Levels of Need and Role Satisfactions Among Stay-at-Home Fathers: A Descriptive – Correlational Study

Levels of Need and Role Satisfactions Among Stay-at-Home Fathers: A Descriptive – Correlational Study

Tiffany Shane B. Guansing, Shane Ayeza V. Silva, Kathleen C. Gutierrez, Jorie Mae Nicole L. Iligan, and *Argel B. Masanda
National University Philippines
*Correspondence

ABSTRACT

While the population of Stay-At-Home Fathers (SAHFs) has progressively grown over the years, studies reveal that these fathers struggle with stigma, maternal duties, conventional fatherhood expectations, and social isolation. To provide proper assistance to these parents, this quantitative study evaluated the correlation between need and role satisfaction among Stay-At-Home Fathers. The researchers’ self-made questionnaires were administered to 100 Filipino Stay-At-Home Fathers around the Philippines through purposive sampling. Obtained data were analyzed using Pearson r and regression analysis. Results indicate that Stay-At-Home Fathers have high levels of need and role satisfaction. Stay-At-Home Fathers’ role and need satisfaction were found to have a strong positive correlation (r = .805, n = 100, p = .0001). Moreover, findings show that the sociodemographic factors of age, monthly household income, marital status, and educational attainment are statistically insignificant predictors of Stay-At-Home Fathers’ role and need satisfaction. More research should be conducted about the assistance of families transitioning to alternative parenting roles.

Keywords: Stay-At-Home Fathers, Need Satisfaction, Role Satisfaction, ERG psychological needs, Role rewards

INTRODUCTION

Stay-At-Home Fathers (SAHFs), also known as househusbands, are highly involved male parents who primarily manage the domestic responsibilities of the household. In recent decades, a rising proportion of fathers have redefined traditional gender roles by assuming the family’s homemaker position. The Pew Research Center revealed that, from 10% in 1989, fathers comprised 17% of all stay-at-home parents in the United States in 2016. During the COVID-19 pandemic, fathers who quit work to especially participate in full-time childcare climbed from 5% to 14% (Kuperberg & Stone, 2022). With the growing participation of women in the workforce, its implications for employment and familial caregiving are unavoidable. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that working mothers’ labor force participation rate was 72.3% in 2019. In the Philippines, most migrant workers are women. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (2020), women account for 59.6% of overseas employees, with the majority being over the age of 30. Given this demand for female Oversees Filipino Workers (OFWs), a continuous rise in the number of SAHFs is highly possible in the future.

Regardless of these contemporary shifts, SAHFs continue to suffer from social isolation and are frequently stigmatized (Hunter et al., 2017). SAHFs were also found to struggle with maternal duties and household issues (Sagnit, 2019; Edris et al., 2018). In a highly patriarchal and conventional nation like the Philippines, stereotypical masculine notions still restrict these fathers from functioning to their fullest capabilities. As an outcome, Filipinos as a community are likely to inadequately support the growing numbers of families transitioning to alternative parenting arrangements. In hopes of providing timely and appropriate assistance for SAHFs, one goal of this research is to measure their level of need satisfaction. As proposed by Clayton Alderfer’s (1969) ERG (existence, Relatedness, Growth) Theory, all humans have a set of three psychological needs—existence, relatedness, and growth—which, when addressed on a consistent basis, can result in greater motivation, optimal functioning, and overall well-being. The fulfillment of these fundamental needs is understood as need satisfaction. Individuals must meet certain psychological demands to achieve high levels of well-being (Longo, 2018). Satisfying psychological needs is thought to be necessary for psychological functioning in the same way as addressing bodily wants. According to Nelson-Coffey et al. (2019), fathers who participate in childcare have higher needs satisfaction as well as increased subjective well-being and happiness. The majority of related SAHF studies on need satisfaction utilized Ryan and Deci’s self-determination theory. Based on the study findings by Nishimura et al. (2021), fathers who have achieved their intrinsic goals express higher levels of satisfaction with their basic psychological needs. Additionally, Mabbe et al. (2018) proved the relationship between need satisfaction and autonomy-supportive parenting and the relationship between need frustration and psychologically controlling parenting. To be responsive and interested in what is occurring in their children’s lives, parents may need to have their basic psychological needs met (Mabbe et al., 2018).

For Filipino SAHFs, becoming a SAHF is mainly prompted by the family’s socioeconomic situation and willingness to break the cycle of poverty (Ballaret & Lañada, 2022). Considering this, a more accurate evaluation of Filipino SAHFs’ need satisfaction should include materialistic factors, which can be addressed by the ERG theory. Regarding the existence needs of SAHFs, Lam and Yeoh (2018) discovered that several SAHFs reported feeling stressed and even having health issues. In Lee and Lee’s (2018) analysis, the relatedness needs of SAHFs were addressed in terms of marriage or romantic relationships. For their growth needs, SAHFs also discussed becoming more open-minded and having an increased regard for caregivers. Additionally, according to Davis and colleagues (2019), SAHFs’ relationships with their children have increased emotional bonding and social development. However, SAHFs also face negative experiences, including gender-determinism challenges such as confronting discrimination and criticism from other adults and low social support (Davis et al., 2019).

Recent studies have shown SAHFs’ opposing views regarding their unique family role, which raises questions about their level of role satisfaction. Thus, this study also assessed SAHFs’ role satisfaction as conveyed by the role rewards the fathers themselves experience in the execution of their roles. In most studies, SAHFs’ role satisfaction has been measured using separate role domains such as parenting, marital, and childcare satisfaction. A study conducted by Johnson (2016) explored the connection among gender role attitudes, parental self-efficacy, and social support to SAHFs’ overall level of role satisfaction. It was found that SAHFs have a high level of role satisfaction. However, the work of Kisbu et al. (2022) evaluated father role satisfaction in areas of paternal conduct involving care, affection, and control. Results from the study reveal that father role satisfaction is positively correlated with involved fatherhood.

The distinctive role arrangement of househusbands has gained the attention of role theorists as well, but relatively few studies have utilized this approach. In 1974, Sam Sieber introduced the role accumulation theory, proposing that role rewards, such as overall status security, status enhancement, and ego gratification, yield satisfaction within roles. SAHFs are prone to role strain because pressure exists when the homemaker’s position contradicts with the expectations of the traditional masculine role. However, in line with the concept of role rewards, Kulik et al. (2016) explain that self-actualization and pleasure originate from the satisfaction of various social roles. Consequently, this empowers SAHFs, which in turn reduces levels of role conflict and leads to role satisfaction. Based on the study conducted by Edris et al. (2018), SAHFs initially experienced adjustment problems with their role. As the fathers proceeded with their chores, the negative feelings of insecurity and inadequacy regarding childcare duties progressively changed into positive. Despite being alone, SAHFs expressed that having a dual role at home allowed them to parent their kids well, which provided them with joy and contentment (Edris et al., 2018).

The execution of various roles is a critical component of mental health. Some results indicate that SAHFs exhibit anxiety (Francisco & Fransisco, 2022) and feelings of shame, self-pity, and poor self-esteem (Sagnit, 2020). Oppositely, others find that SAHFs are happier and less stressed (Holmes et al., 2021). More social support for SAHFs will likely result in fewer psychological adjustment issues. As studied by Rudert et al. (2021), material and interpersonal resources are derived from social channels, which in turn produce psychological needs. According to Florko (2019), these resources can be utilized to meet basic psychological needs, thereby decreasing role stress and enhancing role satisfaction.

Despite the persistent increase in SAHF population, research in this field is still limited, particularly in the Philippine context. Studies about SAHFs are mostly qualitative, which present subjective data and may lack a general representation of SAHFs. Existing literature on SAHFs has only included unemployed fathers in a househusband-working mom relationship. Nowadays, stay-at-home parents’ reality is that they work-from-home while still attempting to teach their children and maintain a functional family life (Bujard et al., 2020). The rise of home-based work setups brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic is a societal change that will be relevant for research on SAHFs (Jones et al., 2021). Prior studies also excluded single, separated, divorced, and widowed SAHFs. Given these gaps, this study seeks to expand current research by including fathers qualified for frequent involvement in childcare and household duties, despite their marital and employment status.

This study determined the relationship between the level of need and role satisfaction among Stay-At-Home Fathers. Specifically, this research was guided by the following questions:

1. What are the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants in terms of:

1.1 Age

1.2 Household Income

1.3 Civil Status

1.4 Educational Attainment

2. What is the level of need satisfaction among Stay-At-Home Fathers in terms of:

2.1 Existence

2.2 Relatedness

2.3 Growth

3. What is the level of role satisfaction among Stay-At-Home Fathers in terms of:

3.1 Overall status security

3.2 Status enhancement

3.3 Ego gratification

4. Is there a significant correlation between role and need satisfactions among Stay-At-Home Fathers?
5. Which among the sociodemographic characteristics of the Stay-At-Home Fathers affect their need and role satisfaction?

The role accumulation theory of Sam Sieber (1974) postulates that role rewards, such as overall status security, status enhancement, and ego gratification, outweigh any stress from roles, resulting in net satisfaction. Role strain, or the difficulty of executing roles due to overload and conflicting obligations, can be resolved by gaining role satisfaction. Overall status security improves one’s perception of potency and self-esteem, which enhances role performance quality and eventually facilitates stronger resilience against role strain. Status enhancement refers to the wide range of extra compensation or perquisites that are byproducts of roles. Perquisites include invitations, connections to third parties, and gifts that enable a person to secure opportunities, resources, and privileges; thus, increasing one’s authority and value to role partners. Lastly, the psychological benefits of ego gratification enrich one’s identity, self-concept, and mental health through being appreciated or needed by role partners (Sieber, 1974). This theory explains that the encompassing roles of a SAHF entail positive benefits, ultimately leading to role satisfaction. Adopting Sieber’s role rewards presented a structured and comprehensive tool for evaluating SAHFs’ role satisfaction level.

Another theory utilized in this study is Clayton Alderfer’s (1969) ERG theory stating that people strive to obtain three psychological needs: existence, relatedness, and growth. It proposes that a satisfied need could still operate as a behavioral motivator, suggesting that low and high-level needs could be active at the same time. The fulfilment of all three needs signifies a high level of need satisfaction. Existence needs are composed of basic survival requirements like safety-related and physiological needs. Relatedness needs, however, are driven by the desire to belong and develop good social relationships with significant others. Finally, growth needs are represented by the desire for personal development and the realization of one’s potential through creative or productive effects on oneself and the environment. In the case of Stay-At-Home Fathers, the theory assumes that SAHFs have existence, relatedness, and growth needs. A major strength of the ERG theory is it incorporates a wide range of needs—from materialistic to relationship to developmental—sufficiently depicting the diversity of needs that a father must satisfy. Hence, this study utilized the ERG model to address SAHFs’ psychological needs and formally quantify the level of their need satisfaction.

Figure 1.

Relationship between need and role satisfactions among Stay-At-Home Fathers.

According to Sieber (1974), roles can generate markedly higher need satisfaction. This supports the conceptual model above and explains the connection between this study’s two variables: role satisfaction and need satisfaction. To measure the level of need satisfaction among SAHFs, the ERG theory’s three fundamental needs were utilized. As studied by Ingvardson et al. (2022), ERG needs were evaluated collectively to acquire a robust and constant parameter value of need satisfaction. Meanwhile, the three role rewards from the role accumulation theory were applied to assess SAHFs’ role satisfaction. The concept of satisfaction within roles is referred to by Sieber (1974) as “net” or overall gratification. Therefore, the researchers applied the combination of the three role rewards as the best representation of role satisfaction. Through this, the researchers hypothesized the link between need satisfaction and role satisfaction among Stay-At-Home Fathers. In addition, it was also examined whether SAHFs’ age, monthly income, educational attainment, and civil status were predictors of their need and role satisfaction.

Raising awareness about SAHFs is necessary to better comprehend their condition and remove the stigma associated with their situation. This research would mainly aid SAHFs in understanding their level of need and role satisfaction. Moreover, this study is relevant for identifying the best assistance that society can give to SAHFs through addressing their needs and improving their role satisfaction. Governments and institutions can refer to this study to propose new policies, programs, and psychosocial interventions to foster nontraditional family structures like SAHF households. This study also adds to psychological literature by evaluating the application of the two theories in the field of Filipino family research. Lastly, this research presents reliable data and leverage for future researchers in the field of SAHF study.

METHOD

The design that was used for this research is quantitative research. This research report utilized the descriptive and correlational method to evaluate the relationship among SAHFs’ level of role satisfaction and need satisfaction. Upon gathering, the researcher resorted in finding through house-to-house search within Bulacan and Pampanga area, and a call for participants online. A total of 100 male parents that complete the sample characteristic criteria comprised the sample of this study. Researchers utilized purposive sampling to build a pool of respondents for this research study by referring to people who share a common research interest with the target demographic. Purposive sampling was also applied to effectively choose respondents who will meet the characteristic criteria of a SAHF. The researchers employed a self-made questionnaire to assess the two variables of this study: 1) SAHFs’ needs satisfaction and 2) SAHFs’ role satisfaction. To further ensure the validity of the self-made questionnaires the researcher used inter-rater reliability. A pilot test with 50 respondents was also conducted to ensure the test items’ reliability using Cronbach’s alpha.

Table 1.

Reliability coefficients of the research instruments.

Table 1 shows the reliability of the instruments used. The ERG Need Satisfaction Scale contained thirty statements and a 5-point Likert scale about the Existence needs, Relatedness needs, and Growth needs of Stay-At-Home Fathers. It has a Cronbach’s alpha is 0.93. The Role Satisfaction Questionnaire contained thirty statements and 5-point Likert scale that focused on the Stay-At-Home Fathers’ Overall Status Security, Status Enhancement, and Ego Gratification. It has a Cronbach’ alpha of 0.92.

During the initial stage of data collecting, the context and procedures that were used throughout the entire inquiry were planned. Prior research was done using a study of relevant literature in order to obtain insight into the topic before developing the question statements. Forms for consent were made by the researchers. The next step is for the researchers to find respondents who can participate in the study. They were specifically asked if they were available to complete the questionnaire in their spare time. Before participating in the data collection, individuals were asked to sign consent forms after receiving a briefing.

The researchers utilized the following statistical treatments to interpret the gathered data. First, descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation was used to describe SAHFs’ sociodemographic characteristics and the levels of need satisfaction and role satisfaction. Second, Pearson r was used to find the significant correlation between needs satisfaction and role satisfaction among Stay-At-Home Fathers. Third, regression analysis was used to identify the significant relationship among SAHFs’ sociodemographic characteristics, need satisfaction and role satisfaction. Fourth, p-value, was utilized to determine whether the null hypotheses would be accepted or rejected.

RESULTS

Table 2.

Sociodemographic Characteristics of the Respondents (n=100).

A total of 100 Stay-At-Home Fathers were included in this study. The sociodemographic characteristics of the surveyed population are presented in Table 1. Among them, the majority or 44% were aged between “45 – 59 years old”. While there are 49 SAHFs whose monthly household income falls in the “₱10,000.00-30,000.00” range. The majority or 82% of the SAHFs in this study are “Married”; and the educational attainment of the majority of the respondents with a frequency and percent of 37 SAHFs obtained until “Secondary” level.

Table 3.

Need Satisfaction among Stay-At-Home Fathers.

Table 3 presents the summary of need satisfaction among Stay-At-Home Fathers through descriptive statistics. The overall mean is 4.08 interpreted as “Satisfied” with a median score of 4.10 and has a standard deviation of .483. Among the Needs Satisfaction Scale factors, only “Growth Needs” obtained a mean score of 4.33 that is interpreted as “Highly Satisfied” with a median score of 4.45 and a standard deviation of .637. “Existence Needs” obtained a mean score of 4.08, a median score of 4.10, and a standard deviation of .504, while “Relatedness Needs” obtained a mean score of 3.82, a median score of 3.80, with a standard deviation of 1.387, both interpreted as “Satisfied”.

Table 4.

Role Satisfaction among Stay-At-Home Fathers.

Table 4 indicates the summary of the level of role satisfaction among Stay-At-Home Fathers through descriptive statistics. The overall mean is 4.17 interpreted as “Satisfied”, has a median score of 4.4 and a standard deviation of 0.432. Among the Role Satisfaction Scale factors, both “Overall Status Security” (4.29) and “Ego Gratification” (4.33) obtained a mean score that is interpreted as “Highly Satisfied” with the same median score of 4.4 and standard deviation of .483. While “Status Enhancement” obtained a mean score of 3.89 with a median score of 3.95 and standard deviation of .489, interpreted as “Satisfied”.

Table 5.

Relationship between Need Satisfaction and Role Satisfaction among Stay-At-Home Fathers.

Note: *. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). 

     ** . Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Table 5 shows the relationship between the need satisfaction and role satisfaction among Stay-At-Home Fathers using the Pearson r correlation coefficient analysis. There is a strongly positive correlation between the Need Satisfaction and Role Satisfaction among Stay-At-Home Fathers (r = .805, n = 100, p = .0001). The result is significant with the indicated p-value equal to .0001, thus, there is a significant correlation between the level of need satisfaction and the level of role satisfaction among Stay-At-Home Fathers. This implies that the need satisfaction and role satisfaction among Stay-At-Home Fathers strongly affects each other positively.

Table 6.

Regression Analysis of the Stay-At-Home Fathers’ Sociodemographic Characteristics and their Need Satisfaction Level.

In order to determine whether the Stay-At-Home Fathers’ sociodemographic characteristics significantly predict their need satisfaction level, multiple regression analysis was used. It was found that the Stay-At-Home Fathers’ sociodemographic characteristics, when combined, do not significantly predict the dependent variable level of need satisfaction (F [4, 95] = 1.405, p = .238). This implies that there is no significant relationship between the Stay-At-Home Fathers’ sociodemographic characteristics and need satisfaction level when taken as a whole.

Table 7.

Coefficients in Regression Analysis of the Stay-At-Home Fathers’ Sociodemographic Characteristics and their Need Satisfaction Level.

Results revealed that none of the Stay-At-Home Fathers’ four sociodemographic characteristics were found to be a predictor of their need satisfaction level when taken individually. Data showed that sociodemographic factors like Age (b = .037, p = .717), Monthly Household Income (b = -.142, p = .169), Civil Status (b = .006, p = .956) and Educational Attainment (b = -.153, p = .144) are found to be non-predictors. This means that, individually, the Stay-At-Home Fathers’ sociodemographic characteristics do not significantly affect their need satisfaction level.

Table 8.

Regression Analysis of the Stay-At-Home Fathers’ Sociodemographic Characteristics and their Role Satisfaction Level.

In order to determine whether the Stay-At-Home Fathers’ sociodemographic characteristics significantly predict their role satisfaction level, multiple regression analysis was used. It was found that the Stay-At-Home Fathers’ sociodemographic characteristics, when combined, do not significantly predict the dependent variable level of Role Satisfaction (F [4, 95] = 1.548, p = .195). Thus, the Stay-At-Home Fathers’ sociodemographic characteristics do not significantly affect their role satisfaction level.

Table 9.

Coefficients in Regression Analysis of the Stay-At-Home Fathers’ Sociodemographic Characteristics and their Role Satisfaction Level.

The data revealed that none of the Stay-At-Home Fathers’ four sociodemographic characteristics were found to be a predictor of their role satisfaction level when taken individually. Results showed that sociodemographic characteristics like Age (b = -.081, p = .428), Monthly Household Income (b = -1.575, p = .119), Civil Status (b = .076, p = .457) and Educational Attainment (b = -.121, p = .245) are found to be non-predictors. This means that, individually, the Stay-At-Home Fathers’ sociodemographic characteristics do not significantly predict their role satisfaction level.

DISCUSSION

Overall, the level of need satisfaction in terms of ERG among Stay-At-Home Fathers is satisfied. The result of the table above suggests that the participants have a high level of need satisfaction. Same result with the study by Nelson-Coffey et al. (2019), which states that fathers who provide childcare have a high level of psychological need satisfaction. For practical implications, it is important to make efforts to eliminate the stigma that stay-at-home fathers are not the providers of the family but to further emphasize the beneficial contribution that they can still provide the needs of their family and themselves by being the primary caregiver of the family. If parents are overburdened with work and family demands, it may be difficult for them to seek higher needs satisfactions in life. To evaluate their lives, parents, especially SAHFs, may require counseling services or more active guidance that society and government can provide. In this way, society’s perspectives on SAHFs’ child rearing may change as they become more mindful of every SAHFs’ daily difficulties and most importantly, their contribution to family dynamics and notions. Additionally, although ERG theory is commonly applied in the organizational field, this study implies that this theory might be used to SAHFs and family dynamics settings.

The results further suggest that the participants have a high level of role satisfaction. Consistent with prior research, this data result confirms the findings of Johnson (2016), which argue that Stay-At-Home Fathers experience a high level of satisfaction in terms of their role as SAHF. This implies that fathers who choose to stay-at-home with their children are likely to feel satisfied with their role. Continuous acquisition of resources, social support, experience, and a sense of wellbeing from carrying out role responsibilities subsequently leads to greater satisfaction for SAHFs. The results of this study add to the growing body of research depicting the evolution of modern fatherhood as an actively involved and nurturing parent. One practical implication of this research finding is to encourage fathers who are considering cutting back on work hours to care for their families. This could serve as a call for society to accept and assist men who choose to be SAHFs, rather than being led by prejudice and further perpetuating the stigma.

Accordingly, these study outcomes attest to the claim of role accumulation theory, which asserts that the rewards of role accumulation offset any tension resulting from role strain. Hence, the results of this analysis refute the notion of roles as sources of psychological stress. The present research establishes the validity and application of role accumulation theory in the research setting within the Filipino family context. Another implication of this study is its valuable contribution to role satisfaction and SAHF literature by introducing a novel approach to understanding and comprehensively measuring role satisfaction.

Role and need satisfaction among Stay-At-Home Fathers were found to have a significant positive correlation. This indicates that as SAHFs’ need satisfaction increases, they are also more satisfied in their roles, and vice versa. This is in line with Sieber’s (1974) theory, which argues that roles provide individuals with significantly higher levels of need satisfaction. The outcomes of this study strengthen the concept that fulfilling roles will likely boost psychological health by meeting basic psychological needs.The common component among the three domains of role satisfaction is the presence of social support and connectedness in order to experience role rewards. This might further explain the association between need and role satisfaction. According to Rudert et al. (2021), established social networks generate interpersonal and material resources, which therefore produce fundamental psychological needs. These resources are crucial in meeting psychological needs, thereby lowering role stress and raising role satisfaction (Florko, 2019). This suggests that SAHFs gaining quality social bonds as an essential element of role satisfaction grants them access to a wide range of resources, which in turn facilitates their need satisfaction.

This broadens the suitability of both the ERG theory and the role accumulation theory in their application to psychological research, particularly in the context of Filipino family research. The current research also emphasizes that for SAHFs to achieve role satisfaction, addressing the three psychological needs is of great importance. Conversely, helping SAHFs meet their core psychological needs might also indicate an improvement in their role satisfaction. Another implication of this study is that SAHFs would considerably benefit from policies and initiatives specifically designed to effectively sustain and maintain their role and need satisfaction. This study also points out the importance of promoting better societal support for SAHFs as well as the further development of their relationships with other role partners, which could provide them with emotional, educational, and practical assistance. As the needs and roles of SAHFs continue to be addressed, this may end the stigma associated with the distinct role arrangement of being a Stay-At-Home Father. Family experts, governments, and society as a whole may be more prepared to engage with these fathers and their families if they have a thorough understanding of how roles and need satisfaction exist in the unique context of SAHFs.

The gap from this research is that there is no existing literature about the effect of sociodemographic through ERG needs. The result implies that there might be other factors that could predict the need satisfactions of SAHFs, this is relevant for future researcher in this field to find other possible predictor SAHFs need satisfaction. This suggests that the SAHF population is a large and diverse group, and that the needs of stay-at-home fathers are therefore not affected by their age, educational level, monthly income, or civil status. In line with the study of Johnson (2016), SAHFs had high levels of psychological well-being and life satisfaction. SAHFs frequently seem to be consistently content and well-adjusted in their non-traditional occupations. Even though SAHFs reported low levels of social support, which appeared to be impacted by cultural ideas of male gender norms, despite having high levels of life satisfaction and well-being. Nonetheless, the social support they received from their relationships seemed to have a substantial impact on their general well-being. This result may suggest further researchers find other factors that may help in improving and identifying what factors does affect the needs of SAHFs. Since the lack of policy making here in the Philippines that may help to improve the needs of every father and SAHFs’ governments must be expected to offer services. For instance, such as the improvement of laws in the paternity leave and policy that can help SAHFs in terms of their daily needs. This can also boost the idea to help educate people about the needs of those who prefer nontraditional gender roles and how to support SAHFs in terms of their needs.

Furthermore, the result reveals that Stay-At-Home Fathers sociodemographic characteristics does not significantly affect their role satisfaction. For practical implication, similar to the findings of regression analysis for need satisfaction, this also implies that the SAHF population is a diverse community. Regardless of age, household income, civil status, and educational attainment, it is possible for them to achieve role satisfaction. This result is relevant to the future researchers in this research setting to encourage them to seek for additional potential predictors of SAHFs’ role satisfaction.

While this paper contributed valuable insights to the understudied population of Stay-At-Home Fathers, certain limitations should be considered. One major limitation of this study is that it does not include qualitative research on the levels of satisfaction of being a SAHF using interviews, observations, or focus group discussion. The absence of the period that a father became a SAHF in the selection criteria adds to the limitation. This prevented the researchers from observing further how SAHF are personally engaged with their role. The research participants are only composed of SAHF. As such, extensive research on the experiences and perspectives of the SAHFs’ partners, kids, relatives, and friends regarding the phenomenon of being a SAHF was excluded. Also, despite having a sample size that is both larger than that of other Filipino SAHF studies and capable of adequate power for data analysis, it is still fairly small and could be argued to restrict its generalizability. Additionally, the sample for this study was limited with respect to nationality, which limits the applicability of the findings to non-Filipino SAHFs due to cultural differences.

CONCLUSION

Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions were made:

1. Most of the SAHF are married middle aged men and earning below the minimum wage income with only a secondary level education.
2. In spite of the said demographics, SAHF have a high level of need satisfaction in terms of their existence, relatedness, and growth.
3. SAHF is a high level of role satisfaction among Stay-At-Home Fathers. This implies that fathers who choose to stay-at-home with their children are likely to feel satisfied with their role.
4. There is a strong positive connection between both Stay-At-Home Fathers’ need satisfaction and role satisfaction, which confirms Sieber’s (1974) theory that roles generate remarkably higher levels of need satisfaction. This suggests that satisfying the core psychological needs of SAHFs may also indicate an improvement in their role satisfaction. While an increase in the role satisfaction of SAHFs would also reflect related progress in their need satisfaction as well.
5. The results display that the sociodemographic characteristics of SAHFs, specifically: age, monthly household income, civil status, and educational attainment, were shown to be nonsignificant predictors of SAHFs’ role and need satisfaction. It could suggest that the SAHF community is a diverse population with wide sociodemographic differences but satisfaction with their role and needs is still present regardless of their sociodemographic characteristics.

RECOMMENDATION

After thorough findings and conclusions of the study, the following recommendations are hereby presented:

1. Stay-at-home fathers must be aware of the significance of their roles in order to fulfill their own needs. Based on the research results, despite the difficulties, stereotypes, and stigma the fathers reported, SAHFs had a satisfactory level of fatherly functioning. We recommend that this research will motivate them to meet their needs and enjoy their roles.
2. The result is relevant to future researchers, and we encourage them to look for more possible predictors of need satisfaction and role satisfaction among stay-at-home fathers. The researcher should also include the perceptions of SAHF’s partners and children. As they may contribute to each other’s experiences and further investigate the life of SAHF. As well as researchers should improve the questionnaire by including how long they stay at home. This may enhance and contribute to the limited body of knowledge about fathers’ nurturing practices.
3. The government must investigate ways to assist SAHF’s families in adjusting to this “non-traditional” parenting that may help them address financial management to help them transition smoothly into their roles. As the new role of fathers emerges, both the public and private sectors may improve their programs, which may help raise societal awareness about SAHFs. Since the results highlight how crucial social support is for SAHFs, it is essential that they obtain community support that will enable them to satisfy their role as well as their needs. Peer support groups can be organized by municipalities to offer SAHFs and their families emotional support.
4. The researchers recommended the case study on working fathers who suddenly became SAHFs. The encouraging wellbeing results and the fathers’ demonstrated perseverance in the surveys further attest to how well the fathers did in the sudden shift of roles.
5. Counseling and therapy services for SAHFs that address their psychological needs must be developed. Furthermore, the researchers recommend family counseling and psychoeducation that teaches and guides SAHFs, particularly new ones, about childrearing techniques, home maintenance, and effective family communication, to improve their parenting style.

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