Fatherhood and immigration: challenging the deficit theory

Abstract

Most immigration studies focus on the negative consequences of immigration for families and for parenting. Immigration is also viewed as a factor that undermines fathers’ capacity to implement their fathering roles. The impact of immigration on fathers has received very little attention. This paper is based on 54 interviews with immigrant fathers to Canada and Israel. Based on qualitative data, the paper investigates immigrant fathers’ perceptions of fatherhood in the midst of cultural change. This paper challenges the widely held notion that immigration itself is a risk factor for fatherhood. It focuses rather on the systemic barriers and obstacles facing immigrant fathers in their new country and the positive opportunities this change presents. Implications for intervention and policies concerning immigrant families are discussed.

The experience of Middle Eastern men living in Sweden of maternal and child health care and fatherhood: focus-group discussions and content analysis

“…A man's view of himself as a man will affect his role as a father and therefore his fathering actions. (Plantin et al, 2003;Roer-Strier et al, 2005).…”

“…The number of participants (three to four per group discussion) was suitable because of the need for a translator and cross-cultural research (Twinn, 1998). Following up the focus-group interviews with individual interviews allows deeper insight into certain aspects of the chosen topics (Krueger, 1998b;Strickland, 1999;Roer-Strier et al, 2005). The focus-group interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim into English from Arabic by the translator.…”

Out of Touch: <i>Understanding Post-divorce Relationships between Children and Fathers in Ethnic Minority Families</i>

“…Mirroring Mesut's narrative of working long and irregular hours, Ali's father was also often absent from the family-experiences aligning with general findings on the working lives of ethnic minorities (Ochocka & Janzen 2008;Roer-Strier et al 2005). Hence, linked to the marginal labour market position of many ethnic minorities, such working lives may contribute to explaining the lower levels of postdivorce father-child contact.…”

Les croyances des pères originaires du Maghreb immigrés au Québec envers l’allaitement maternel

“…En fait, la majorité des études en contexte d'allaitement s'intéresse davantage aux immigrants sud-américains et asiatiques et cible principalement l'expérience des femmes. L'impact de l'immigration sur les hommes est donc un sujet très peu exploré (Roer-Strier, et collab., 2005). Les études interculturelles portant sur le concept et le rôle de père sont donc peu nombreuses et celles qui traitent des interactions entre les pères et leurs jeunes enfants sont extrêmement rares (Clarke, Shimoni et Este, 2000).…”