Fathers play a critical role in child development and well-being, yet research on how men view their roles as fathers and their influence on their children's health is limited. The present study sought to answer the following questions: 1) What are men's expectations regarding fatherhood? 2) How have these expectations changed after becoming fathers? 3) What factors or role models shape and influence these expectations? and, 4) How do fathers perceive their impact on the health and well-being of their children? Data were collected via in-depth interviews with 20 fathers of pre-school aged children residing in two Oregon communities. Results suggest that role models, work schedule, mothers' roles, and their self-identity as fathers influenced participants' views of themselves as fathers and consequently their involvement in their children's lives. Fathers' sense of responsibility, either financial or emotional or both, appeared to heavily impact the ways they chose to engage with their children. While meeting physical needs of food, clothing, and shelter were discussed, for these fathers the primary indicator of children's health was happiness. They considered themselves responsible for creating a happy home environment in which to nurture their children's mental and emotional health. All the fathers engaged in caring for their children when they were sick, including sharing specific tasks such as doctors' visits, dispensing medicine, and staying at home with the children. Findings suggest that fathers view themselves as playing an important role in promoting and protecting the health of their children. / Graduation date: 2005

The father's role in families where there has been domestic violence is now known to have significance impact on future intergenerational abuse (Dutton, 1998). Fathers who shame and physically abuse their sons are putting these young boys at risk for becoming potential abusers. However, even though this risk factor is known, the literature review conducted through this study shows the absence of information on the father/child relationship. Also absent was a knowledge on parenting groups available for these men. In attempting to address this gap in the research and to gain a better understanding of how these fathers experienced the parenting group, I realized I first needed to understand how these men experienced their lives. Using interpretive inquiry, three men were interviewed about their understanding of their life experiences. The men chosen for the research had a history of domestic abuse within the family. Data collection included observations made during the parenting group, profiles gathered from intake files, and transcripts from the interviews. The data were analyzed for themes, patterns, confirmations, and contradictions, and then interpreted to reconstruct the men's stories. The findings of the study indicate several topics common to all three men: custody, visitation, the role of the father, emotional functioning, and past and present relationships. Interwoven among the topics were the themes of inefficacy, personal care, emotional nurturance and attachment, and awareness of the way they use language. Their stories echo the same message: they love their children and want to be with them. / ix, 151 leaves ; 29 cm.

This study explores how refugee fathers perceive their new situation, how they redefine themselves, and how they adjust to living in Canada. In addition, the study identifies and makes recommendations regarding services that can be put to place to assist refugee fathers facing the challenges of resettling in Winnipeg and Canada with their families. Ongoing protracted conflict in various regions of the world has led to annual increases in the number of people living in refugee situations. Winnipeg, Canada, is becoming home for many of these refugees. Refugees, and refugee fathers in particular, face challenges integrating into their new environment. For example, refugee fathers may experience specific challenges related to their cultural adjustment of fathering children in a new country which could have negative consequences on their resettlement and personal development. If positive support mechanisms are insufficient and if their basic human needs cannot be satisfied, then refugee fathers may become at risk of becoming dysfunctional and socially isolated, which can have a negative impact on family cohesion. In order to assist refugee fathers in their successful transitions into a foreign culture and society, it is essential to try to understand their perceptions and experiences of resettling. / February 2016

Research about employed fathers of children with special health care needs (SHCN) is still limited, leaving fathers without the necessary workplace and community supports to better integrate work and life. Caregivers with exceptional caregiving responsibilities report greater levels of work-family conflict and considerable caregiver strain, as well as negative employment and financial consequences related to their caregiving responsibilities. These caregivers often struggle to access community supports such as childcare, after-school care, and support from friends and neighbors. This study provides insights into the types of job, home, and community resources that are relevant for fathers of children with SHCN in order to better integrate work and family. The exploratory cross-sectional design employed an online survey to collect the data, with 122 fathers meeting the study criteria of living at least part-time with a child with SHCN under the age of 18 and being employed at least part-time. The fathers had a mean age of 42 and most of them identified as Non-Hispanic White. The majority stated holding a college degree and over 90% reported being married or partnered. Fathers indicated having on average two children and Autism Spectrum Disorder was the most cited diagnosis for the child with SHCN. Regression analyses were conducted to analyze the study's research questions. Access and use of workplace flexibility were significant job resource measures predicting difficulty combining work and family, and spillover. Family flexibility to handle work issues was a significant predictor across all dimensions of positive and negative spillover. The availability of community services was found significantly related to negative family to work spillover and support from friends/neighbors was a significant predictor for both difficulty combining work and family, and spillover. Regression analyses with interaction terms of job and home resources showed buffering effects of resource ecologies on spillover. The study's findings illustrate that, fathers of children with SHCN struggle to integrate work and family even if they are not considered primary caregivers. Community, home, and job resources were salient for these fathers to mitigate a lack of resources across ecologies. This lack of resources tended to reinforce traditional gender norms for both mother and father. Resources within and across the three different ecologies were found to have direct and compensatory effects. Community resources were identified as the most important resources for both positive and negative spillover. The study also highlights the positive spillover effects related to employment and family care for fathers of children with SHCN. Organizations are called to reduce flexibility stigma and decrease barriers to using workplace flexibility to improve work-life fit for fathers caring for children with SHCN. Social services like childcare, or after school care, and social support are of critical relevance and need to better support these fathers and families. Considerations for future research are presented.

(LLB) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2008

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Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01

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.