Father–son communication and youth fighting in Sweden, 2014 and 2018: evidence from a survey based on binary gender categories

This study examines whether poor father-son communication is associated with youth physical fighting. Data were drawn from children aged 11–15 years who participated in the Swedish Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) surveys in 2014 (n = 2917) and 2018 (n = 1557) and who selected ‘boy’ in response to the survey’s binary gender item (‘Are you a boy or a girl?’). Logistic regression analyses were conducted. Adolescent boys who reported difficulties communicating with their father about issues that really bothered them were more likely to engage in physical fighting than those who did not (OR = 1.33 in HBSC 2014; OR = 1.51 in HBSC 2018). This association remained statistically significant after controlling for socioeconomic, demographic, relational, behavioural, and individual risk factors. The findings align with recent calls emphasising the need for society to help fathers recognise their value and the importance of their engagement in their children’s socioemotional development.