Men as well as women are affected by the life-changing events of pregnancy and childbirth. The nature of fatherhood and the role of the male in the birthing process have undergone significant changes in the past several decades. While this phenomenon has been well-documented regarding the changes a father experiences during a healthy pregnancy and birth, there is little research that addresses the implications for the man when his spouse or partner is diagnosed with postpartum depression. Approximately 10 to 20% of birth mothers are affected by some form of this disorder (Greenberg & Springen, 2001). The literature on this topic has grown steadily in an effort to better understand the reasons and implications of such a diagnosis for a woman. This researcher's intent was to identify the perspectives of men whose spouses or partners were diagnosed with postpartum depression. Understanding this situation from their perspectives can represent information regarding the effects of postpartum depression on the interpersonal relationship and, secondarily, the family unit. In particular, relationship strains between the men and their spouses or partners and the impact on the adjustment to having an infant to care for were explored. Medical records were reviewed in a medical practice for significant scores on the mother's Edinburgh Postnatal Screening Scale. After a series of elimination steps, seven men were identified and willing to participate in the research. In an hour-long interview, the men discussed their experience with their spouse/partner's postpartum depression. Field notes were taken before, during and immediately following the interviews to add clarification, using nonverbal responses to the setting and interview questions. The transcripts of the interviews were coded to identify common categories, which in turn generated themes of emotional deregulation, seeking normalcy, understanding self, and disappointment. Anger was noted by the seven men as a response on several levels to the postpartum depression. In addition to anger, frustration was expereinced with the lack of information received and the lack of response from the medical community as a whole. Several of the men reported surprise at their previous emotions resurfacing so readily when answering the interview questions. / Ph. D.

Using a social constructionist perspective, this thesis explores the development of the concepts of “parental alienation syndrome” and “false allegations” in the context of custody and access, as ‘social problems’. Following Joel Best’s framework for critically analysing social problems, it examines the life course of these concepts through an historical account of Canada’s divorce arena and recent changes to custody and access law. It analyzes the reasoning and motives of the major claimsmakers: the Fathers’ Right Movement, medical experts, the legal arena and the counter-claims of Feminist activists. It examines the role of the supervised access facilitator in the construction of the concepts as ‘social problems’. The theories of psychiatrist Richard Gardner are examined in particular, due to their pivotal role in the advancement of the claimsmakers’ goals. Finally, empirical studies are reviewed and analyzed, demonstrating how the concepts of “parental alienation syndrome” and “false allegations” have mutated and permeated the domain of divorce and access in Western society. / Thesis (Master, Sociology) -- Queen's University, 2008-09-04 11:36:28.395

The research problem for this study was fathers’ low participation in child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention with their children. The purpose of this study was to explore how fathers perceive their self-efficacy in talking to their children about CSA prevention. Bandura’s self-efficacy concept, which is a part of social cognitive theory, was used as the theoretical foundation for this study. The primary research question addressed fathers’ perceptions of their self-efficacy in discussing CSA prevention with their children. The secondary research question addressed what fathers think could be affecting their comfort level in talking to their children about CSA prevention. A generic qualitative design was used to address these research questions. Fathers of children between the ages of 7 years and 13 years were included in this study. The participants were interviewed via telephone. Data were analyzed using a 12-step process to performing an inductive analysis on qualitative data. The findings from this study showed that 90% of the participants talked to their children about CSA prevention, even though some of them expressed doubt about their efficacy and competency in having the discussion. Participants stated that they wanted easily accessible resources to increase their efficacy and gave suggestions on how to make the resources available. This study has important social implications because increasing fathers’ self-efficacy in talking to their children about CSA prevention could lead to the increased protection of children in their environment. Increasing the protection of children could contribute to fewer cases of CSA.

The death of a parent by suicide is especially traumatic. Researchers estimate the number of children in the United States annually who experience their parent's suicide ranges from 7,000 to 30,000. These child survivors experience more complicated grief as compared to children bereaved by a parent's non-suicidal death. In particular, very young children have difficulty understanding that their parent completed suicide. Across time they struggle with confusion and intense emotions associated with their parent's suicide. Due to the stigma associated with suicide, feelings of guilt, and intense grief, surviving family members avoid talking about the suicide. Young children are often confused and suffer in silence with limited understanding about who the deceased parent was and why the parent completed suicide. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven adults, who as young children experienced the death of their father by suicide. All participants reported being five years old or younger at the time of the suicide. Participants explained how they found out about the suicide; how they developed an understanding of their deceased father across the years; and how they developed memories of their father, largely dependent on others' stories and reported details. At the conclusion of the interviews, participants were offered nine children's picture books. Participants self-selected books from these nine books and offered their impressions about how these books may or may not be helpful for young child survivors of parent suicide. Their reactions to the books are discussed in relationship to their personal stories and lived experiences. Their reactions have implications for how potential books must be carefully selected, making considerations in light of the child's unique experiences. Participants' responses highlighted the importance of attachment issues, the challenges of forming a connection to the deceased loved one with limited memories of their parent. Ultimately, survivors' perceptions and experiences are tied to the challenges of navigating Worden's (1996) tasks of grief. Implications for applied practice include considering how to use children's literature to open and encourage communication, allowing children to ask questions about the suicide; supporting young children in accepting the reality of their parent's death; facing the grief and pain with the support of loved ones; adapting to changes in their life's trajectory due to their father's suicide and adapting to altered family relationships; and building memories of the deceased loved one, and when possible, ensuring healthy attachment to the deceased parent.

LaRossa, Jaret, Gadgil, and Wynn (2000, 2001) conducted a content analysis of 495 comic strips published on Father’s Day and Mother’s Day in the United States from 1945 to 1999 in order to determine whether the culture of fatherhood and gender disparities in the media had changed over the past half-century. Drawing on their research, I conducted a similar kind of analysis of 246 comic strips published on Father’s Day and Mother’s Day in Japan from 1950 to 2004. By comparing and contrasting the results in the two studies, I show how comic portrayals of families have changed in Japan and in the United States, and demonstrate the value of analyzing comic strips in cross-national research.

LaRossa, Jaret, Gadgil, and Wynn (2000, 2001) conducted a content analysis of 495 comic strips published on Father’s Day and Mother’s Day in the United States from 1945 to 1999 in order to determine whether the culture of fatherhood and gender disparities in the media had changed over the past half-century. Drawing on their research, I conducted a similar kind of analysis of 246 comic strips published on Father’s Day and Mother’s Day in Japan from 1950 to 2004. By comparing and contrasting the results in the two studies, I show how comic portrayals of families have changed in Japan and in the United States, and demonstrate the value of analyzing comic strips in cross-national research.

The aim of my thesis was to find out how the current family of preschool children works, with emphasis on the father's role in the family. In the theoretical part I have focused on the problems of current families, gender issues, respectively gender stereotypes, the importance of a father in a child's socialization process, the influence of the father on the child's upbringing. In the theoretical part, I have also followed up the issues of the kindergarten cooperation with family, with emphasis on the role of the father in it. The empirical part of the dissertation has two levels. The first one is the status of the father in the current family, the second level relates to how kindergarten teachers perceive fathers and their involvement in co-operation with kindergarten.

<p>Syftet med denna studie var att ta reda på nyblivna föräldrars tankar kring främst föräldraledighet, amning, föräldrautbildning, barn- och mödravården, med tyngdpunkt på vårdens roll och pappans delaktighet. Intervjuer genomfördes med 11 föräldrar och svaren analyserades och kategoriserades i teman. Resultatet visade att de allra flesta var nöjda med vården de hade fått från både MVC och BVC, men enskilda föräldrar var missnöjda med enstaka sköterskor de träffat. Informanterna var också nöjda med bemötandet, då båda föräldrarna kände sig delaktiga i samtalet med barnmorskan. Alla föräldrar ville vara hemma med sitt barn under någon period, vilket berodde på personliga skäl och en vilja att vara med sitt barn. Hos hälften av paren tog mamman ut största delen av föräldraledigheten. Orsaken till detta var i huvudsak amningen, men även ekonomiska orsaker spelade in. Att amning är en stark aspekt för vem som är föräldraledig först gäller fortfarande, och informanterna upplevde att det var något som även vården förespråkade starkt. Angående föräldrautbildningen tyckte alla föräldraparen att studiebesöket på förlossningen var det som gav mest, samt att få träffa andra blivande föräldrar. En brist som nämndes var att informationen som gavs var sådant som de flesta redan kände till.</p> / <p>The aim of this study was to find out what new parents think about parental leave, parental education, the child welfare center and the prenatal clinic. The main focus was on what role the care system played and to what extent the father was involved. Eleven parents were interviewed and the findings were analysed and put into different themes. The result showed that most of the parents were satisfied with the care given at the child welfare center and the prenatal clinic. The participants also thought they were well treated by the nurses and midwives during the encounters. Both parents felt equaly involved while talking to the midwife. All of the parents wanted to have parental leave to some extent and the main reason was that they wanted to spend time with their child. In half of the cases mothers used the greater part of the parental leave. Both breast-feeding and economical aspects were mentioned to be reasons for this. The participants felt that the child welfare center and the prenatal clinic strongly recommended breast-feeding which contributes to the fact that breast-feeding still is a key aspect in the decision on which parent who is going to stay at home with the child during the fist period. All of the parents thought that the visit to the delivery department was the best part during the parental education, they also appreciated meeting other people in the same situation. The general information given during the regular meetings were things that many of the participants already knew and could for that reason have been more detailed.</p>

Syftet med denna studie var att ta reda på nyblivna föräldrars tankar kring främst föräldraledighet, amning, föräldrautbildning, barn- och mödravården, med tyngdpunkt på vårdens roll och pappans delaktighet. Intervjuer genomfördes med 11 föräldrar och svaren analyserades och kategoriserades i teman. Resultatet visade att de allra flesta var nöjda med vården de hade fått från både MVC och BVC, men enskilda föräldrar var missnöjda med enstaka sköterskor de träffat. Informanterna var också nöjda med bemötandet, då båda föräldrarna kände sig delaktiga i samtalet med barnmorskan. Alla föräldrar ville vara hemma med sitt barn under någon period, vilket berodde på personliga skäl och en vilja att vara med sitt barn. Hos hälften av paren tog mamman ut största delen av föräldraledigheten. Orsaken till detta var i huvudsak amningen, men även ekonomiska orsaker spelade in. Att amning är en stark aspekt för vem som är föräldraledig först gäller fortfarande, och informanterna upplevde att det var något som även vården förespråkade starkt. Angående föräldrautbildningen tyckte alla föräldraparen att studiebesöket på förlossningen var det som gav mest, samt att få träffa andra blivande föräldrar. En brist som nämndes var att informationen som gavs var sådant som de flesta redan kände till. / The aim of this study was to find out what new parents think about parental leave, parental education, the child welfare center and the prenatal clinic. The main focus was on what role the care system played and to what extent the father was involved. Eleven parents were interviewed and the findings were analysed and put into different themes. The result showed that most of the parents were satisfied with the care given at the child welfare center and the prenatal clinic. The participants also thought they were well treated by the nurses and midwives during the encounters. Both parents felt equaly involved while talking to the midwife. All of the parents wanted to have parental leave to some extent and the main reason was that they wanted to spend time with their child. In half of the cases mothers used the greater part of the parental leave. Both breast-feeding and economical aspects were mentioned to be reasons for this. The participants felt that the child welfare center and the prenatal clinic strongly recommended breast-feeding which contributes to the fact that breast-feeding still is a key aspect in the decision on which parent who is going to stay at home with the child during the fist period. All of the parents thought that the visit to the delivery department was the best part during the parental education, they also appreciated meeting other people in the same situation. The general information given during the regular meetings were things that many of the participants already knew and could for that reason have been more detailed.

This study examines the African-American author Ernest Gaines's three works The Sky is Gray, In My Father's House, and A Lesson before Dying as examples of oppressed manhood, and the gradual acceptance of the characteristics of manhood in Black males. Chapter One focuses on The Sky Is Gray and follows the young hero as he makes his transition from child to a young man understanding manhood. The second chapter looks at In My Father's House, exploring the relationship between father and son. Due to his father's abandonment, the son never learns what it means to be a man. However, at the same time his son is struggling to discover his manhood, the father finally becomes a man. Finally, chapter three centers on A Lesson before Dying, showing two males can learn manhood from each other. Although both are oppressed, together they achieve the manhood that is being robbed from them.