Contextualizing the Attitude-Involvement Paradox Among Non-Resident African American Fathers: Insights & Strategies for Social Work Practitioners

Background and Purpose: Father non-residence is particularly prevalent among African American men (Perry, 2009), and non-resident fathers are at high risk for showing low levels of involvement with their children over time (Ryan et al., 2008) due to their vulnerability to numerous barriers that impact their role. This can have negative consequences for children, fathers, and family well-being. Accordingly, the aims of this study are threefold: 1) to describe barriers and supports to involvement with children among non-resident African American fathers; 2) to present an ecological model of involvement that contextualizes the lived experiences of these fathers; and 3) to provide guidance for social work practitioners on how to best intervene on multiple levels to improve father involvement, as well as child and family well-being. The central research question we explore is: What are the barriers and supports to African American non-resident father involvement with children?

Methods: Participants (n=8) were drawn from a larger mixed-methods study of African American fathers (n=110) who were recruited from 8 fatherhood programs in the northeast U.S. and the District of Columbia. The subsample of fathers in this study were purposively selected from the full sample and completed in-depth interviews with one researcher regarding their lived experiences as African American non-resident fathers. The interview data were transcribed, and then analyzed by a team of five researchers using a modified grounded theory methodology (LaRossa, 2005) . In order to establish a rigorous qualitative research process and ensure data quality, we used several commonly recommended strategies based on Guba’s (1981) model of trustworthiness of qualitative research.

Results: The overarching theme that emerged from the data is referred to as “the attitude-involvement paradox.” This paradox was observed among nearly all of the fathers in the study (n = 7) whereby they communicated holding positive attitudes toward involvement, however, their lived experiences were marked by many barriers that contributed to low levels of actual involvement in their children’s lives. On the other hand, the data also revealed a wide variety of supports that contributed to positive forms of father involvement where possible. Barriers and supports are organized into 5 contextual levels, mirroring an ecological systems model: 1) the self-context, 2) the co-parenting context, 3) the family context, 4) the social and community context, and 5) the societal context.

Conclusions and Implications: Results suggest the need for practitioners to seek a more in-depth understanding of the lived parenting experiences of non-resident African American fathers that extends beyond mere attitudes to more nuanced and contextually based considerations of the various factors that impact involvement with children. In addition, there is a need to develop multi-level (i.e., personal, familial, structural/systemic, community) intervention strategies that are designed to address barriers that contribute to inconsistencies in stated ideals of fathering and actual fathering behaviors, and ultimately, mitigate persistent difficulties that interfere with fathers’ ability to effectively fulfill the paternal role.