A Survey and Description of Projects that Support and Promote Fathering in Canada: Still Work to Do to Reach Fathers in their Real-Life Settings

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the characteristics of current Canadian intervention programs designed to support father involvement. Sixty-one projects in the 10 provinces constituted the sample. Results show that most of the projects operate on limited budgets. The activities they offer mostly target fathers themselves to the exclusion of key people in their social environment. The discussion underscores the strenghts and weaknesses of father support programs, and guidelines for future intervention in this area are proposed.It is generally recognized today that children benefit from the presence of their father. Compared to children whose father is absent, those who maintain relations with him benefit affectively, cognitively, and morally, and make gains in the development of social skills and sexual identity (Amato & Gilbreth, 1999;Lamb, 2004). In contrast, the absence of the father, or his weak level of participation, is associated with depressive symptoms, behavioural difficulties, and low self-esteem in children (Phares, 1999). Even though it cannot be established with certainty whether these symptoms are associated with the father's absence or with the conditions of single parenting, research tends to show that, overall, children who are close to their father, rather than removed from him, display a better course of development. A connection has also been established between the father's sense of competence and the prevention of negligence towards children (Dubowitz, Black, Kerr, Starr, & Harrington, 2000).It has also been established that today's fathers are more involved than their own were (Pleck, 1997). Changes in the nature of the family, structurally and functionally, have had major impacts on the father's role. Single fathering and, in the case of joint custody, sharing the care and education of children when the mother works full-time, as well as alterations in gender and parental roles in general, have all increased the tendency among many fathers to invest more in their children. An American study shows that fathers who divorced during the 90s were more involved with their children than divorced fathers from the 80s (Hetherington & Kelly, 2002). Still, a large number of children gradually lose contact with their father, particularly following the separation of their parents (Marcil-Gratton & Le Bourdais, 1999).The positive impact of fathers' involvement with their children, their desire to get involved even though they have not been socialized to assume the care and 5

Through the Eyes of a New Dad: Experiences of First-Time Fathers of Late-Preterm Infants

“…It is important that practitioners acknowledge the joys of a first‐time father and address their concerns. Fathers have negative perceptions of help‐seeking (Devault, Gaudet, Bolte, & St‐Denis, ). This places additional onus on practitioners to invite fathers to be involved (Fagerskiold, ; Hildingsson & Sjoling, ) and advise them about fathers’ groups and other sources of personal support for fathers (Hildingsson & Sjoling, ), in addition to education that includes discussions of gendered roles in parenting and how these influence parenting choices (Cowdery & Knudson‐Martin, ).…”

“…This places additional onus on practitioners to invite fathers to be involved (Fagerskiold, ; Hildingsson & Sjoling, ) and advise them about fathers’ groups and other sources of personal support for fathers (Hildingsson & Sjoling, ), in addition to education that includes discussions of gendered roles in parenting and how these influence parenting choices (Cowdery & Knudson‐Martin, ). Practitioners may wish to target interventions for fathers in environments where they are already present, such as the workplace (Devault et al., ). These elements should be considered in conjunction with the suggestion from 1 father in this study to have male “health care providers” provide information to fathers.…”

Heading Into Fatherhood—Nervously: Support for Fathering From Online Dads

“…Despite the increased recognition of the importance of fathers to family well-being and the expansion in research on fathers and fathering, there is a continuing lack of clarity with regard to the type of support new fathers need (Devault, Gaudet, Bolte, & St-Denis, 2005;Diemer, 1997;Doherty, Erikson, & LaRossa, 2006;Magill-Evans, Harrison, Rempel, & Slater, 2006). We set out to explore how, in the context of text-based, asynchronous communication for fathers, men asked for and gave social support, and what this support meant to fathers.…”