Conceptualization of fathers as an essential begetter survives within and through their relationship in family through ages. However, within and behind this word, a social-construct, the journey of fathers remains non-located in researches on parenting in India. Thus, this study aims to develop an indigenous conceptualization of fatherhood in the cultural realm of India from father’s and child’s perspective. Carried out in eight two-child families in Delhi, the study is done through semi-structured interviews with fathers and Draw and tell method with their elder child (7–11 years). Thematic analysis of both father’s and children’s narratives helped create seven themes within each. The themes from father’s narratives include multiple shades of “father”, ‘being a father’: a world within, learnings about ‘being a father’, father as enablers of child’s ‘becoming’, picturing ‘ideal’ fathers, cultural mountings and ‘cultures’ of fatherhood. The themes obtained from children’s narratives include father as a playtime partner, inspiring figure, mainstay, shield, involved, not-so-involved. Viewed holistically, this study holds implications for parenting practices and policy makers in positive direction.
Even though we have considerable amount of research focusing on the parents of children with Autism, majority of these studies have primarily attempted to explore the stress and burden that these parents experience. There are very few attempts towards capturing the specific experiences of parents who have children with autism. The present study explored the socio-psychological realities of parents with children having ASD to gain insight into the lived experiences of these parents. The Zarit Burden interview was administered on 20 parents of children with ASD. A ZBI cut-off score that was 40 (moderate to severe burden) helped identifying 10 caregivers with high caregiving burden. A semi structured interview was further conducted to get a detailed account of the experiences of these parents. Qualitative analysis revealed major themes such as an inherent loss of control, fear of the future, shrinking self and emotional transformations. Although parents found the battle challenging, there were also signs of strengths they gained in the course of parenting child with ASD. Findings from this study may be helpful in developing programs to address life qualities of these parents.
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