Abstract
This qualitative study of forty men from a wide range of family contexts examines the relationships between fathering and men's early adult development. Through assuming responsibility for fathering and continued involvement in child rearing, the fathers in this study perceived significant changes in their life course and personalities. Modes of change, while pervasive and profound, varied along divergent paths. One path characterized engagement in fathering as bringing a “jolt” to the life course. Substantive, but less dramatic changes were perceived by a second group of men who characterized father involvement as a “gentle evoker” of latent personality traits. A majority of men saw fatherhood as the single greatest shaper of their lives. As such, the study offers empirical support to the theoretically and anecdotally based idea that fathering alters the course of adult male development.
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