Fathers' involvement in shared book-reading with their children: A cross-sectional study in turkey

Shared reading is a joint book-reading experience where a child and adult "share" the experience of exploring and interacting through storybooks. The majority of the existing studies focus on mother-child dyads. However, little is known about fathers' involvement in shared reading. This study aims to investigate the level of father's involvement in Turkey in shared book reading with their children. The sample consists of 210 fathers with children aged between three and five. The survey was conducted online. Father's involvement in shared reading was indexed by standardized and averaged scores of shared reading frequency, father's interactive reading behaviors, and attitudes regarding shared reading. Findings revealed that father's sense of competence, father's reading enjoyment, and child's engagement in reading significantly predicted father's involvement in shared reading after controlling their education level, working hours, and the home literacy environment. Also, child's engagement in reading (indexed by child's reading enjoyment and child's interactive reading behaviors) mediated the relation between father's reading enjoyment and their involvement in shared reading. The findings suggest that mental health professionals may integrate shared reading activities to their family counseling practices to promote fathers' sense of competence and enjoyment in the parenting role.