Stereotyping Dads: The adaptation and validation of a new measure of stigma consciousness in fatherhood

Previous research demonstrates that the chronic stress of belonging to a stereotyped group can negatively impact an individual’s intellectual functioning, academic performance, leadership skills, self-control, identity, mental well-being, and overall achievement both situationally and across time (Aronson, et al., 2013; Von Hippel, Sekaquaptewa, & McFarlane, 2015). While stigma consciousness and the effects of stereotype threat have been widely examined across various societal institutions, their presence and impact within gender-based parenting roles remain relatively underexplored. The development of the Stigma Consciousness Questionnaire (SCQ) has allowed researchers to establish a measure of how strongly individuals identify with the presence of stereotypes towards themselves (Pinel & Brown, 2003; Xavier, et al., 2014). The validity of the scale was previously verified in its original form, and the authors of the current study seek to adapt this scale in order to examine stigma consciousness in fathers and to validate it as a new measure for use in child development and parenting literature. To the researcher’s knowledge, no research has been conducted examining fathers’ experiences of stigma consciousness, and no measure has yet been created and validated by which to measure these experiences. Within the adaptation and validation the Stigma Consciousness Questionnaire for Fathers (SCQ-F), there is an opportunity to examine stigma consciousness within gender-based parenting roles. This study sought to understand how stereotype threat and stigma consciousness affect fathers while exploring their relationship to self-esteem and parental self-efficacy and to contribute a reliable measure for advancing studies on stigma in parenting. Participants (n=61) took part in an anonymous online questionnaire hosted on Qualtrics. The survey included demographic questions on age, household dynamics, and region. Participants responded to the adapted Stigma Consciousness Questionnaire for Fathers, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale, and the Brief Parental Self-Efficacy Scale. Researchers hypothesized that the adapted SCQ-F would demonstrate good internal consistency, α=~0.70, the SCQ-F would not be significantly correlated with an established measure of self-esteem, the RSE, establishing evidence for discriminant validity, and the SCQ-F will be significantly positively correlated with BPSES, an established measure of parent self-efficacy, providing evidence for criterion-related validity. Findings indicated support for hypotheses produced by researchers. Upon conducting exploratory analyses, variables were also noted as potential moderators. Results of this research expand knowledge in an understudied area of psychology by exploring stigma consciousness and stereotype threat experienced by fathers, examining the influence of bias within parenting, and assessing the prevalence of perceived stereotypes across different ages and generations.