Introduction to the Special Issue on Fatherhood

Griswold, Robert L.

doi:10.1177/036319909902400301

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…And what significance did these changing constructions of masculinity and fatherhood have on children's lives and on the relative power between the sexes? (Grisworld, 1999). We now expose the research questions linking fertility decline and two components of respectable masculinity: the breadwinner and the good husband.…”

Section: Questioning the Links Between Masculinity Fatherhood And Fementioning

confidence: 99%

Religion, masculinity and fertility decline

Praz

2009

The History of the Family

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This paper provides the sketch of a new mechanism explaining the delay of Catholic fertility, namely the changing norms of masculinity and fatherhood, through a comparative study of the first fertility transition in Switzerland (1880Switzerland ( -1930.Comparative analysis of religious discourse attests to striking differences in norms of respectable masculinity. In the Protestant canton, men were especially targeted and strongly incited to change their sexual behaviour and limit their offspring in order to comply with a new model of the good husband and father. The religious teachings had an impact due to the social position of the persons enouncing the norms, to the efficient diffusion reaching the majority of men, and to the effective sanctioning, as the example of pastoral enquiries demonstrates. In the Catholic canton by contrast, men were not specifically addressed; the religious discourse supported the husband's rights to frequent sexual intercourse and encouraged him to trust Providence to bring up many children, thus sustaining high levels of fertility. The political repression of public discourse on sexuality defeated every attempt of contesting the husband's marital rights and the Catholic doctrine of procreation. Sexual taboos were particularly severe for women and their total ignorance of sexual matters weakened their bargaining power in fertility decisions.In the last part of the paper, using quantitative methods, we tried to demonstrate that these norms and mechanisms did indeed influence men's behaviour in the Protestant sample. For this purpose, we measured comparatively the results of some indicators introduced to capture the impact of the norms of respectable masculinity, regarding men's responsibility in contraception and men's ability to maintain dependent children. We hope thus to strengthen the position of a growing number of scholars who state that historical demographers cannot avoid incorporating gender into their explanations of historical trends of fertility and who foster the bridging of qualitative and quantitative methods.

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Section: Questioning the Links Between Masculinity Fatherhood And Fementioning

confidence: 99%

Religion, masculinity and fertility decline

Praz

2009

The History of the Family

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“…With few exceptions, the generic cultural image of fatherhood reflects the assumption that fathers and children are biologically related (Marsiglio, 1993). However, there are little data that address whether, in the wider community, this biological connection translates into an “essential” connection between fathers and children similar to that for women (Griswold, 1999). Rather, theoretical approaches to fathering have emphasized the unique role that interpersonal and social contexts play in men's assumption of fathering behavior (Day et al, 2005; Doherty et al, 1998; Marsiglio, 2004).…”

Section: Analytic Perspectives On Fatherhoodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Community Attitudes Toward Birth Fathers’ Motives for Adoption Placement and Single Parenting

Miall¹,

March²

2005

Family Relations

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Community attitudes toward birth fathers were examined using 82 exploratory qualitative interviews and 706 survey respondents in Canada. Community attitudes were more positive toward birth fathers raising their children over adoption, when birth mothers were unable or unwilling to parent the child. Overall, respondents considered birth fathers choosing adoption as responsible, caring, and unselfish. However, women disproportionately considered birth fathers choosing adoption as irresponsible and uncaring. Men considered these fathers too young, unable to provide, or powerless against the birth mother and her wishes. We consider implications for practitioners working with birth fathers dealing with adoption decisions and offer suggestions for further research.

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“…Various publications attempt to explore which factors determine partnership performance and postpartum satisfaction (Berman and Pedersen, 1987;Eggebeen and Knoester, 2001;Newman and Newman, 1988;Palkovitz and Copes, 1988;Watson et al, 1995;Werneck, 1997), changes in gender role identity (Feldman and Aschenbrenner, 1983;Feldman and Nash, 1984 ), or the involvement of fathers in parental tasks, respectively (Fox and Bruce, 2001;Geerster and Gallagher, 2001;Krampe and Fairweather, 1993;Rettig et al, 1999). In the latter field, the current discourse on so-called 'New Fathers' plays a significant role (Bronstein and Cowan, 1988;Burgess, 1997;Griswold, 1999;Hall, 1993;LaRossa, 1997LaRossa, , 1988Lempp, 1989;McQuillan and Belle, 2001;Werneck, 1998).…”

Section: O N S E Q U E N C E S O F Fat H E R H O O Dmentioning

confidence: 99%

Where Qualitative Research Meets Demography: Interdisciplinary Explorations of Conceptions of Fatherhood in an Extremely Low Fertility Context

Lippe

Führer

2004

Qualitative Research

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Recent calls to include psychological theories of decisionmaking and intention-formation in research on family formation coincide with calls for improving research on male fertility and fatherhood. In this article we address these notions and present findings from in-depth interviews with 30-year-old childless men from Eastern Germany on their desire to become parents. The context for this research is the societal situation of contemporary Eastern Germany, where birth rates have faced a historical low - the lowest in more than 10 years. Our innovative analytical paradigm draws on the contemporary social cognitive theory of intention-formation. The focus lies on the examination of male attitudes, values, motives, interests, goals, action beliefs and self-concepts, and their connection with men’s intentions for parenthood. We compare our results with explanations given by the Theory of Symbolic Self-Completion and the Theory of Reasoned Action. We argue for the need to bring together psychological and sociological theorizing in this field.

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Introduction to the Special Issue on Fatherhood

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

Religion, masculinity and fertility decline

Religion, masculinity and fertility decline

Community Attitudes Toward Birth Fathers’ Motives for Adoption Placement and Single Parenting

Where Qualitative Research Meets Demography: Interdisciplinary Explorations of Conceptions of Fatherhood in an Extremely Low Fertility Context

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