Abstract:

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Father School Program focusing on changes in fathers, their families, and family relationships. In order to specifically analyze the influence of participation in Father School on family strength, time spent with family, parent-child relationship, marital relationship, and self-esteem of fathers were used as mediator variables. Among 410 respondents in their 30s to 60s, 281 fathers participated in Father School Program and 129 fathers did not. To estimate the relative effects of each variable, a path analysis with SAS was conducted and the results are as follows:
First, participation in Father School Program did not have effects on time spent with family, parent-child relationship, self-esteem, and family strength, while it had a positive influence on marital relationship: When fathers participate in the Father School Program, relationships with their spouses tend to improve.
Second, the relationship between mediating variables proved that the amount of time family members spend together had a positive relationship with parent-child relationship, marital relationship, and fathers’ self-esteem. Moreover, positive parent-child relationship was likely to be related to satisfaction in marital relationship, and when both parent-child relationship and marital relationship were satisfactory, fathers had a tendency to show higher self-esteem.
Third, except for time spent with family, other mediator variables such as parent-child relationship, marital relationship, and fathers’ self-esteem were significantly associated with family strength: Positive parent-child relationship, satisfactory marital relationship, and fathers' high self-esteem led to higher scores in family strength.
Regarding the mediating effect, the proposed model showed that effects of Father School participation on family strength is completely mediated through marital relationship: Participating in Father School does not have direct effect on changes in family strength, but has an indirect but positive effect via marital relationship. Effects of marital relationship (influenced by Father School participation) on family strength is partly mediated by fathers' self-esteem. This means that marital relationship influenced by Father School participation affected family strength directly and indirectly through fathers' self-esteem. Fathers' self-esteem, influenced directly and indirectly by Father School participation and marital relationship, also had an effect on family strength.
Results of the study indicate that fathers' participation in educational program, such as Father School Program, is associated with family strength. Therefore it is necessary to induce fathers to participate in educational programs by extending the research to verify effects of fathers' educational programs on family strength and other related variables. These researches are expected to not only provide valuable information to related fields, but also contribute to establishing a practical methodology.

Keywords:

Father School Program, Family Strength.