Fathering Practices Research Articles

Fathering Practices in Sweden During the COVID-19: Experiences of Syrian Refugee Fathers.

This article explores fathering practices among Syrian refugee families in Sweden. Syrian refugees provide an example of people who migrated because of a single major event: the war in Syria. The article examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on fathering practices. The Swedish COVID-19 strategy differed from those adopted in many other countries. Lockdowns were minimal and were not stringently enforced, based on the assumption that individuals would trust the authorities and would take personal responsibility for complying with their guidelines and recommendations. Previous research suggests that migrants and other vulnerable groups were not always well informed about the public policies introduced prior to and during the pandemic. The article draws on empirical data from a wider research project on the family lives of Syrian migrants in Sweden. The authors present their findings from an analysis of eleven ethnographically informed semi-structured interviews, carried out before and during the pandemic, with married fathers who had been living in Sweden for several years. In this article, they focus on three cases representing fathers with varied educational backgrounds and employment histories. These families had in common what are considered by Swedish standards to be overcrowded living conditions; they were forced to accept close family proximity, both physically and emotionally, as they no longer had the supportive networks they were used to in Syria. The three fathers were found to rely more heavily on information provided by the people with whom they were in contact in Sweden than on policies and recommendations from the authorities. These findings confirmed that the previous experiences among refugees of shifting policies regarding migration and integration had lowered their trust in government. They had learnt that they needed to rely on mutual dependency not only between spouses, but also between parents and children.

Emotion socialization parenting practices of mother and father in adolescence: A systematic review of literature

This paper reviews the available research exploring Emotion Socialization Parenting Practices (ESPP) of mothers and fathers of adolescents. PRISMA guidelines for systematic review were used to conduct the literature search. Seven studies that met the criteria were included, indicating insufficient research focusing simultaneously mother and fathers’ ESPP. In general, the studies presented good methodological quality. Results suggest that both parents show more positive ESPP than negative. However, mothers tend to have more positive ESPP than fathers and fathers tend to show more negative ESPP than mothers. The association of parental ESPP with adolescent’s psychological outcomes appears to vary with parent’s gender and with the type of outcomes (externalizing vs. internalizing symptoms). When considering the combined effects of mother and father ESPP, the results showed that parental consistency in the use of negative ESPP was associated with higher levels of adolescent psychopathology.

Models of Boys’ Gender Socialization in Families in Modern-day Serbia

This paper focuses on the process of gender socialization of boys, examined through parenting practices of mothers and fathers in the contemporary socio-cultural context of Serbia. The analysis is based on empirical material collected via semi-structured interviews during 2012 on a sample of 24 families with children aged 2 to 12. The constant comparative analysis (grounded theory method) includes attitudes and actions of parents of boys and girls (as a control group) in the process of family gender socialization, and enables interpretation of boys’ gender socialization models on a continuum ranging from traditional to modern upbringing practices of parents. The research shows that parental practices in modern-day Serbia are still primarily traditional. Of the three distinct models of boys’ gender socialization (traditional, transitional and participatory), the last two represent a step forward in the direction of the individualization of parenthood and more egalitarian gender socialization patterns influenced primarily by partner relationship dynamics. These dynamics are initiated by mothers’ reflexiveness and the transformation of the concept of the “sacrificing motherhood”. The dynamic of partner relationships thus shifts in the direction of “sacrificing fatherhood”, that is, a father’s renunciation of a part of the privileges he enjoyed before entering the responsibilities within the household. Interactions with the social environment (and perceived changes in it), as well as interactions with the family of origin are crucial elements in whose interrelation the upbringing practices of parents are built and within which gender socialization of boys takes place in the socio-cultural context of contemporary families in Serbia.

Family separation and transnational fathering practices for immigrant Northern Triangle families

AbstractWe utilize insights from previous qualitative research to explore fathering among immigrant fathers from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras (the Northern Triangle of Central America). We present a conceptual model of transnational fathering practices in order expand beyond common cultural frameworks that are used to examine within‐group differences for Latino fathers. We describe four key practices of transnational fathering: (1) negotiation of illegality, (2) providing from the shadows, (3) maintenance of transnational family networks, and (4) communication with mobile families via information technology. This model can expand our understanding of and practice with immigrant and refugee families who live between and within multiple national borders.

“Do You Guys Take Showers with Your Children?”: Gendered Embodiment and the Legitimation of Italian Fathering Practices

This work aims at investigating gendered embodiment in fathering practices in a national context, Italy, where understandings of fatherhood, at the institutional as well as the individual level, are still more centered on the provider ideal than on a model of nurturing and caring fatherhood. This qualitative research on Italian first-time fathers of children under three years of age focused on men’s participation in routine, instrumental, and material childcare practices, exploring the potential for a transformation in both the meanings attached to fatherhood as well as to aspects related to embodiment and constructions of masculinity that sustain inequalities. The findings show that, while participation in hands-on childcare plays an important role in the construction of intimate father-child relationships, a legitimation of men’s bodies’ involvement in interaction with children is still missing, especially for care practices that overlap with constructions of motherhood.

Вовлеченное отцовство, заботливая маскулинность

Современные исследования показывают, что отцовство и отцовские практики тесно увязаны с понятием маскулинности и гендерными контрактами. Это означает индукцию изменения в маскулинных и отцовских ролях вследствие активно меняющихся конфигураций образовательных, трудовых и материнских обязанностей женщин. Таким образом, социальный институт отцовства испытывает давление как публичной, так и приватной сферы. Отцовство явно меняется в современном обществе, поскольку во многом разрушены патриархальные семейные структуры, изменились гендерные роли, возникли новые идентичности матери и отца, что делает необходимым изучение коммуникативной структуры семьи/партнерства. Насколько отцы доступны для детей, наполняют реальным содержанием взаимодействие с ними и насколько они берут ответственность за детей? В качестве теоретического подхода в статье развивается социально-конструктивистская платформа, на основе которой автор дискутирует по теории социального признания Алекса Хоннетта, а также по теории заботящейся маскулинности Карлы Эллиот. В качестве приемлемой концептуальной основы автор выстраивает комплементарную гендерную конструкцию, позволяющую релявитизировать гегемоническую нормативную маскулинность за счет легитимирующего дискурса заботы, который становится гендерно нейтральным и высвобождает пространство отцовских практик в стиле вовлеченного активного отцовства. В фокусе описываемого в статье эмпирического исследования — вопрос о преемственности и отличиях отцовских практик на протяжении трех поколений. Как воспринимают современные молодые люди отцовское влияние по сравнению с материнским, что говорят их отцы о своем отцовстве, как они вспоминают собственное детство и влияние своих родителей (поколение дедушек)? Изменились ли представления об отцовской роли, остается ли прежним содержание отцовских практик и, вместе с этим, дискурс отцовства в обществе в целом? Исследование построено на анализе коллекции собранных 200 семейных кейсов, каждый из которых представляет собой трехпоколенный срез проблематики отцовства, материнства и социализации в формате полуструктурированного интервью. Исследовательский акцент на отцовских практиках ставит целью отслеживание и контрастирование отцовства, контрастирование практик отцовства. Для анализа нарративного содержания описанных отцовских практик выделены категории, на разных уровнях описывающие феномен отцовства и позволяющие отследить поколенческие отличия: в модусе повседневного действия в воспитании, в содержании воспитательных норм, в оценке и режимах оправдания относительно моделей воспитания и участие в воспитании. Основной эмпирический вывод заключается в том, что отцовство «возвращается» в семью, обрастает трансформирующими маскулинность практиками заботы, его ценность валоризирована как содержательно самостоятельная роль. Благодарность. Статья написана в рамках Проекта «Реконфигурация отцовской роли: поколенческая динамика, отцовские компетенции и практики», поддержанной Научным фондом НИУ ВШЭ (индивидуальный грант № 15-01-0126).

Parenting practices and oral health status in rural areas in Egypt: a household survey

BackgroundParenting practices influence children’s health and development. The present study assessed the association between parenting practices and oral health status of children living in rural areas in Egypt.MethodsA cross-sectional household survey including 190 households and 392 children was conducted from May 2019 to January 2020 in four villages in Egypt. Data were collected through clinical examination and interview-based questionnaires of children. Clinical examination assessed caries (DMFT and dft), oral hygiene and gingival condition. Parenting practices were assessed using the short version of the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ) and oral health practices were assessed using the WHO questionnaire-child form. Four linear regression models were used to assess the relationship between four outcome variables (oral health indicators: (DMF, df, plaque and gingival indices) and parenting practices and oral health behaviors (exposure) after adjusting for potential confounders. Regression coefficients (B), 95% confidence intervals (CI) and model adjusted R2 were calculated.ResultsComplete questionnaires and clinical data were available for 392 children (response rate = 86.34%). The mean (SD) age = 9.93 (3.05) with 54.60% females. Most children (67.60%) had caries in their primary teeth, mean ± SD of df = 2.94 ± 3.10, while only 27.30% had caries in their permanent teeth, mean DMF ± SD = 0.57 ± 1.13. There was a statistically significant difference between parenting practices of both fathers and mothers (p < 0.001, < 0.001, < 0.001, 0.008 and < 0.001 for the five parenting constructs). The adjusted R2 of the models that included parenting practices (for DMF = 0.168, for df = 0.400, for plaque index = 0.061 and for gingival index = 0.090) were similar to the models that included oral health behaviors (for DMF = 0.197, for df = 0.421, for plaque index = 0.059 and for gingival index = 0.084).ConclusionThe association between oral health status and parenting practices which- although not statistically significant- was similar in impact to that between oral health behaviors and oral health status, highlighting the importance of parenting practices to oral health.

Diferences in Fathering among Russian Men Brought up with and without a Father

Background. In this article, we present the results of a study on the fathering characteristics of Russian men, in early and middle adulthood, brought up with and without a father. There is a theory that fathering practices are determined both by early childhood experiences, as well as by marital relationships in adulthood, because of the links between co-parenting and fathering. Thus, we hypothesize that the fathering characteristics of men in early and middle adulthood, brought up with and without a father, will be different.

A Case for Soul in the Desert Fathers According to Hillman’s Interpretation of Psyche in his Work A Blue Fire

A Case for Soul in the Desert Fathers According to Hillman’s Interpretation of Psyche in his Work A Blue Fire Nathan Garcia (bio) The psychologist James Hillman saw himself as a fierce advocate for the soul. His prolific career advanced the understanding that psychotherapy return to its mytho-poetic roots. Concomitant to these efforts was an unmitigated and even hostile critique of religion. According to Hillman, organized religion is either unconcerned or inimically set against the psyche’s expression of its soulful elements. This anti-religious sentiment is supported by various aspects of Hillman’s thought. However, Hillman did not fully appreciate the versatility of religion or its abilities to be soulful.1 Specifically, the Christian faith has historically expressed itself in a variety of ways which intersect with Hillman’s expressions of psyche, or soul. I argue that the lifestyle and teachings of the ancient desert fathers demonstrate a clear precedent of soulful expression from the Christian tradition that is aligned with Hillman’s own thinking. I will evaluate four elements of Hillman’s philosophy of psyche and demonstrate why each aspect is critical of religious appropriation. Subsequently, I will describe central features of the life and philosophy of the ancient desert fathers to attest that they indeed reached into the inner workings of the soul, according to Hillman’s philosophy. The work set out in this paper draws its importance based on Hillman’s school of psychology, known as archetypal psychology. Hillman’s school represents a burgeoning spiritual philosophy that is intellectually at odds with religion and the Christian faith. If it can be established that principles of Hillman’s school significantly overlap with an important part of the history of the Christian church than perhaps it can facilitate a communication between both traditions. I believe Christian spirituality would be substantialy emboldened by the potency and depth offered by Hillman’s thought. His work could bring to the theological discussion a richness of concepts otherwise absent. The concepts, such as archetypes, personality, depression, and the imaginal open new vistas for a Christian and archetypal conversation in the field of Christian spirituality to acknowledge the spiritual wealth in Hillman’s thought and begin to seriously examine Hillman’s numerous insights for living a contemporary life of soul. [End Page 149] A PREFACE FOR SPECIFICATIONS This paper will draw from the philosophy of James Hillman. Though philosophy may be a misnomer for Hillman’s thought,2 it is the best description given his treatment on comprehensive topics and his reexamination of intellectual assumptions. His philosophy, especially as it relates to his ideas of psyche, is best adumbrated in his work A Blue Fire.3 This work attempts to bring into focus connections between Hillman’s commentary on a variety of issues. In fact, it is outlined in such a way that is conducive to a philosophical program, namely, it begins with his most fundamental ideas and proceeds to build upon them a larger, cohesive body of thought composed of increasingly specific subjects. Hence, to have a good understanding of Hillman’s philosophy I will draw primarily from this work. Secondly, Hillman tends to treat organized religion with broad brush-strokes. He will frequently move back and forth between a critique of “spiritual disciplines” and specific arguments against Christian dogma. For the purposes of this paper, I will respond to his religious critiques by drawing from the Christian tradition exclusively. Hillman himself does this in practice as well. He almost exclusively levels his arguments against Christianity and derides its influence in the field of psychology. Thirdly, I will be discussing the desert fathers in the Christian tradition. This movement is an ancient, centuries-long movement located primarily in Egypt. It is important to note that much of the material I utilize will reference the great literary work to come out of this movement, the Apophthegmata Patrum. Translated as Sayings of the Fathers (hereafter referred to simply as Sayings), this collection gives a detailed and insightful look into the life and practices of the desert fathers. This movement represents an important historical age for Christianity and demonstrates a uniquely lived interpretation of Christianity. Moreover, I will also refer to the...

Bentuk Fathering di Kota Kupang

Parents have responsibilities to nurture their children to be independent person, physically and biologically. Father’s role are parenting, demanding them to be involved in child rearing. This study was done for six months long in order to understand fathering practices in Kupang City using quantiative methods. Samples involved in this study numbered 200 fathers with children aged 2 – 6 years old in Kupang City. Sampling used was accidental sampling and data gathered with a 35 items questionnaire. These items were tried in validity and reliability. This study found that fathers involvement in parenting were as high as 83%. Paternal accessibility were identified as the most important fathering aspect. This study also describe the data according to important demographics information. This study needs to be further explored using qualitative approach in order to achieve better and deeper quality of information.

Fatherhood after Union Breakup in Uruguay: Transitory or Life-Long Commitment?

Rising union dissolution in Latin America—and in much of the world—has increased public concern over the involvement of nonresidential fathers in the lives of their children. At the same time, social norms about post-separation fatherhood have changed, increasingly favoring not only economic support, but also participation in child-rearing. In this article, we (a) examine several dimensions of nonresidential fathers’ involvement with their children, (b) test whether there is a link between pre-separation and post-separation fathering practices, and (c) explore which dimension of pre-separation fathering practices—engagement, accessibility, and responsibility—is more influential on post-separation paternal behavior. The study is based on two waves of a longitudinal national survey carried out in Uruguay. Empirical findings suggest that fathers’ pre-separation involvement in child-rearing affects their post-separation parenting behavior, although results are not conclusive in all aspects of post-separation involvement, and father’s educational attainment tends to have a more influential role.

6.69 TREATING MOTHERS AND FATHERS WITH ADHD WITH STIMULANT MEDICATION AND PARENT TRAINING: EFFECTS ON PARENTING AND GLOBAL IMPROVEMENT

Evidence-based interventions require parents to obtain, administer, and implement treatment. Parents with ADHD demonstrate parenting behavior characterized by disorganization, negativity, and inconsistency. We sought to examine parenting practices of mothers and fathers with ADHD, and parent and child ADHD symptom improvement in response to parent stimulant medication or behavioral parent training (BPT).

Um olhar sobre o papel do pai na compreensão emocional das crianças: Os estilos parentais e práticas de socialização das emoções negativas

Os pais são figuras centrais no desenvolvimento emocional da criança durante os seus primeiros anos de vida, com a literatura a focar-se, essencialmente, no impacto da mãe na aquisição e desenvolvimento da compreensão emocional (CE), apesar de evidências recentes indicarem a importância que as práticas paternas poderão ter neste domínio. O presente estudo analisou o efeito dos estilos parentais e das práticas de socialização das emoções negativas do pai na CE das crianças, numa amostra de 75 pais e crianças portuguesas em idade pré-escolar. Os pais reportaram os seus estilos parentais e práticas através dos questionários PSDQ e CCNES, respetivamente. A CE foi avaliada pelo TEC. Verificou-se uma associação negativa entre a CE e o estilo permissivo e as reações de perturbação, e uma associação positiva com a idade da criança. Os resultados são discutidos equacionando características dos estilos e práticas paternas e o seu possível impacto na CE da criança.&#x0D;

‘Tough and tender’? Agricultural masculinities and fathering activities

ABSTRACTThe article is concerned with how hegemonic masculine activities comply with farming fathers’ caregiving to possibly change masculinity and produce gender equality. Based on interviews with farming fathers, several activities with children are narrated as part of their fathering practices, such as hunting, outdoor leisure activities. Being firmly within traditional male areas they serve to uphold hegemonic masculinity. This notwithstanding, combined with caregiving, they show a fluidity and hybridization of masculinity in which the ‘tough’ is combined with the ‘tender.’ The fathers also report avoiding prioritizing work at the expense of their children and that they do more caregiving in the home than previous generations, although mothers are still in charge. This implies blurring, but nevertheless conservation, of gender boundaries. A dismantling of rural hegemonic masculinity still seems to be a distance away.

Towards an understanding of fathers’ involvement in children’s sporting activities as racial fathering practices

ABSTRACTThis research note puts forward a conceptual framework for leisure research seeking to bring sport, fathering, and race and ethnicity together. It draws on theoretical ideas of practices and racial projects to develop the notion of racial fathering practices. The potential of racial fathering practices as an analytic approach is indicated through three vignettes of fathers’ involvement in their children’s sporting activities drawn from in-depth interview studies of fathers’ understandings of bringing up their mixed-race children in Britain and Aotearoa New Zealand.

Against All Odds? Birth Fathers and Enduring Thoughts of the Child Lost to Adoption

This paper revisits a topic only briefly raised in earlier research, the idea that the grounds for fatherhood can be laid with little or no ‘hands-on’ experience of fathering and upon these grounds, an enduring sense of being a father of, and bond with, a child seen once or never, can develop. The paper explores the specific experiences of men whose children were adopted as babies drawing on the little research that exists on this population, work relating to expectant fathers, personal accounts, and other sources such as surveys of birth parents in the USA and Australia. The paper’s exploration and discussion of a manifestation of fatherhood that can hold in mind a ‘lost’ child, disrupts narratives of fathering that regard fathering as ‘doing’ and notions that once out of sight, a child is out of mind for a father. The paper suggests that, for the men in question, a diversity of feelings, but also behaviours, point to a form of continuing, lived fathering practices—that however, take place without the child in question. The conclusion debates the utility of the phrase “birth father” as applied historically and in contemporary adoption processes.

‘I think my son is a wonderful chap’: working-class and middle-class fathers’ narratives of their son’s ADHD diagnosis and medication

This article adds to the emergent literature on classed fathering by exploring how middle-class and working-class fathers relate to their sons’ ADHD diagnosis. The strong requirement on parents to adhere to a dominant medical discourse of ADHD is used as a case to explore how the entwinement of class and gender shape different fathering practices. The article draws on in-depth interviews with 16 fathers of boys diagnosed with ADHD. These interviews were part of a larger study including interviews with children and their mothers. All the fathers interviewed were critical of the medical understanding of their sons’ behaviour, and seemed, in different ways to defend their sons against the diagnosis and medication. However, this resistance is much clearer in the working-class fathers’ narratives than in the middle-class fathers’. We argue that classed masculinities allow these fathers to take on a love-driven identification with their sons’ problematic masculine behaviour. Seen in a wider context, the fathers’ critical voices offer considerable resistance to the medicalisation discourse, and thus also to currently dominant parenting regimes.

‘I am still close to my child’: middle-class Korean wild geese fathers’ responsible and intimate fatherhood in a transnational context

ABSTRACT This paper employs responsible fathering as a theoretical framework and explores the transnational fathering practices of wild geese fathers – middle-class Korean fathers who remained alone in their home country while sending their wives and children abroad for their children's education. Based on in-depth interviews with 64 wild geese parents in the United States, Canada, and South Korea, it analyses how wild geese fathers strived to fulfil components of responsible fathering – providing economic support and emotional/physical care for children – in the transnational context by utilising three tools of transnational fathering: remittances, transnational communication, and face-to-face encounters. It revisits the one-dimensional and economically-oriented portrait of transnational fatherhood by documenting wild geese fathers who actively renegotiated the gendered boundary of parenting and practiced more affectionate, expressive, and involved fatherhood from a distance. It highlights the significance of social class, legal status and technology as critical resources of transnational father-child intimacy. In sum, its analysis of middle-class Asian transnational fathering contributes to better understanding the growing diversity of transnational fatherhood.

Experiences, needs, and perceptions of paternal involvement during the first year after their infants' birth: A meta-synthesis.

ObjectivesFatherhood has evolved in recent decades from ‘a moral teacher’ to ‘an involved father’. However, fatherhood experiences have not been examined in detail. This meta-synthesis aimed to examine fathers’ experiences, needs, and perceptions of their involvement with their infants during the first 12 months of birth.MethodSix electronic databases were systematically searched: PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, Scopus, PsycINFO, ProQuest (grey literature). The search resulted in 13 studies that met the inclusion criteria. Quality appraisal was conducted using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme Checklist. All 13 studies met the appraisal criteria and were included in the meta-synthesis. The findings of the 13 studies were synthesized using the steps of Sandelowski and Barroso in conducting meta-synthesis.ResultsThe 13 included studies comprised studies conducted in the West, Africa, and Asia. Fatherhood experiences differed according to different sociocultural contexts. Three themes were identified: (1) trajectory of the father-infant relationship, (2) reinforcements and hindrances to involvement, and (3) change from self-oriented to family-oriented behavior. Changes in a father’s relationship with his infant were influenced by relationships with his spouse and family members after the birth of the infant. Reinforcements, hindrances, and needs to fathers’ involvement were identified. Fathering responsibility and parenting satisfaction that developed overtime influenced a father’s behavior, changing from self-oriented to family-oriented.SignificanceThis is the first meta-synthesis that examined fathers’ experiences, needs, and perceptions of their involvement with their infants during the first 12 months of birth. Multiple factors were found to influence the socially-defined fathering ideology. Cultural practices of fatherhood and fathers’ own perceptions shaped their actual fathering behaviors. The findings of this study may guide healthcare professionals as frontline personnel to understand fathers’ needs and experiences in order to promote fathers’ involvement in the early days after their infants’ birth.

Chinese mothers’ and fathers’ involvement in toddler play activity: type variations and gender differences

ABSTRACTThe present study explores the constructs of Chinese mothers’ and fathers’ engagement in toddlers’ play in the daily context. A sample of 238 parents of toddlers (M = 30.43 months, SD = 3.45) completed a newly-developed instrument, the Chinese Parental Involvement in Toddler Play Activity Questionnaire (CPITPAQ), to report their play engagement. First, factor analyses yielded four constructs: physical play, social games and routines, educational play, and object exploration. Second, a set of ANOVAs indicated that: (1) the mothers engaged in toddlers’ play more than the fathers; (2) both mother and father involved themselves more in toddler’s educational play than in other types of play; and (3) fathers and mothers demonstrated different patterns of play engagement with their daughters and sons – specifically, fathers engaged sons more in physical play and object exploration, while mothers engaged daughters more in social games and routines. The finding of differentiated play practices of Chinese mothers and fathers of toddlers will inform the theoretical development of parental education and related programmes.