Extant research highlights the importance of early paternal engagement for children and families. Thus, there is strong support for the exploration of predictors of low-income father engagement. Informed by Belsky’s process model of parenting, this study explores contextual determinants of father–infant engagement (i.e., verbal engagement, physical play, and caregiving) including the unique contributions of the child, the father, and the broader social context. We utilized survey data from a sample of 183 non-residential, cohabitating, and married low-income fathers of infants participating in a home-visiting intervention. Results demonstrated that infant age was associated with increased caregiving and verbal engagement, fathers’ total work hours were negatively correlated with verbal engagement, fathers’ depressive symptoms were linked to increased physical play, and the quality of the coparenting alliance was related to physical play and caregiving. Findings may inform programs designed to promote paternal engagement during infancy.

现有研究强调了父亲早期参与对儿童和家庭的重要性。因此，强烈支持探索低收入父亲参与的预测因素。根据贝尔斯基的育儿过程模型，本研究探索了父婴参与（即口头参与、身体游戏和照顾）的背景决定因素，包括孩子、父亲和更广泛的社会背景的独特贡献。我们使用了来自 183 名非住宅、同居和已婚低收入父亲参与家访干预的样本的调查数据。结果表明，婴儿年龄与照顾和言语参与度的增加有关，父亲的总工作时间与言语参与度呈负相关，父亲的抑郁症状与身体玩耍的增加有关，共同养育联盟的质量与身体玩耍和照顾有关。调查结果可为旨在促进婴儿期父亲参与的计划提供信息。