Over the last few decades increasing rates of single mother households in the United States have triggered a national alarm over the effects of father absence on society. Father absence has been linked specifically to many of the problems plaguing black communities in the United States (e.g. poverty, low educational attainment, etc.) and as a result community and political leaders alike have consistently promoted responsible fatherhood practices as a way to address them. Although responsible fatherhood has received, in this context, a considerable amount of social attention, this attention has come intertwined with considerable political and moral rhetoric at all levels, making an idea invested with a wide variety of often-conflicting meanings and interests. <br>Given the paucity of academic studies giving voice to black fathers at the metaphoric "front line" of the national responsible fatherhood effort, this author used a variation of The Listening Guide (Gilligan 2003) to capture the narratives of four black fathers volunteering in a local responsible fatherhood program. Critical Social Representations Theory was used to frame the interaction between participants and the social contexts within which they are embedded, paying particular attention to participants' positioning in regard to social representations of race and gender. The widely different understandings of fatherhood present within the results point to fatherhood as a highly dynamic concept. Responsibility, on the other hand, was understood primarily as father presence, a middle class ideal that I argue is problematic given the realities of poor black fathers. Finally, all fathers tended to resist ideas of race as essence, even if in regard to gender all fathers adopted hegemonic positions endorsing views of gender difference as essential and as grounded in biology. Overall, results reveal complex portrayals of black fathers and their lives in communities where race, poverty, incarceration, drugs, violence, or family court all pose additional challenges to responsible fatherhood. / McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts / Clinical Psychology / PhD / Dissertation

The aim of this qualitative study is to look into the experiences of four single fathers in the Stockholm area, regarding how they perceive their situations as fathers before and after their disruptions of their previous unions, societal norms around them; if there are discrepancies between normative pressures and the possible day to day practices available for them to live. A masculinities perspective is applied for analyzing interviews made with the fathers, drawing on previous findings, mainly the omnipresent hegemonic masculinity but under which is also found the transnational masculinity and the child oriented masculinity. These masculinities are used as a back-drop against which the empiric material is viewed and analyzed in the search of the fathers’ views on their life worlds’ discrepancies between normative pressures and societal discourse, in comparison with the boundaries set up by their day to day practices, which limit their possible choices of action. The results show that there are discrepancies between different external pressures connected to norms for the fathers and that this at the individual level can at times cause internalized conflicts. A select few topics for future research in the field of single fathers’ fatherhoods are suggested, which conclude the study.

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This study explores how fathers exist within socially constructed micro and macro systems and are positioned within a discourse on gendered masculinity. Seven fathers from the Nanaimo, B.C. region volunteered to participate in two focus groups, to discuss “what makes a father”. An exploration of the men’s lived experiences reflected on memories from childhood that influenced choices they make in fatherhood. Through generative exchanges and personal narratives subjective and evolved perspectives on gender binaries, masculine stereotypes and traditional belief systems were articulated. The compilation and analysis of data attempts to disrupt preconceived notions of masculinity in the 21st century. Based on the focus group data the study reveals roles that challenge traditional paternal archetypes relevant to parental relationships and demonstrates that contemporary fathers continue to evolve and navigate what is being referred to as “new” fatherhood. The study contributes to the research on fathers as an exclusive research subject and their understanding of fatherhood in their own terms. The fathers in this study are challenging antiquated belief systems of how men are supposed to be within the structures of gendered masculinity. The study indicates there is no one-way or right way to be a dad and the curiosity and a conscious effort to trouble heteronormative archetypes by the participants indicates that men create space to chose to father according to their subjective experiences. / Graduate

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Many authorities believe that our relationship with our parents has an effect on later relationships. Attachment theory and the more recent "men's movement" have focused on parents and their role in the development of the child. To study fathers' influence, 122 male undergraduate students were surveyed at a mid-sized Indiana university regarding their relationships with their father, friend, and romantic partner. The average age of the participants was 20.7 years, and the majority of the students were either Black (11.5%) or White (85.2%). Although 70.5% of the participants had married parents and 23.8% had divorced parents, most men (89.3%) referred to their biological father in completing the survey.The present study found that closeness to fathers while growing up did not predict closeness within the men's friendships. Father closeness was predictive of romantic relationship closeness but did not predict whether or not the men would be involved in such a relationship. Individual differences prevail, however, as information obtained from personal interviews indicated that some men believed their father influenced both their friendships and their romantic relationships. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

Thesis (Th. M.)--Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, 1990. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 123-135).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-06, Section: B, page: 4174. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 184-196).

Thesis (M.A.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1997. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-104).