Stay-At-Home Fathers’ Experience: A Literature Review and Practical Suggestions

Abstract

This study examined the process of men becoming stay-at-home fathers and the rewards and costs experienced by stay-at-home fathers through a literature review from a family perspective in 12 published studies written in Korean and English. The results of the study are as follows. First, the process of men becoming at-home dads was the result of a reasonable choice based on the family’s tacit or direct agreement and a kind of family strategy at a time when there was a gap in care for preschool children. Second, the main rewards experienced since becoming at-home dads, namely, to promote intimacy and bond with their children, improve relationships with their wives, and to make their children more flexible in their thinking and more mature, were largely related to their families. Third, the costs of being an at-home dad were stigmatization, alienation and isolation, confusion of an identity as a man, and depression due to negative emotions and child-care burdens. Several major causes stemmed from the gender role stereotype implied in society. Practical suggestions to enhance services at Family Centers and other public policy support were discussed to strengthen stay-at-home fathers and their families.