Paternal Stimulation
Primary caregivers were asked to report on whether mothers, fathers, and/or other household member were engaged in any of the following 6 activities with their children in the past 3 days: (1) reading books or looking at pictures; (2) telling stories; (3) singing songs; (4) taking the child outside; (5) playing with the child; (6) naming, counting, or drawing with the child. These items reflect a measure of caregivers’ engagement in stimulation to support ECD. 39 A summary score was created, which ranged from 0 (no paternal engagement in any stimulation activity) to 6 (paternal engagement
in all stimulation activities within the last 3 days), similarly to how it has been described and used as a measure of caregiving and stimulation in other studies. 39– 41 In this sample, paternal stimulation showed good internal consistency (α = 0.77). The total number of stimulation activities was categorized into 3 groups: high engagement (5–6 activities), moderate engagement (1–4 activities), or no engagement (0 activities). This classification was motivated by a primary interest in examining differences among fathers who engaged in none of the stimulation activities, as compared with those who engaged in some or all of the activities.