The purpose of this study was to operationalize and test the parental involvement component of the "Determinants of Parental Competence" model (Belsky 1984; Belsky, Robins, & Gamble, 1984). The three determinants of parental involvement were: (1) parental resources, (2) infant characteristics, and (3) sources of stress and support. The variables representing these determinants included: parental age, education, skill in caretaking activities, preference for involvement, perinatal involvement, feeding method, infant age, infant gender, marital quality and number of work hours. The dependent variable measured the frequency, proportion, and time alone with the infant in play and caretaking activities.

The sample of 200 first-time parents of infants aged 6-52 weeks was randomly chosen from birth announcements published in a Southwestern city newspaper. Potential subjects were contacted by telephone. Couples who agreed to participate were sent two sets of questionnaires. The questionnaire return rate was 74%.

Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were performed separately for mothers and fathers. Mother variables explained 14-36% of the variance in maternal involvement, whereas father variables explained 7-40% of the variance in paternal involvement. Of the determinants, maternal sources of stress/support (mother's work hours), followed by maternal resources (preference), accounted for the most variance in maternal involvement. Paternal resources (preference and skill), followed by sources of stress/support (father's work hours), accounted for the most variance in paternal involvement. Recommendations include refining the model which can be used to guide nursing interventions based on parental and infant need.