Fathering Involvement to Engagement: A Phenomenological Qualitative Roadmap
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Fathering Involvement to Engagement: A Phenomenological Qualitative Roadmap Mark H. Trahan1 · Monit Cheung2
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2018
Abstract This phenomenological research examines the narratives of fathers and mothers about the lived experience of “fathering” to find themes to form dimensions of measuring father engagement. Qualitative responses from a mixed method cross-sectional sample of 191 father and mother participants were analyzed for phenomenological themes related to the lived experience of the fathering experience. Mothers (n = 24) and fathers (n = 34) provided narratives related to fathering roles and expectations, including enjoyment, fulfillment and gratitude, a relational and environmental context, the value of fathering, fathering involvement and activities, and emotional bonds and attachment. Themes from these narratives included both cognitive and affective dimensions of father involvement experience. The essence of this experience presents the intersection between the value of involvement within a contextual environment, attachment and the fulfillment and joy of the experience of parenting. Measures of attachment as well as fulfillment in parenting are necessary for future direction of research evaluation. Keywords Father involvement · Parenting dimensions · Parenting relationship · Father roles · Attachment
Introduction Greater than 20 years of child outcome research indicates effort to increase father involvement and presence in the family system benefits children and is a worthwhile social and political goal (Solomon-Fears & Tollestrump, 2016). Fathering shapes child outcomes, including internalizing and externalizing behavior (Bernard, Whitson, & Kaufman, 2015; Tautolo, Shluter, & Paterson, 2015; Weitzman, Rosenthal, & Liu, 2011), academic achievement and educational outcomes (Gordon, 2016; Jeynes, 2015), risk taking behavior including alcohol abuse and delinquency (Goncy & van Dulmen, 2010; Sarkadi, Kristiansson, Oberklaid, & Bremberg, 2008), and long term economic mobility (Sarkadi et al., 2008). Father involvement is especially beneficial for children in vulnerable economic and social situations (e.g., children in welfare cases); quantity of time with a paternal figure necessarily results in less time in foster care and * Mark H. Trahan [email protected] 1
Texas State University, 601 University Blvd., Encino Hall Bldg., 150A, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA
University of Houston, 3511 Cullen Blvd., Mail Room 110HA, Office 422, Houston, TX 77204‑4013, USA
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improves the likelihood of reunification (Burrus, Green, Worcel, Finigan, & Furrer, 2012). Sociocultural context influences the conceptualization of father involvement (Perez-Brena, Cookston, Fabricius, & Saenz, 2012; Roubinov, Luecken, Gonzales, & Crnic, 2016). In the United States, a trend to define father involvement by observing father’s behavior with children dominates theoretical and research literature. Lamb, Pleck, Charnov, and Levine (1985) proposed three fathering dim
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