Late-adult fathers’ experiences of parenting across the lifespan

Abstract

While theoretical studies have stressed the lifelong development of father involvement, little is known about how fathers experience and describe their parenting of their children from childhood to adulthood. We interviewed 93 Swedish fathers in late adulthood about these issues to address the identified research gap. Our thematic analysis generated a set of core aspects of fathers’ parenting in the sense that they were persistent from childhood to adulthood, namely being engaged, present, and available. Our results also suggest that soft parenting was prominent in retrospect and that fathers balanced involvement with the independence of their adult children. These results can be applied within clinical settings that target parents in different phases of parenthood to help them navigate their everyday struggles and overall strivings as parents. This knowledge can also be used clinically in relation to individuals in late adulthood, as it highlights potential psychosocial challenges in their lives.