Fathers Face Research Articles

Introduction

Introduction Hortense J. Spillers (bio) For my niece, Evelyn Juliette Ellington, d. 21 Mar. 2013, aged fifty-four, and her mother, my sister, Theaster Spillers Ellington, d. 21 May 2013, aged eighty-six Aisha Karefa-Smart opens this collection on a personal note of the warmest reminiscence: Uncle Jimmy, her mother’s brother, is coming home for a visit, and it is indeed as her grandmother exclaims, the return of the “prodigal son.” In keeping with the high expectations of an iconic moment in the making, the “energy and vitality” of the West Seventy-first Street household are “elevated to a fever pitch.” Even the neighbors—not always willingly, as in the case of Mr. Kaplan, who occupies the first floor of “One Thirty Seven”—are drawn ineluctably into the unrelenting tidal wave of familial excitement—“the noise and the revelry,” “the joy and celebration of a multitude of aunts, uncles, cousins, fellow writers, and comrades in the struggle,” all converging on a white-brick four-story apartment building in Upper Manhattan. “For days on end,” we are told, an unending stream of well-wishers comes laden with the cornucopia of bountiful things—“gifts, food, and stories about their triumphs, trials, and tribulations” and perhaps above all, their witness that emphasizes “the impact his work had on them.” If Karefa-Smart is recalling the scores of witnesses who pass through her grandmother’s living room over the years in tribute to her celebrated uncle, then how many more of them must there be who constitute the writer’s global public, then and now. This intimate portrait opens another window onto the life and career of one of the mid-twentieth century’s most important writers, and with the view, his readers acquire an enhanced sense of the impetus that evokes “My Dungeon Shook,” his letter to his nephew that inaugurates “The Fire Next Time.” Penned on the occasion of the one-hundredth anniversary of the Emancipation—a description epigraphically embedded in the title of the essay, it begins “Dear James,” and inscribes a gambit into the future—my own generation of activist-scholars included—who would bear the full weight and consequences of that crucial legacy of the pathways of freedom. Perhaps we would not overstate the case to say that such freedomways were fraught with danger, insofar as that very moment of publication runs concurrent with the systematic breakup of the old regime of racial segregation, bolstered by every bit of domestic terror. Baldwin was accustomed, then, to talking to the young—not at them, not lordly positioned above them, but rather with them, in which case it was essential to get the words right: he’d begun the letter “five times,” he tells us, and “torn it up five times,” seeing the nephew’s face all the time, “which is also the face of your father and my brother” (“Fire” 333). Some lines later, Baldwin points out that both his nephew and his father resemble the grandfather, so that in a few lapidary brushstrokes, Baldwin helps us to envision three generations of Baldwins, bound by the mystic ties of kinship and resemblance. A gentle warning against despair, despite the fact “that the country is celebrating one hundred years of freedom one hundred years too soon,” the letter ends in the summons of a Homeric configuration of descent, as one of his line of epigones said, “The very time I thought I was lost, My dungeon shook and my chains fell off” (336). Wishing to adopt an idiom that would be performative as well as rhetorical, Baldwin signs off in the language of grace and benediction, which kind of strategy for closure distinguishes the Baldwinian canon. [End Page 563] But what we had not realized was the extent to which Baldwin, not a stuffed shirt in any case, could actually play with the young. When Karefa-Smart’s brother TJ confronted Baldwin with a real question, posed every time he saw his uncle—“when are you going to write a book about me?”—the answer itself was more sincere than we might imagine. Picking up the little boy and swinging him round and round like all the other uncles...

Orienting Services to Separated/Divorced Fathers: A Conceptual Framework

We introduce a conceptual framework incorporating the various domains that programs and services must address when considering the needs of separating and separated/divorced fathers. The three core domains are: (1) Support for reconfiguring family structure, attending to transitions associated with decoupling while maintaining a co-parenting relationship; (2) Support for parenting, including acquisition of parenting skills and knowledge about the effects of separation/divorce on children; and (3) Support for psychosocial needs, addressing issues such as mental health, substance abuse, and emotional distress. These domains are situated within the broader context of socio-cultural and legal systems and will vary across time. Keypoints for the Family Court Community Separating/separated fathers face major shifts in the configuration of family and spousal relationships, and in their roles as fathers. In addition, these significant life changes affect their personal wellbeing. A framework is presented to guide service providers (e.g., mental health, court-related, alternative dispute resolution services) and policy makers in addressing these three key domains of separated fathers' experience. Broader socio-cultural and legal contexts, and specific suggestions for implementing the framework are included. Goal is to effectively address fathers' needs in establishing positive postseparation parenting and parent–child relationships.

Fathers Claiming Custody of their Children – Clients of Psychological and Legal Counselling

The growing number of divorces and broken families in which custody of the child is usually granted to the mother, makes fathers face difficult situations. Many fathers cannot contend with difficulties without professional help; therefore, psychological and legal counselling is becoming increasingly widespread. The aims of this article is to discuss the problems encountered by the fathers claiming custody of their children after the divorce and to analyse their expectations of psychological and legal counselling. The research conducted by the author revealed that fathers experienced most difficulties in dealing with lack of contact with the child, loneliness, longing, and complicated relations with the child's mother. The respondents expected professional help with legal formalities, as well as psychological support to help them cope with divorce and limited contact with the child.

The role of fathers in breastfeeding: Decision-making and support

Background In recent years closer attention has been paid to the role of fathers in both the decision about whether to breastfeed and in supporting a breastfeeding mother. This qualitative study explores couples' decision-making regarding infant feeding, parents' views on the father's role in relation to breastfeeding, and examines some dilemmas fathers face when supporting a breastfeeding partner. Methods Eighteen men and women using maternity services at the Royal Sussex County Hospital were interviewed by telephone. Results Fathers acknowledged that the decision to breastfeed should be made by the mother and a father's role was to endorse his partner's decision and provide practical and emotional support. Those who faced breastfeeding difficulties described the processes involved in deciding whether to continue. Conclusions This small study draws upon the views of men and women living in the south-east of England in a city with high rates of breastfeeding initiation. Findings may not be generalizable to the wider population. However, in this setting new parents need information about breastfeeding and support to make informed decisions about duration and further input from health professionals when facing difficulties.

Jezus Janowy jako objawiciel oblicza Ojca

The present article deals with the essential message of the Fourth Gospel which is based on the relation between Father and Son. The main motive of this article is the last verse of the Prologue (Jn 1:18) which appears like leit­motive in the various contexts of the Gospel of John. In the first part of the article the author describes the relation between Father and Son in the Fourth Gospel. He stresses especially a deep communion between them which deter­mines the function of Son as the Revealer of His Father. In the second part of the article the author makes analysis on the function of Jesus as the Revealer of Father. This function can be seen especially in His words and acts. The main goal of this function is the faith of the Jesus’ disciples in God who is the loving Father and Donor of salvation. In the power of faith every human being can recognize in Jesus the face of Father whose main feature is Love until the mystery of the Cross.

Evidence of Change and Continuity in Fathering: The Case of Western India

In this article the author attempts to explore how fathers fare in today's globalized India. Findings from a series of research studies conducted on a sample of urban Hindu middle class Gujarati families from Baroda City between the years 2001–2005 are examined to understand current beliefs on fathering and patterns of father involvement. The author also attempts to understand and convey the difficulties Indian fathers face in their endeavour to provide for children, nurture and guide them, and establish relationships with them. Emphasis is placed on understanding how fathers cope with the situation and understanding the factors that act as barriers to optimal father involvement. Finally the author is cast to illuminate aspects of continuity in traditional ideals and behavior, and the nature of their contextual adaptations and transformations.

Brain responses differ to faces of mothers and fathers

We encounter many faces each day but relatively few are personally familiar. Once faces are familiar, they evoke semantic and social information known about the person. Neuroimaging studies demonstrate differential brain activity to familiar and non-familiar faces; however, brain responses related to personally familiar faces have been more rarely studied. We examined brain activity with fMRI in adults in response to faces of their mothers and fathers compared to faces of celebrities and strangers. Overall, faces of mothers elicited more activity in core and extended brain regions associated with face processing, compared to fathers, celebrity or stranger faces. Fathers’ faces elicited activity in the caudate, a deep brain structure associated with feelings of love. These new findings of differential brain responses elicited by faces of mothers and fathers are consistent with psychological research on attachment, evident even during adulthood.

Forgotten Guardians and Matthew 18:10

‘See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven’ (Matt. 18:10 NIV). Modern commentators have not reached a consensus on the context of this verse, nor on the angels mentioned. First, whether those who are guarded are children or ordinary Christians is undecided. Secondly, some scholars deny that single Christians have an individual guardian angel. However, because early Jewish and Christian sources have by no means been thoroughly researched, evidence found thus far can probably help clarify the kind of angels Jesus was referring to. Surprisingly, angels whose mission was to avenge the evil made to children have been widely overlooked by scholars.

Race differences among noncustodial fathers noncompliant in child support: Involvement and self-perceptions of fathering

There are more than 21.2 million children who live with only one parent in the United States (US Census 2007). Of the 13.6 million noncustodial parents, the majority of whom are fathers, more than 2.6 million are low-income fathers who do not pay child support (Sorensen, 2002). This is a diverse group, yet little research has focused on racial differences among low income noncustodial fathers who do not pay child support. Understanding who these fathers are, and how they are involved in their children’s lives is important for social policy and for parenting programs that seek to involve fathers beyond financial child support. This paper provides a description of race differences among low-income, noncustodial fathers convicted of the non-payment of child support. Comparisons between White and African American/Black fathers are made for the amount of fathering involvement, the type of fathering involvement, and self-perceptions of fathering. Findings reveal no significant differences between African American/Black and White fathers’ type of involvement and perceptions of fathering, although there is a trend for African American/Black fathers to have more contact with their children compared with White fathers. Findings demonstrate that low-income, noncustodial fathers face multiple barriers to staying involved with their children, and practitioners should recognize the context of background factors that might influence father involvement.

Visual kin recognition in nonhuman primates: (Pan troglodytes and Macaca mulatta): Inbreeding avoidance or male distinctiveness?

Faces provide important information about identity, age, and even kinship. A previous study in chimpanzees reported greater similarity between the faces of mothers and sons compared with mothers and daughters, or unrelated individuals. This was interpreted as an inbreeding avoidance mechanism where females, the dispersing gender, should avoid mating with any male that resembles their mother. Alternatively, male faces may be more distinctive than female faces, biasing attention toward males. To test these hypotheses, chimpanzees and rhesus monkeys matched conspecifics' faces of unfamiliar mothers and fathers with their sons and daughters. Results showed no evidence of male distinctiveness, rather a cross-gender effect was found: chimpanzees were better matching moms with sons and fathers with daughters. Rhesus monkeys, however, showed an overwhelming bias toward male-distinctiveness. They were faster to learn male faces, performed better on father-offspring and parent-son trials, and were best matching fathers with sons. This suggests that for the rhesus monkey, inbreeding avoidance involves something other than facial phenotypic matching but that among chimpanzees, the visual recognition of facial similarities may play an important role.

Are parents' perceptions of offspring facial resemblance consistent with actual resemblance? Effects on parental investment

Human fathers face paternity uncertainty and are expected to use cues of relatedness to adjust their investment. So far, the main cue hypothesised to account for paternity assessment is facial phenotypic resemblance between a father and his child. However, previous studies showing a discriminative paternal investment either relied on fathers' perceptions of resemblance (which differs from actual resemblance, as perceived resemblance could be socially biased), or manipulated facial resemblance. In this study, we investigate in a real-life situation, whether (1) the perception of child facial resemblance and (2) the likelihood of parental investment were predicted by actual facial resemblance to self, for both parents. The actual facial resemblance of 79 French children was quantified by testing external judges. Data on ascription of resemblance and parental investment were collected in private for each parent. First, ascription of facial resemblance was found to be consistent between the two parents and to match actual resemblance to the father. Second, emotional closeness as reported by fathers, but not by mothers, was found to be predicted by actual facial resemblance to self. This suggests that paternity uncertainty has favored the use of facial phenotype matching in fathers.

Gendered Expectations? Reconsidering Single Fathers’ Child‐Care Time

We take a fresh look at an important question in the sociology of gender and family: Do single fathers “mother”? We add to the theoretical debate by proposing that single fathers face competing interactional pressures, to simultaneously act like mothers and men. Using nationally representative data from the American Time Use Survey 2003 – 2006 (N = 16,654), we compare the time single fathers spend on child care to other parent types, paying special attention to differences in employment profiles, household composition, and care arrangements. Accounting for these differences, single fathers spend slightly less time caring for children than do mothers, but more time than married fathers. Interesting differences emerge, however, depending upon the age of the youngest child in the household.

Fatherhood in the Canadian Context: Perceptions and Experiences of Sudanese Refugee Men

As they attempt to settle and adapt into Canadian society, new immigrants and/or refugees fathers face multiple stressors, some of which include underemployment or unemployment, social isolation, and changing roles within the family. Through a qualitative research involving in-depth interviews with 20 Sudanese refugee men recruited through a criterion sampling process based primarily on length of residency and age of children in Canada, this paper examines their perceptions and experiences as fathers in a large urban centre in Canada. Insights on the meaning of fatherhood, the values that guide their behaviour as fathers, their interactions with and aspirations for their children, and the challenges these men encounter as fathers in Canadian society are also provided.

Fathers' Risk Factors in Fragile Families: Implications for "Healthy" Relationships and Father Involvement

We use longitudinal survey and qualitative information from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine how risk factors such as physical abuse, problematic substance use, and incarceration among unmarried fathers in the study are related to fathers' early involvement with their children. The survey results indicate that nearly half of fathers have at least one risk factor and that each risk is negatively associated with paternal involvement. The results also show that fathers with risk factors are less likely to have romantic relationships with mothers and that relationships between parents mediate associations between risk factors and fathers' involvement. Qualitative interviews with a sub-sample of mothers and fathers in the study illustrate the meaning of risks for parents and the processes through which early family outcomes occur. Parents' accounts suggest that mothers often select out of relationships they deem “unhealthy” and monitor fathers' access to children, particularly in cases of physical abuse. While some fathers with risks withdraw from children, others attempt to maintain their involvement independently or as part of a strategy with the mother to address these risks with varying success. We suggest that policies to promote marriage and responsible fatherhood be mindful that some fathers they are targeting have characteristics that may not be conducive to increased involvement while other fathers face personal and institutional barriers to involvement.

Reflections from the Field: A Girl's Initiation Ceremony in Northern Sierra Leone

Three years after the official declaration of peace in Sierra Leone, people have finally relaxed and now try to reconfigure their lives in a very visibly war-torn surrounding. In this setting, the girl's initiation, dimusu biriye, becomes not only a ceremony of the making of women, or a social event, but an important post-war event reconfiguring social relations. Also, this event challenges the anthropologist on a more personal level regarding issues of womanhood, bodily integrity, and the position as outsider. Kamadugu Sokorala village Sengbe Chiefdom Koinadugu District Sierra Leone January 9th, 2004. Tears are running down my face. There is a full moon, and I am sitting quite close to the fire, but it is late, and I don't think anyone has noticed. For an instant, I become overwhelmed with feelings as the significance of the ritual hit me-to become a woman you have to undergo female circumcision. I am a woman and also a mother of two daughters, and I can't even conceive of putting my daughters through the physical mutilation of a genital circumcision. I am looking at some of the dances performed by the 58 neophyte girls soon to be initiated and circumcised in the village of Kamadugu Sokorala in northern Sierra Leone. However, I am also an anthropologist, and as I am looking around me at the faces of mothers and fathers, aunts and uncles, I can see nothing but joy, happiness, and pride. These mothers do not hesitate for a second in putting their daughters through this, what I see as an ordeal. No, they are proud and enthusiastic. The girls also seem happy; they are the center of attention; they seem proud to share something with the older women, some secret separating them from their younger sisters. Parents and kin have invested a lot of time and money in this ritual of initiation, the first one of any significance since before the war that started more than a decade ago. The planning started last year when wore (kola nut) was sent to relatives to let them know that next year, the village of Kamadugu Sokorala would host a big dimusu biriye, To host a dimusu biriye is a costly endeavor and has to be planned at least a year in advance. A rice farm has to be prepared to feed the girls and the guests, and the surplus sold to pay the musicians and the biriyelenu (the women who perform the circumcision). Pa Morowa, my friend and host while staying in the village, had planted many bags of seed rice last year, in preparation for the festivities and the seclusion of the girls in the biridela, the society bush, but he was disappointed as almost the whole crop failed. As the organizer, host of the ritual, and father of five of the girls, he was in acute need of money, so he decided to go to one of his sons in the diamond area to ask for assistance. However, he found his son living in squalor, one of so many young men living from hand to mouth, hoping to one day find a big diamond and return to the village a big man. His son gave him a pair of jeans and money for the return trip. In post war Sierra Leone, a staggering amount of young men leave their villages for the diamond areas. Meanwhile, in everyday life in these villages, their absence is notable, there are hardly any young men left, and their families pray for their return, dreaming of the material wealth their sons will soon bring. However, in most cases, these hopes and dreams are in vain. Poverty has made fathers rely on their sons; they tread the fine line between begging and demanding, trying not to lose authority with the knowledge that their control is at best symbolic. Today, three years after the declaration of peace, the village is slowly being rebuilt by the villagers themselves-for there is little physical evidence of any development assistance; there are no NGO projects, there are no new water wells or latrines, and unlike in so many other parts of Sierra Leone, here there are no new zinc sheets on the roofs. …

The Breadnut and the Breadfruit

My mother had never uttered his name in my presence, and I had ended up thinking that I owed my life to her unbending will-power alone. My mother walked staunchly along life's straight and narrow path. Apparently she only strayed once to follow the unknown face of my father, who managed to seduce her before handing her back to a life of duty and religion. She was a tall woman and so severe she seemed to me to be devoid of beauty. Her forehead disappeared under a white and violet headtie. Her breasts vanished in a shapeless black dress. On her feet were a pair of plimsolls carefully whitened with blanc d'Espagne. She was laundress at the hospital in Capesterre, Marie-Galante, and every morning she used to get up at four o'clock to clean the house, cook, wash, iron and goodness knows what else. At twenty to seven she would open the heavy doors after shouting:

The Position of the Single‐Parent Father

This article presents the profile and roles of the single‐parent father. Problems that fathers face at work and at home are discussed. Recommendations are presented for counselors who work with single‐parent fathers.

No One Wants Girls Except...

The other day I was shopping for a humorous greeting card to congratulate a friend on the birth of her daughter. I was struck by the fact that the card shop displayed six different cards for baby boys and only two for baby girls. This was a reminder of a long-nagging suspicion that American parents prefer boys over girls. A quick trip to the public library for some research seemed to confirm these thoughts. 1,2 So many times in my private practice of pediatrics, I have seen disappointment in the faces of fathers and mothers when girls were born. One time I found a mother crying over the birth of her second healthy daughter. She told me that she and her husband wanted a boy and that she wasn't sure she could love this baby. I told her, half seriously, that I would adopt and love the baby. The next