Este trabalho investigou o envolvimento de pais de bebês nos seis primeiros meses de frequência à creche. Baseado no conceito de envolvimento paterno, buscou-se investigar as transformações na interação, disponibilidade e responsabilidade dos pais sobre seus bebês com a entrada na creche. Para tanto, por meio de um estudo de caso coletivo de caráter longitudinal, quatro pais responderam a entrevistas em três momentos de coleta de dados, a saber: entrada do bebê na creche, um mês após a entrada e 6 meses após o ingresso na escola de educação infantil. Análise de conteúdo qualitativa indicou que tanto a creche quanto o desenvolvimento do bebê foram aliados do pai para a retomada do trabalho e da vida pessoal. O pai passou a interagir menos de acordo com os aspectos maternos da interação, uma exigência que vai muitas vezes além das suas capacidades. O presente estudo mostra a importância de se levar em consideração as necessidades e capacidades do pai que está envolvido no cuidado ao bebê. / This study investigated father involvement with their babies during the first six months in a child care center. Based on the concept of father involvement, we aimed to investigate the changes in fathers’ interaction, availability and responsibility concerning their babies over time. To this end, through a collective case study, with a longitudinal design, four fathers answered an interview in three times of data collection: entry in the child care center, one month and six months later. Qualitative content analysis indicated that the day care center and the baby's development helped the father to turn more to his work and to recover his personal life. The father was able to interact less according to the maternal aspects of the interaction, which may be beyond his capacity. The present study shows the importance of taking into consideration the needs and capacity of fathers involved in infant care.

Background: HIV has been reconceptualised as a long term chronic health condition due to advances in highly active antiretroviral therapy. Nonetheless it remains a stigmatising and under-recognised condition. One social group that HIV disproportionately affects is the Black African population. However there is a dearth of research into the lived experiences of HIV positive Black African communities in the U.K. specific to parenting. Objectives: This study seeks to explore the lived experience of Black African HIV positive fathers, living in the UK. This is of significance to counselling psychologists because illness representation models typically neglect the interactions of significant others and wider social contexts when conceptualising the impact of illness. Design: This research utilises a qualitative method, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to examine data. IPA is effectual in new and complex areas of study, concerning identity and meaning making. It enables the researcher to acquire an 'insider perspective' into people's cognitive reasoning as well as the social and cultural context surrounding experiences. Method: Six Black African HIV positive fathers were recruited via HIV charities. Participants were requested to attend a 60-90 minute, semi-structured interview and asked questions about their experiences of living with HIV and how it impacts on their role as fathers. Results: Four super-ordinate themes were identified: 1) Responses to HIV diagnosis-the demise of the physical and social self 2) HIV stigma-'they don't realise that anyone can get it' 3) Re-emergence of the self 4) Fatherhood- a changing identity. The results revealed experiences of living with HIV and the impact that this has on their role as fathers. Participants talked about their initial reactions and responses to receiving a diagnosis of HIV, as well as the challenges of living with HIV within their communities and wider society that impacted on their disclosure decisions. The research highlights the significance of HIV support services that helped participants to accept their HIV status. The participants wished to play a key role in the lives of their children. The findings of this study emphasise the importance of incorporating interventions that help black African men to view themselves in a positive light and to foster their parenting role following a diagnosis of HIV. The results of the analysis are considered in light of existing theory and their clinical implications.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This study explores the different ways that South African novels have represented fatherhood across historical periods, from the dawn of apartheid to the post-transitional moment. It is argued that there is a link between narrative power and the father, especially in the way that the father figure is given authority and is central to dominant narratives which support pervasive ideologies. The study introduces the concept of paternal narratives, which are narratives that support the power of the father within patriarchal systems and societies, and which the father is usually given control of. This lens will be applied to prominent South African literature in English, including early texts such as Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country, Nadine Gordimer’s Burger’s Daughter and J. M. Coetzee’s In the Heart of the Country, where the father’s authority is strongly emphasised, and where resisting the paternal narratives often leads to identity struggles for sons and daughters. Later texts, published during the transition from apartheid, often deconstruct the narrative power of fathers more overtly, namely Mark Behr’s The Smell of Apples, Zakes Mda’s Ways of Dying and K. Sello Duiker’s The Quiet Violence of Dreams. More recent novels, published in “post-transitional” South Africa, are radical in their approach to father figures: fathers are often shown to be spectral and dying, and their control of narratives is almost completely lost, such as in Lisa Fugard’s Skinner’s Drift, Mark Behr’s Kings of the Water, Zoë Wicomb’s Playing in the Light and Zukiswa Wanner’s Men of the South. Exploring these shifting representations is a useful way to unearth how ideological and social shifts in South Africa affect the types of representations produced, and how fatherhoods are being reimagined.

Over the past decade, a ‘gayby boom’ (Richman, 2002) has occurred in the Israeli male-gay community: hundreds of gay couples became fathers through cross-border commercial surrogacy. This rise was accompanied by political struggles over access to surrogacy for same-sex couples within Israel. This study explores first, the causes of this sudden rise in ‘gay surrogacy’; and second, the social implications, especially pertaining to the alteration of family norms in the 21st century. Drawing on Science and Technology Studies (STS), surrogacy is analysed as an 'assemblage', consisting of the interaction between socially shaped practices and desires, the medical and legal technologies involved, and the overarching state apparatuses. To draw out the complexity of the different components of this assemblage (individual, medical and legal, and state), 31 gay surrogacy fathers were interviewed, along with Israeli surrogacy industry representatives (n=6) and policy makers (n=13). Media coverage of ‘gay surrogacy’ and documentation from relevant court appeals and state committees on reproductive technologies were incorporated into the analysis to provide a contextual framework. Three themes were identified. First, surrogacy provides Israeli gay men a unique combination of novelty and sameness: surrogacy offers ‘biological’ fatherhood, similar to that enjoyed by heterosexual couples, but also facilitates the creation of a new family model, the ‘two-father-family’. The contradiction between the application of technology and the idea of ‘procreation’ disappeared through a discursive normalising and neutralising mechanism, in which surrogacy serves as a stand-in for ‘natural procreation’. Through this process, assisted reproduction facilitated the normalisation of the gay family. Second, despite the fact that surrogacy markets operate globally, the State emerged as a significant force in shaping the specific mechanisms of the surrogacy process, as well as the procreative desires of the Israeli surrogacy fathers – who were geared towards both genetic procreation and reproducing the nation. Gay fatherhood through surrogacy was found to be part of the new ‘gaystream’ (Duggan, 2002), expressing desires towards a new (homo)normativity and participating in homonationalist (Puar, 2007) struggles. Finally, cross-border surrogacy operates in a global market, based upon the commerce of gametes and reproductive services involving third-party women, often from impoverished parts of the world (Vora, 2015). This creates a moral dilemma for commissioning fathers, regarding the commodification of women and children in the market for reproductive services, and the related harm and exploitation within surrogacy markets. Surrogacy fathers negotiated these moral conflicts by forming ideas and ideals of reciprocity, intimacy and shared commitment towards and with the surrogate. However, the realisation of these values is heavily dependent upon the regulatory regimes in the surrogacy state and the outcomes of the medical and physical procedures – that is, the birth of a live healthy child. In conclusion, surrogacy offers a site for making families and remaking ‘the family’. It is based on already existing familial norms, but at the same time partially unsettles these; it is shaped by state regulations and national desires; and it is deeply implicated in unequal global markets, while explicitly harbouring ideals of intimacy and reciprocity. As surrogacy becomes the normative familial form for gay men in Israel, the need arises for collective critical reflexion on the impacts of surrogacy practices on global ‘others’, and on minorities within the Israeli queer community.

This thesis analyses findings from a predominantly qualitative study of young (aged 18 to 24) imprisoned fathers interviewed in prison shortly before release, some of whom were also followed into the community. The research focused on the experiences of these men in prison, and how being a young father in prison affected their attitudes to offending, fatherhood and the future. Furthermore, this work investigated how these men then reintegrated back into the community and whether they managed to fulfil their hopes for change, focussing on what factors helped or hindered this process. This research applies desistance theory and identity theory to the lived experience of young imprisoned fathers; a group that has been largely ignored in previous research. The work is informed by both social-psychological (Maruna, 2001; Farrall, 2002; Meek, 2007a) and sociological perspectives (Laub and Sampson, 2003). This thesis adds to knowledge about the process of change for young offending fathers, highlighting it to be a gradual and active process that draws on both internal and external influences. Change is a complex activity, especially for men with transient relationships and lifestyles, which relies on the fragile coincidence of many inter-connected factors. Due to the instability of many of these factors, it is a process characterised by successes and failures. This thesis argues that criminal justice policies need to support fatherhood to take full advantage of fatherhood’s desistance-potential. The findings provide evidence to support Maruna et al’s (2004a) description of a three track process of change, requiring self-determination, formal support and informal support. They also suggest the need for the additional important factors of identity transformation (Maruna, 2001; Paternoster and Bushway, 2009) in positive social and personal contexts (Farrall, 2002; Walker, 2010). Fatherhood adds an additional layer to these factors. This thesis also contributes to knowledge of how agency and structural factors interact.

Magister Artium (Social Work) - MA(SW) / The importance of the role of fathers in the lives of their children and families has received much attention in recent years. This new focus on responsible fatherhood has led to an increase of programme interventions for responsible fathers. The aim of this study was to explore how families experienced an intervention programme for fathers, and how the intervention contributed to child and family well-being. The study made use of a qualitative research methodology. The research sample included fathers, who participated in the intervention programme, as well as their life partners and children. The sample for the study included 10 fathers, 10 spouses, as well as 10 children of the fathers, who participated in an intervention programme for fathers. The final sample of participants in this study was 30 participants. A semi-structured interview schedule was used to collect the data in face-to-face interviews. The data analysis was conducted by means of a thematic analysis. All ethical considerations were adhered to by ensuring the confidentiality and anonymity of participants. The following themes were found in the study: Understanding of family well-being, Conceptualization of fatherhood and father involvement, Communication about the programme, Parent-child relationships, Parental involvement and personal matters, Discipline and conflict management, Experience of programme intervention the father attended. The results of the study showed that (1) the intervention contributed to the well-being of children and their families; (2) the involvement of fathers in the lives of their children increased post-intervention; (3) fathers' communication skills improved; (4) fathers were more involved in unpaid care; (5) spousal relationships improved with less conflict in their relationships.

The purpose of this study is to examine how discourses regarding gender and parenting are produced and reproduced in assessments about child custody, living and contact arrangements. These court ordered custody evaluations are essential for the courts making the final legal decisions in high-conflict cases where parents are questioning each other’s ability to parent, often accusing each other of various wrongdoings. For the social worker the aim is to assess the situation, focusing exclusively on the best interest of the child. We have looked at eleven evaluations and analysed these with the help of Fairclough´s Critical Discourse Analysis. When reading the assessments, we have focused primarily on the way the parents describe themselves and each other. Additionally, we have looked at how collateral sources (e.g. teachers, day-care personnel, physicians, therapists) describe the parents and lastly, how the social worker describes the parents. Using theories about construction of gender as well as research about parenting, families and the construction of motherhood and fatherhood we have been able to categorize common themes in the reports. These themes are, uninvolved fathers – responsible mothers, mothers who sabotage the father- child relationship, division of labour, values and identification and the best interest of the child. By exploring these themes, we have been able to identify and analyse prevailing discourses as well as counter discourses about gender and parenting. While we have recognized several discourses that can be connected to traditional gender roles, the assessments have also demonstrated the complex reality we live in where discourses about parenting are constantly being challenged and thus, keep changing.

No description available.

Magister Artium - MA (Psychology) / In recent years, the global focus on Early Child Development (ECD) has delivered mounting evidence of it being one of the most rewarding areas of investment a country can make. A central outcome of quality ECD is to provide sufficient support to enable a child to arrive at Grade 1 ready to learn. Environmental factors impacting on child development and school readiness have thus been under increasing scrutiny. Although studies have delivered evidence of fathers' unique contribution to ECD, fathers' impact on a child's school readiness is often overlooked. The overall aim of this thesis was to report on the findings of the exploratory investigation on fathers' perspectives of school readiness. All relevant ethics principles were observed in the study. The study received ethics clearance from the Senate Research Committee (HS/16/5/41). The study followed an explorative design incorporating qualitative methodologies for data collection and analysis. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of nine fathers residing in Cape Town, who had full parental rights and responsibilities for their child in Grade R. Thematic analysis produced three themes with subthemes. The core findings suggested that first, fathers did not have a good fund of knowledge about school readiness and child development. Personal context and subjective experiences impacted or informed their views and beliefs about school readiness. Second, feedback from teachers and professionals was highly valued and was a primary source of information about their children's school readiness. Third, facilitating school readiness involved different systems and role players of which fathers are important role players. It emerged that in some ways the role of fathers remains undervalued and in others, fathers' ability to participate is diminished due to their fund of knowledge, gendered patterns to child rearing and engagement with school systems.

Magister Public Health - MPH / The first 1000 days of life represents the period from conception right up to a child’s second birthday. Over the years, there has been a growing body of evidence focusing on the importance of nutrition during this period; also referred to as the ‘window of life’. It is during this period that most incidents of stunting occur. Age appropriate nutrition can provide a child with positive health benefits for the rest of their life. During these first two years infant and young child feeding practices are ideally made up of optimal breastfeeding practices (i.e. exclusive breastfeeding from birth up to six months and continued breastfeeding up to or beyond two years), along with age appropriate complementary feeding practices from six months up to two years. To date, local research studies that have explored the role of parents in infant and young child feeding have tended to focus, firstly, more on the mothers than the fathers, and secondly, have tended to focus more on breastfeeding than complementary feeding and practices. By conducting this research study, it was anticipated that rich information would be accessed from fathers in the district that could then be used to assist the local health workers and district health management team to improve the current infant and young child feeding interventions being implemented at district and community level specifically for children 6 to 23 months.