‘The ‘Intimate Father’: Defining Paternal Involvement’

Abstract

Fathering is alleged to have undergone dramatic changes in recent decades with proclamations of ‘new fathering’ dominating the literature. However, it is not always obvious what this new and ‘involved’ fathering entails. This paper aims to bring greater clarity to the nebulous concept of the involved father. While acknowledging the recession of traditional fatherhood centred on breadwinning, the argument looks beyond this oft-identified process. Instead the focus is on elucidating the elements viewed as the essential components of the father-child relationship. For the fathers in this study, the concept of intimacy seems to encapsulate ideas about good fathering. The idea of ‘intimate fathering’ encompasses, but goes beyond an emotional connection, and prioritises the quality of the parent-child relationship. This definition has implications for the analysis and understanding of fathering behaviour. In particular, such intimacy may be disassociated from a time commitment.

Fatherhood in British Evangelical Christianity: Negotiating with Mainstream Culture

“…More recently, Dermott (2003) has contended that "involved fatherhood", comprising emotional openness and a close, affectionate relationship, is a goal most men strive for, and that breadwinning has diminished as an ideal (if not as a practice). But her research with fathers suggests that the ideal of the intimate father is not effectively practiced -men did not have a clear idea of what "involved" meant practically.…”

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“…Drawing on these ideas and browsing through the catalogue of academic literature which is now being published on fatherhood, we find similar dilemmas and questions concerning these new roles (Hawkins & Dollahite 1997;Dienhart 1998;Dermott 2003Dermott , 2008Williams 2008). These are directly related to the following questions: What is a father?…”

“…In other words, and to paraphrase the title of Bittman et al, role changes will eventually be trumped by monolithic stereotypes concerning gender "norms" and rather than a recreation of new roles we have a continuation with "normative" gender roles which will proceed infinitum. Indeed, when looking at traditional family roles such as fatherhood, Esther Dermott (2003) argues that while there may be a "demise of the breadwinning father" other changes are too difficult to detect (Dermott 2003: 1). Nevertheless if we as social scientists want to detect these changes we should look at the "new" individual relationship between father and child, rather than solely looking for changes in larger universal concepts such as gender roles, because these can themselves be vague and ambiguous.…”

CO-Identity with Son Is Core Component in Father’s Development: Same-Gendered Father/Son Relationships foster Relational Development in Fathers

“…These terms laid the foundation for a theory of connection or relational theory of fathering. As noted above, Palm (1993) used "involved father" andDermott (2003) "intimate father" to define paternal intention. Richardson (1994), who spoke of "fathercare" (sic) in his dissertation, most closely outlined a relational framework as a canvas for male relational development.…”

“…Richardson references Miller, Jordan, Kaplan, Surrey and Bergman, all Relational-Cultural Theory theorists. Dermott (2003) aimed to bring clarity to the concept of the "involved father" by focusing on essential components of the father-child relationship. She contended "intimate fathering" embraced and expanded on emotional connection and prioritized the quality of relationship, which is intrinsic to current conceptualizations of "good fathering."…”