimed at examining possible differences between adolescent and adult fathers´ interaction with their 3-month-old baby. Twenty fathers, 9 adolescents and 11 adults, participated in the study. A home observation of the father-baby interaction was carried out when the baby was 3 months old. The analyses did not reveal significant differences between adolescent and adult fathers´ interaction with the baby. These results suggest that age is not necessarily a determinant factor of father´s responsivity towards his baby. Contrary to the initial hypothesis, the adolescents were as responsive to the baby as the adult fathers.
Interaction; adolescent; adult; father; baby
