Abstract: "It Feels Very One-Sided and It's Definitely Not on Our Side": Understanding Fathers Barriers to Facilitate Engagement in Their Children Lives (Society for Social Work and Research 28th Annual Conference - Recentering & Democratizing Knowledge: The Next 30 Years of Social Work Science)

Schedule:

Saturday, January 13, 2024

Independence BR B, ML 4 (Marriott Marquis Washington DC)

* noted as presenting author

Rafael Pérez-Figueroa, Associate Dean of Community Engagement and Public Health Practice, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ

Antonio Garcia, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY

David Cozart, Chief Visionary Officer, Commonwealth Center for Fathers & Families, Lexington, KY

Victoria Cook, MSW Student, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY

Jeff Damron, Research/program manager, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY

Eubank Kendra, PhD Student, University of Kentucky, KY

Background: There are an estimated 18.3 million children who live without a father in their home in the United States. When fathers are absent, children are more likely to enter the juvenile justice system, live in poverty, drop out of school, and engage in risky behaviors such as substance use. We aimed to qualitatively examine fathers’ experiences of inter-facing with multiple systems and services to gain the skills and capacity to effectively engage with their children as co-parents.

Methods: Data come from a community-engaged qualitative study examining fathers’ barriers and opportunities to actively participate in their children’s lives. We conducted 5 focus groups among fathers (n=17) who completed a father-focused parenting program in Lexington, Kentucky between 2021-2022. Focus groups were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and coded using thematic analyses (Braun & Clarke, 2006) and a constant comparative methodology.

Results: Interpretative relationships among codes resulted in four themes: (1) the meaning of fatherhood (leading, guiding, and coaching); (2) barriers to healthy co-parenting (substance abuse, prior childhood trauma, stigma); (3) structural limitations (racism, economic vulnerability); and (4) the impact of a father-focused parenting program offered by the Kentucky Commonwealth Center for Fathers and Families (CCFF). Fathers framed fatherhood as an opportunity to contribute to children’s lives and leaving a legacy to society. Trauma, stigma, and discrimination, however, limited fathers’ ability to co-parent as intended. Across systems (criminal justice, foster care, etc.), fathers experienced exclusion and unequal opportunities. Father focused parenting curriculum offered by the CCFF provided the participants opportunities to develop skills to grapple with barriers and implement healthy and proactive parenting skills.

Conclusions: Results underscore the need for service providers to engage in father-focused attitude, practices, and policies that value the role of the father as a co-equal parent. Fathers could gain skills and confidence in parenting and navigating systemic barriers because of 1) engaging in father-focused parenting and support programs and 2) garnering the familial, societal, and structural/systemic (informational and tangible) supports.