Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University

M.A. / The aim of this research is to gain insight into the unemployed father’s experience of disciplining his children. The motivation for this research is multifaceted. Research trends, nationally and internationally, have shown an increased focus on the fathers’ role in the lives of their children (Burbach, Fox & Nicholson, 2004; Goldberg, Tan & Thorsen, 2009; Smit, 2004). Research examining the father is on the up rise as the value of understanding the father, his role and his impact on his children has come to the forefront. Paternal discipline appears to influence the child and the child’s behaviour, while contextual factors such as poverty or unemployment appear to have an impact on the father. It is therefore useful to develop insight and understanding into the unemployed father’s experience of disciplining his child. The researcher asks a single research question “how does the unemployed father experience disciplining his children?” The researcher chose a single broad question with the hope that the interviews would guide the process and several smaller questions would arise during the research process. Knowledge of the father’s own sense of his role, perception, knowledge and understanding will aid policy makers and service providers. To the researcher’s knowledge there is currently no South African study that examines the unemployed father’s perceptions and experience of disciplining his children. For this reason a phenomenological method, in particular, Merleau-Ponty’s method, is used. This method allows an exploration of the father’s perceptions and experience, eliciting understanding and developing insight. Additionally, this research aims to generate questions and issues for further research. The research is introduced with a brief look at the philosophical aspects of phenomenology, outlining the main characteristics of Merleau-Ponty’s approach. Following this, the approach and its application to the research are discussed. Scientific rigour is important in any research project. This research study attempts to demonstrate rigour through credibility, dependability and transferability. Bracketing is also an essential component of phenomenological research which has been included to ensure scientific rigour and reduce researcher bias. Nevertheless, the existential phenomenological approach follows the proposition that the researcher can never be truly removed from the research. It is therefore important for the researcher’s process to be explicated throughout the research process. The researcher kept a research journal in order to bracket and rigorously reflect on the entire research process, and promote rigour.

Single-parent households are on the increase in our society and especially single-father households where fathers are fulfilling the role of both parents in rearing their children. In this qualitative study, three single fathers who are primary caregivers were interviewed regarding their experience of primary caregiving, adjusting and coping with the transition to primary caregiving and their needs and concerns for their children's future. This study utilised a phenomenological approach to look at single fathers as the best and most informed individuals to explore and describe their lived experiences of being primary caregivers. The rationale for using interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) is that it is concerned with individuals' subjective reports and assumes that participants seek to interpret their experiences into some form that is understandable to them. The researcher utilised three semi-structured, in depth, face-to-face interviews as a method of data collection. Each interview focused on eliciting different sets of data, firstly the researcher look at identifying the participants' experience of primary care giving, then moved onto their adjusting and coping with the transition and finally focused on the primary needs and concerns of participants with regards to primary care giving. The sub-themes that emerged from the study include the loss of a partner, shifts in the role the fathers play as parent, dealing with children's reaction to the "loss" of a mother in the home, good parenting: biology vs upbringing, social construction of men and woman, the value of self-care for single fathers, where self-care incorporates both physical and mental care, internal support from family or friends, external support from the community, relationship between fathers and children and sibling relationships. These led to the various super-ordinate themes. The super-ordinate themes and categories that resulted from the analysis of the material include: (1) The transition to being a single-parent and primary caregiver was difficult, (2) Parenting is not biological it is cultural and fathers can fulfil the role, (3) Self-care is important, (4) Support comes from family and friends but social support is rare, (5) Close family relationships are formed

Parenting is one of the most influential as well as modifiable factors influencing healthy child development (Grusec, 2011; Sanders, 2012). This dissertation includes two studies that were designed to broaden our understanding of parenting in developmental periods widely recognized to present parenting challenges: Study 1 focused on the toddler and preschool years (Crnic & Low, 2002; Kwon, Han, Jeon, & Bingham, 2013) and Study 2 focused on adolescence (Eisenberg et al., 2008; Laursen & Collins, 2009). Both studies involve analysis of data on self-reported parenting responses and parenting goals, as well as parent-rated child adjustment from community samples of mothers and fathers. In the first study parenting similarity in the parenting responses and parenting goals of mothers and fathers of toddlers and preschoolers were examined. As well, I examined whether these were linked to parents’ ratings of their children’s adjustment on the Child Behavior Checklist Preschool form (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2000). In addition, I examined whether there were differences between parenting situations involving child misbehaviour and child withdrawn behaviour. Participants were 148 families of children aged between 18 months and 60 months. Parenting similarity was found both for parenting responses and for parenting goals. However, neither similarity in parenting responses or parenting goals differed for situations involving child misbehaviour versus child withdrawn behaviour. Furthermore, parenting similarity in parenting responses and parenting goals were not found to be related to each other or to child adjustment. The second study was conducted with mothers and fathers of adolescents and was designed to extend on the work of Hastings and Grusec (1998). In this study I also examined parenting similarity in parenting responses and parenting goals. Participants were 285 parents of adolescents aged 14 to 17 years old (mothers n = 213, fathers n = 68, dyads n = 43). Parenting goals were influenced by characteristics of the situation, but not by parent or adolescent gender. Parenting goals were not related to parents’ ratings of their adolescent children’s adjustment on the Child Behavior Checklist School Age form (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001). As in the first study, I found parenting similarity for parenting responses and parenting similarity for parenting goals, but the two types of similarity were not related to each other. The findings with respect to parenting goals indicate that there is insufficient evidence to justify future parenting goals studies given the limitations of the extant methodology for measuring them. Future parenting similarity studies that use statistical analyses, such as cluster analyses, that allow for the examination of the links between specific parenting similarity (e.g., having two parents that are authoritative vs. two that are authoritarian) and child adjustment hold promise for informing clinical practice with families.

Most industrialised countries have witnessed a shift in the 'male breadwinner' model of family life as new generations of mothers have increasingly combined employment with parenting responsibilities. This has had implications for the role of fathers and their contributions to childcare and domestic work have increased as a result. However the change in fathers' contributions has not kept pace with the change in women's economic activity, suggesting there are social, political, economic and cultural barriers in place. Two sweeps of the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) are used to explore some of the conditions under which fathers become more actively involved in childcare and housework when cohort children are aged nine months and three years old. This question is examined cross-sectionally and longitudinally within the context of a two parent, heterosexual household in Britain. Three data classification techniques are used to derive two latent measures that represent two dimensions of paternal involvement (engagement and responsibility). Multiple regression is used to model involvement at aged nine months; logistic regression is used to model what type of caregiver a father is when the child is aged three. The main findings are: · Patterns of maternal and paternal employment have the strongest association with paternal involvement at both time points. When children are aged nine months, the hours that a mother works appear to have a stronger association with paternal involvement than fathers' own work hours (although this is still important). The likelihood of a father being involved with his three year old also increases dramatically the longer the hours the mother spends in paid work. Fathers' own work hours have a slightly stronger association with whether they take on a primary caregiving role at age three. · There are considerable variations in involvement when the child is aged nine months by ethnicity as involvement is lower for fathers with an Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi background. Responsibility for housework, however, is slightly higher for black/black British fathers. · Various demographics also have a small association with involved fathering atage three. For example, fathers are more likely to be involved when their child is a boy, when there are no other children in the household and when they took leave following their child's birth. The thesis exposes some of the employment and demographic conditions associated with greater paternal involvement with young children. In doing so it also brings to light some of the barriers to greater gender equity in the division of domestic labour (childcare and housework). The findings emphasise the importance of employment hours with long work hours hindering involvement and mothers' participation in the labour market encouraging it. The thesis provides a foundation from which to develop further analyses so that a better understanding of the variations in paternal involvement can be achieved.

Most of the research on the relationship between family structure and childhood obesity and distress is limited in its conceptualization of family structure, either ignoring single-father families or bunching them in the same category as single-mother families. Although single-mother families are the most common type of one-parent families, the number of single-father families has increased dramatically over the past three decades and thus warrant study. In this study, I use data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class (ECLS-K) to answer three related questions: (1) Do children living in single-father families have different rates of obesity and externalizing and internalizing behaviors compared to children living in single-mother and two-parent families? (2) Are these differences, if they exist, explained by the type of environments parents create for their children through: (a) differences in time and financial resources between single-father, single-mother, and two-parent families? and/or (b) differences in levels of distress between single-father, single-mother, and two-parent families? (3) Do the health risks associated with living in a single-father family, compared to living in a single-mother or two-parent family, differ as children age? I add to the current literature by integrating the concepts of family structure, family resources, role stress, gender expectations, and parent-child relational dynamics. I focus on these dynamics within single-father families, and compare them to single-mother and two-parent families. Finally, I use semi-structured, in-depth interviews of single-fathers to supplement the survey results. Results from this study demonstrate that, children living in single-parent families, compared to two-parent, married families have higher rates of obesity and a greater number of externalizing and internalizing behavior. In general, single parents have fewer family resources (i.e., time and money) and greater levels of stress and distress. Single fathers provide similar family environments for their children, overall, compared to two-parent families, but single mothers in general, provide "poorer" family environments, compared to two-parent families. Children living with a single father, compared to those living with a single mother, have similar rates of obesity and experience similar numbers of externalizing and internalizing behavior. Single fathers earn more than single mothers, but they are less likely to be in the home part- or full-time, and in general, single fathers and single mothers experience similar levels of stress and distress. Finally, single fathers and single mothers provide similar family environments for their children, except in regards to the number of physical activities they let their children participate in. Path analysis results demonstrate that parents' resources, stress and distress, and family environment do not appear to have a mediating effect on the relationship between family structure and children's obesity, once controlling for other family characteristics (i.e., parents' education and health, race, number of siblings, and region). Parents' resources, stress and distress, and family environment, however, all have a direct effect on children's rates of obesity and externalizing/internalizing behavior. The path analyses show that parents' resources, distress, and parent/child closeness directly impact children's externalizing and internalizing behavior and act as significant mediators between family structure and children's emotional wellbeing, controlling for other family characteristics. However, these variables do not fully mediate the relationship between family structure and children's externalizing/internalizing behavior, and therefore, family structure still has a significant direct effect on children's emotional health. Furthermore, gender of the residential parent matters. For example, the magnitude of the direct effect of living with a single father is larger than the magnitude of the direct effect of living with a single mother for children's internalizing behavior at kindergarten and internalizing and externalizing behavior at third grade. Further analysis demonstrates that children's physical and emotional wellbeing changes as they get older. Children's obesity rate increases from kindergarten to third grade for all family types. However, for children in single-father families, obesity rates then dramatically decrease from third to eighth grade. Children living with a single mother and married parents have stable obesity rates from third to eighth grade. Changes in children's emotional wellbeing from kindergarten to eighth grade vary by family type. For example, children living with a single father, experience an increase in externalizing behavior from kindergarten to third grade, but then a decrease from third to eighth grade. Conversely, children living with a single mother or married parents experience an decrease in their externalizing behavior from kindergarten to third grade, but then an increase from third to eighth grade. The mediating effects of parents' resources, stress and distress, and family environment are fairly similar across waves. Several themes emerged from the qualitative interviews of fathers' experiences as single parents. Five major themes are found: (1) Interactions and relationships with their children, (2) Process of gaining custody, (3) Obstacles faced as a single parent, (4) Nutrition and meals, and (5) Defining success as a parent. Overall, the single fathers interviewed for this study take their "father role" very seriously and are highly engaged with their children. They recognize that there are certain areas where they struggle, but overall they feel that they are very successful as single parents. Several policy implications emerge from my study. First, the qualitative results can be useful to further educate family lawyers and judges handling custody cases. While the essence of the law regarding custody is what is "in the best interest of the child", bias still exists. The interviews included in this study demonstrate that single fathers worry about, and in some instances, experience discrimination in regards to custody decisions. Second, this study highlights the need for a greater focus on single-father families. Both the survey data and the interviews find that, while fathers tend to have greater family resources, compared to single mothers, they do not necessarily provide healthier family environments for their children. The role of organizations, and the health field in general, to educate "at risk" parents with information and provide/support programs to protect their children from increased risk for obesity and emotional distress is just one implication from this study.

This study utilized a phenomenological approach to examine adult children's views of how their fathers connected with them as children. Participants consisted of 10 men and 12 women between the ages of 30 and 60 who were interviewed about connection experiences with their fathers. Participants completed interviews related to their perspectives on being fathered, experiences as a son or daughter, and what they experienced in connecting with their fathers. Findings indicated that fathers connect with children through a variety of contexts that include memorable occasions, activities, personal interactions, routines, events, and other means. Also. obstacles to connection between fathers and children were explored. Study findings and their implications for theory, research, and practical application are discussed.

This qualitative study examined the perceived impact of absent fathers on students’ emotional, social, and academic constraints. Many factors can contribute to the loss of a father; so, for the purpose of this research, the researcher examined the impact of the absent father through incarceration and divorce. The research may enable educators to identify the challenges, celebrate victories, and explore what it the phenomenon of an adolescent without the presence of your biological father in our community, from the perspective of the educators. Information gathered through the administration of educator perception interviews was utilized to identify how an absent father manifests in our secondary students. The educators answered the questions based solely on their perceptions of students without a father they have encountered throughout their careers. The analysis of the data collected for the study allowed the researcher to develop an understanding of the social, emotional, and academic effects of father absence. The data collected could be utilized to teach educators how to recognize and react to the perceived implications of an absent father on a secondary student. The educators perceived that these students without a father are consistently searching for a father-figure to fill the void left by the absent father. The participants tended to perceive that this lack of a family structure can also lead to disciplinary, relational, academic, emotional, and communication struggles for these students. The perception of poverty and sadness or emptiness often exists, leading to low confidence, low motivation, and a lack of accountability. The perception of the educators was that the lack of security led to overall concern for responsibility and work ethic. The lack of structure outside the school can contribute to questioning authority or being disrespectful. The lack of discipline at home is perceived to equate to a poor work ethic, low amounts of responsibility, and a low quality of work. These students sometimes have a low self-esteem, thus low expectations and little attention to detail. It may not be the priority of the student to complete all work and therefore they become apathetic with low confidence and expectations for academic success.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters Of Psychology (Counselling Psychology) in the Department of Psychology at the University Of Zululand, 2017 / The current study aimed to explore the emotional involvement of teenage fathers in their children’s primary care at the University of Zululand, Dlangezwa Campus. Twenty teenage fathers were recruited and interviewed individually using open-ended questions. Data was analysed using Creswell’s analytical approach. The seven themes that developed when data was analysed were 1) involvement of the father, 2) the pregnancy of the partner, 3) family relations, customs and traditions, 4) relationship with partner, 5) teenage fatherhood and academics, 6) impact of fatherhood on teenage father’s life, and, lastly 7) prevention of teenage pregnancy. Results indicate that teenage fathers are involved in their children’s lives despite the many challenges that impede them. Conclusion: teenage fathers are involved in their children’s primary care

Although the conflicting demands between work and family have been documented for mothers, much less is known about fathers. Specifically, must less is known about how family and work influence the work hours and schedules of fathers and how these influences might vary by class. In this paper, I use multi-methods to compare a relatively affluent group of professionals (physicians) to a group of working class fathers (emergency medical technicians) in how work and family influence their hours and schedules. I find that, on the one hand, the working-class fathers, while saying that their children are not a great influence on the schedules, are more likely to manipulate their schedules in order to participate in the daily care of their children in response to spouses’ employment, or perform “private fathering.” Physicians, on the other hand, are more likely claim the importance of their children on their schedules, but prioritize work demands and participate with their children through their children’s special events, or practice “public fathering.” These differences are class-related, based on the work and family structures in place for each group of fathers.