Journal•ISSN: 1537-6680
Fathering: A Journal of Theory, Research, and Practice About Men As Fathers
Men's Studies Press
About: Fathering: A Journal of Theory, Research, and Practice About Men As Fathers is an academic journal. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Parental leave & Masculinity. Over the lifetime, 158 publications have been published receiving 6109 citations.
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TL;DR: This article explored the ways that work and family interact for stay-at-home fathers who "trade cash for care" while they remain connected to traditionally masculine sources of identity such as paid work and they take on unpaid masculine self-provisioning work at home and community work that builds on traditional male interests.
Abstract: Rooted in a qualitative research project with 70 stay-at-home fathers in Canada, this paper explores the ways that work and family interact for fathers who “trade cash for care.” While fathers are at home, they also remain connected to traditionally masculine sources of identity such as paid work and they take on unpaid masculine self-provisioning work at home and community work that builds on traditional male interests. They thus carve out complex sets of relations between home, paid and unpaid work, community work, and their own sense of masculinity. Narratives from stay-at-home fathers speak volumes about the ways in which the long shadow of hegemonic masculinity hangs over them while also pointing to hints of resistance and change as fathers begin to critique concepts of “male time” and market capitalism approaches to work and care. The paper concludes by pointing to several theoretical contributions to research on fatherhood and masculinities as well as to policy implications that arise from this study on the social valuing of unpaid work.
217 citations
TL;DR: The authors investigated the experiences of incarcerated fathers, their perceptions of fatherhood, and the nature of their involvement with their children, and found that fathers perceived mothers' gatekeeping, or efforts to prevent contact, as evidence of their powerlessness.
Abstract: This study investigated the experiences of incarcerated fathers, their perceptions of fatherhood, and the nature of their involvement with their children. Fifty-one incarcerated fathers confined at two minimum security correctional facilities were interviewed approximately one month prior to their release from prison. A qualitative content analysis revealed detailed description pertaining to participants’ feelings of helplessness and the difficulties of being a “good father” while in prison. Incarceration represented a dormant period for men in terms of fatherhood, and reentry signified an opportunity to “start over” with their children. Finally, father involvement was profoundly constrained during incarceration, and men were entirely dependent on nonincarcerated mothers or caregivers for contact with children. Many fathers perceived mothers’ gatekeeping, or efforts to prevent contact, as evidence of their powerlessness. Recommendations for future research and intervention are discussed.
195 citations
TL;DR: Fathers who had at least a romantic relationship with the mother were more involved with their children across types of involvement than those in no relationship.
Abstract: In this article, we use data on biological fathers (n = 597) and mothers (N = 1,550) from 12 sites of the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project (EHS study) to examine the type and frequency of father involvement. We use a three-part model of father involvement to examine whether fathers participating in the EHS study are accessible to, engaged with, and show responsibility for their two-year-old children. We also examine patterns of reported father involvement by relationship status and residency. We find that more than 80% of all two-year-old children in the EHS study have accessible biological fathers, with the majority of nonresident boyfriends and nonresident friends and more than a third of fathers in no relationship with the mother seeing their children at least once in three months. These accessible fathers are engaged in a range of activities and show responsibility for their children, although patterns vary by the father-mother relationship status and father residency. More specifically, fathers who had at least a romantic relationship with the mother were more involved with their children across types of involvement than those in no relationship. Associations between relationship status and father engagement and responsibility remained after controlling for demographic variation among fathers in different relationship groups. A significant proportion of fathers who had no relationship with the mother of their child had some contact with the child, suggesting that the relationship between mother and father is not the only factor helping fathers stay involved in their children’s lives. Finally, fathers report doing a lot more caregiving than has been suggested by other studies.
170 citations
TL;DR: This paper explored the process of negotiation between mothers and fathers to secure, to restrict, and to define men's roles in their children's lives, and used Identity Theory to frame the transformation of father identities in response to correctional policies and negotiations with their childrens mothers.
Abstract: In this study, we explore the process of negotiation between mothers and fathers to secure, to restrict, and to define men’s roles in their children’s lives. Field notes and life history interview data were collected with 40 incarcerated men in a work-release program in a Midwestern metropolitan community. Partnering relationships were marked by confusion and conflict due to incarceration, deteriorating commitments, and stresses of low-income family life. Half of the participants described their children’s mothers’ efforts to discourage their involvement, while almost 75% noted instances of mothers’ encouragement of their involvement. We use Identity Theory to frame the transformation of father identities in response to correctional policies and negotiations with their children’s mothers. We conclude with implications for the study of the process of maternal gatekeeping and paternal involvement in correctional facilities.
156 citations
TL;DR: The authors compared the factor structures and means for mothering and fathering, as retrospectively perceived by young adult children, and found that fathers were significantly less involved than mothers in all of the domains surveyed except providing income, and that the patterns of means for fathers were highly consistent with the seminal work of Parsons and Bales.
Abstract: This study was designed to compare the factor structures and means for mothering and fathering, as retrospectively perceived by young adult children. Three dimensions of perceived parenting were examined: nurturance, reported involvement, and desired involvement. We used the existing Nurturant Fathering and Father Involvement Scales, and the newly developed parallel Nurturant Mothering and Mother Involvement Scales. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the originally validated factor structure of the fathering measures fit the data well and that the factor structures of paternal and maternal nurturance and involvement were isomorphic. These scales appear to index parenting functions that generalize across mothers and fathers. Meandifference analyses indicated that fathers were significantly less involved than mothers in all of the domains surveyed except providing income, and that the patterns of means for fathers (but not for mothers) were highly consistent with the seminal work of Parsons and Bales. Implications for the study of parenting are discussed.
156 citations