Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, June, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Th. M.)--Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 52-55).

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2004. / Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2006. / Title from PDF title page screen. Advisor: Kay Pasley ; submitted to the School of Human Environmental Sciences. Includes bibliographical references (p. 68-76).

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2007. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves

No description available.

M.A. (Communication & Media Studies) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters in Community Based-Counselling Psychology in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of the Witwatersrand, 2016 / This investigation explored how fathers and sons perceive what it means to be a father. A review of current literature revealed that there has been extensive work on the theme of fatherhood. Though extensive, the literature has not included both fathers and sons within a single investigation. Thus, this study has included both fathers and their sons in order to explore their perceptions of fatherhood. The findings revealed that both fathers and sons believed that being a father meant that one had to be the moral guide and primary breadwinner of the family. Some sons experienced their fathers as being emotionally absent and demonstrated a desire to have more present father figures. This desire, along with the notion that “the father is the primary role model of the son” is in line with ideas pertaining to “New Fatherhood”. With these definitions of fatherhood in mind, it was noted that all fathers believed that they still had some work to do before they could consider themselves the ‘perfect’ father. Despite this, the main findings of this investigation indicated that many sons continued to aspire to be like their fathers. While aspiring to be more like their fathers, the men in this investigation also felt that they needed to perform certain paternal functions better than their own fathers.

Historically, in many areas of research examining birth and parenthood the role of the mother often took precedence over the role of the father. This may be because, within a traditional family system, the father took the role of the provider, while the mother was responsible for child care and household. Societal and cultural changes over the past few decades have highlighted the importance and competence of fathers in less traditional roles and scientific research is currently aiming to fill the gap of knowledge pertaining to fatherhood. One field of research that has traditionally been neglected in fathers is postpartum depression (PPD), even though prevalence rates for fathers were estimated to be almost as high as for mothers. Research into the risk factors for paternal PPD has only grown substantially within the past two decades. The first part of this thesis provides a systematic review of the available evidence for psychosocial risk factors in the development of paternal PPD as examined by longitudinal research designs. Results of the review indicated that there was a general lack of high quality research, but there was some evidence for higher risk of PPD if fathers experienced disconfirmed expectations of parenting demands, low parenting efficacy, low relationship satisfaction, concerns/anxiety about the birth, disagreement about pregnancy intendedness, low prenatal life satisfaction and stress, and high role strain. The results were discussed in the context of implications for antenatal interventions for fathers. The second part of this thesis was concerned with another neglected group of fathers – fathers who were addicted to opiate drugs. While there is a large research base for the risk to children exposed to parental substance use, fathers’ views on their parenting role and the cross-generational transmission of risk of child maltreatment and substance use has only partially been examined. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis with a small sample of opiate-using fathers (N = 6), it was found that fathers experienced dichotomy in their father role. Their addiction caused them to be ‘disabled’ in the ir father role, characterised by selfishness, abandonment and an inability to meet their children’s needs. In contrast, the ‘Able Father’ came to light during stable periods of prescribed opiates or abstinence, and he was an involved, hands-on parent, sensitive to the child’s needs and motivated to repair the ill-effects of being ‘disabled’ by addiction. By ‘Connecting the Dots’ with their own upbringing, fathers were motivated to be better fathers than their own fathers, but they only had limited insight into the risk the ir ‘disabled’ parenting posed for their own children. The findings suggest that harnessing fathers’ motivation to be better fathers may be a useful asset in drug treatment and parenting interventions. Interventions aimed at increasing reflective functioning may contribute to positive outcomes for substance-using parents at the same time as reducing risk to their children, but more evidence is needed.

Thesis (MA(Counselling Psychology)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 127-136).