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NCT Number: NCT07627126

Fathers' Involvement in Infant Care and Infants' Development

In the early stages of life, newborns are dependent on caregivers to meet their basic needs for survival, feeding, and care. Generally, mothers assume primary responsibility for meeting their infants' basic needs and providing care, while fathers take on a supporting role. Both mothers and fathers actively contribute to the baby's healthy emotional development. This study, planned with fathers of 4-6 month old infants, addresses the lack of quantitative evidence regarding the relationship between fathers' involvement in infant care and infants' sensory processing.

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Key information

Conditions

Infant Behavior Behavior Child Behavior Father - Child Relations

Age range

4 month–6 month

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Nigde Omer Halisdemir University

Niğde, Turkey (Türkiye)

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Rabia ZORLULAR

CONTACT

[email protected]

+5424362082

About this study

Research shows that fathers' active participation in infant care positively impacts children's psychological, cognitive, social, and behavioral development. Mothers must encourage shared care between fathers and infants from the very beginning by providing opportunities for fathers to actively participate. Previous studies evaluating fathers' active involvement and infant development have shown that fathers report feeling a strong bond with their infants from birth, and infants show higher levels of motor, language, and personal/social development. However, no studies have been found that examine the relationship between infant sensory processing skills and the father's active involvement in infant care. This study, planned with fathers of 4-6-month-old infants, addresses the lack of quantitative evidence regarding the relationship between fathers' involvement in infant care and infants' sensory processing. Therefore, this study aims to determine the relationship between fathers' involvement in infant care and infants' sensory processing.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Term infants (37-40 weeks),
  • Infants aged 4-6 months

Exclusion criteria

  • Preterm infants,
  • Infants with congenital infections or proven genetic changes,
  • Infants and mothers diagnosed with metabolic, neurological, and genetic diseases,
  • Children whose parents did not volunteer to study

Treatment and study plan

The Infant Sensory Profile-2

Behavioral

The Infant Sensory Profile-2 is a parent-administered questionnaire that documents the sensory processing patterns of infants from birth to 6 months. In this study, the questionnaire will be completed by mothers. It consists of 25 items assessing different aspects of sensory processing and takes 5-10 minutes to complete. Each item is scored between one and five. The scoring is as follows: Almost Always = 5, Frequently = 4, Sometimes = 3, Rarely = 2, Almost Never = 1, with a parameter of "Not Applicable = 0".

Fathers' Involvement in Infant Care

Behavioral

The Fathers' Involvement in Infant Care Questionnaire, developed by Kuruçırak and Kulakaç, is a five-point Likert-type instrument designed to assess the level of fathers' involvement in infant care. Responses range from 1 (Never) to 5 (Always); higher scores indicate greater involvement in caregiving activities.

Primary outcomes

  1. Fathers' Involvement in Infant Care Questionnaire

    Time frame: 4-6 months

    The Fathers' Involvement in Infant Care Questionnaire, developed by Kuruçırak and Kulakaç, is a five-point Likert-type instrument designed to assess the level of fathers' involvement in infant care. Responses range from 1 (Never) to 5 (Always); higher scores indicate greater involvement in caregiving activities. The questionnaire consists of three subscales: (1) Physical Care (13 items), (2) Personal Development and Health (8 items), and (3) Dedicating Time to Play Activities (7 items). In our study, it will be completed by fathers.

  2. Sensory processing

    Time frame: 4-6 months

    The Infant Sensory Profile-2 is a parent-administered questionnaire that documents the sensory processing patterns of infants from birth to 6 months. In this study, the questionnaire will be completed by mothers. It consists of 25 items assessing different aspects of sensory processing and takes 5-10 minutes to complete. Each item is scored between one and five. The scoring is as follows: Almost Always = 5, Frequently = 4, Sometimes = 3, Rarely = 2, Almost Never = 1, with a parameter of "Not Applicable = 0". There are 6 options. The sum of individual scores gives the raw score. The total raw score is classified as: "typical sensory processing" (41-61) and "atypical sensory processing" (0-40 or 62-125).

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Rabia ZORLULAR

CONTACT

[email protected]

+5424362082

Rabia Zorlular

CONTACT

[email protected]

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Nigde Omer Halisdemir University

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Fathers' Involvement in Infant Care and Infants' Sensory Processing

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2027
Study completion
2027
First posted
Jun 4, 2026
Registry last updated
Jun 4, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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