Abstract
Primary caregiving fathers (PCGFs) are a growing population that experience unique struggles on a day-to-day basis. The current study aimed to explore how fathers interpret and experience their daily responsibilities and interactions with social support, as they undertake their roles as primary caregivers. Using grounded theory, 14 PCGFs defined as those providing sole care for their 1–10 year olds for at least 25 h per week, participated in semi-structured interviews regarding their experiences of fatherhood and social supports. Participants highlighted the ways in which social support, particularly adult companionship, helped them find a social balance and allowed them to re-energise and be better fathers. In particular, the men reported that interaction with people with similar experiences was important in helping them to discursively negotiate their non-traditional roles. Analysis revealed a three-stage identity transition process where the men initially took on primary responsibility, then began to embody the primary care giver role, and finally transitioned to a new normal. The PCGFs in the study provide evidence that we may be observing a shift from what may be classed as outdated notions of one-dimensional fathering to a more well-informed masculine ideal that embraces caring and nurturing qualities. However, providing further avenues of support for PCFGs is important in order to mitigate possible social isolation and to enhance their wellbeing.
Highlights
-
Provides an in-depth qualitative description of primary caregiving fathers’ day to day parenting experiences.
-
The men in this study shared an identity transition process from secondary to primary caregiver that can lead to improved mental health and strong father/child bonds.
-
Primary Caregiving Fathers (PCGFs) can be supported through complimentary coparenting, structured daily planning, formal support groups, away time, and preparedness for change and adjustment shock. Workplaces need to ensure that their culture, policies, and practices are aligned, and support PCGFs.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen, V. L., & Van de Vliert, E. (1984). A role theoretical perspective on transitional processes. In Role transitions (pp. 3–18). Springer, Boston, MA.
Baldwin, S., Malone, M., Sandall, J., & Bick, D. (2018). Mental health and wellbeing during the transition to fatherhood: a systematic review of first time fathers’ experiences. JBI Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports, 16(11), 2118–2191. https://doi.org/10.11124/JBISRIR-2017-003773.
Baxter, J. (2018). Stay‑at‑home fathers in Australia. Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies. https://aifs.gov.au/publications/stay-home-fathers-australia.
Benjamin, J., Bessant, J., & Watts, R. (1997). Making groups work: rethinking practice. St Leonards: Allen & Unwin.
Berdalh, J. L., & Moon, S. H. (2013). Workplace mistreatment of middle class workers based on sex, parenthood, and caregiving. Journal of Social Issues, 69(2), 341–366. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12018.
Burkstrand-Reid, B. A. (2012). Dirty Harry meets dirty diapers: masculinities, at-home fathers, and making the law work for families. Texas Journal of Women Gender and the Law, 22(1), 1–44.
Cabrera, N., Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., Bradley, R. H., Hofferth, S., & Lamb, M. E. (2000). Fatherhood in the twenty‐first century. Child Development, 71(1), 127–136. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00126.
Carter, M. J., & Fuller, C. (2016). Symbols, meaning, and action: the past, present and future of symbolic interactionism. Current Sociology, 64(6), 931–961. https://doi.org/10.1177/205684601561.
Caperton, W., Butler, M., Kaiser, D., Connelly, J., & Knox, S. (2019). Stay-at-home fathers, depression, and help-seeking: a consensual qualitative research study. Psychology of Men & Masculinities. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000223.
Chang, Y. (2013). The relation between mothers’ attitudes toward maternal employment and social competence of 36-month-olds: the roles of maternal psychological well-being and sensitivity. Journal of Child & Family Studies, 22(7), 987–999. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-012-9660-7.
Charmaz, K. (1990). ‘Discovering’ chronic illness: using grounded theory. Social Science & Medicine, 30(11), 1161–1172. https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-9536(90)90256-R.
Chesley, N. (2011). Stay-at-home fathers and breadwinning mothers: gender, couple dynamics, and social change. Gender and Society, 25(5), 642–664. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243211417433.
Cohen, E., Underwood, L. G. & Gottlieb, B. H. (Eds.) (2000). Social support measurement and intervention: a guide for health and social scientists. New York: Oxford University Press.
Coltrane, S., Miller, E. C., DeHaan, T., & Stewart, L. (2013). Fathers and the flexibility stigma. Journal of Social Issues, 69(2), 279–302. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12015.
Cooklin, A. R., Giallo, R., & Rose, N. (2012). Parental fatigue and parenting practices during early childhood: an Australian community survey. Child: Care, Health and Development, 38(5), 654–664. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2214.2011.01333.x.
Corbin, J., & Strauss, A. (2008). Basics of qualitative research: techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory. 3rd ed. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
Crockenberg, S., & Litman, C. (1991). Effects of maternal employment on maternal and two-year-old child behavior. Child Development, 62(5), 930–953. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1991.tb01581.x.
de Visser, R. O., & Smith, J. A. (2007). Alcohol consumption and masculine identity among young men. Psychology and Health, 22(5), 595–614. https://doi.org/10.1080/14768320600941772.
de Visser, R. O., Smith, J. A., & Mc Donnell, E. (2009). ‘That’s not masculine’: masculine capital and health related behaviour. Journal of Health Psychology, 14(7), 1047–1058. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105309342299.
Dehle, C., Larsen, D., & Landers, J. E. (2001). Social support in marriage. American Journal of Family Therapy, 29(4), 307–324. https://doi.org/10.1080/01926180126500.
Dolan, A. (2013). ‘I’ve learnt what a dad should do’: the interaction of masculine and fathering identities among men who attended a ‘dads only’ parenting programme. Sociology, 48(4), 812–828. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038513511872.
Doucet, A. (2004). “It’s almost like I have a job, but I don’t get paid”: fathers at home reconfiguring work, care, and masculinity. Fathering: A Journal of Theory, Research, and Practice About Men as Fathers, 2(3), 277–303. https://doi.org/10.3149/fth.0203.277.
Doucet, A., & Lee, R. (2014). Fathering, feminism(s), gender, and sexualities: connections, tensions, and new pathways. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 6(4), 355–373. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12051.
Doucet, A., & Merla, L. (2007). Stay at home fathering: a strategy for balancing work and home in Canadian and Belgian families. Community, Work & Family, 10(4), 455–473. https://doi.org/10.1080/13668800701575101.
Elliott, K. (2015). Caring masculinities: theorizing an emerging concept. Men and Masculinities, 19(3), 240–259. https://doi.org/10.1177/1097184X15576203.
Fletcher, R., Knight, T., Macdonald, J. A., & StGeorge, J. M. (2019). Process evaluation of text-based support for fathers during the transition to fatherhood (SMS4dads): mechanisms of impact. BMC psychology, 7(63), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-019-0338-4.
Forrester, M. A. (2010). Doing qualitative research in psychology: a practical guide. London: Sage Publications Ltd.
Giallo, R., Wood, C. E., Jellett, R., & Porter, R. (2011). Fatigue, wellbeing and parental self-efficacy in mothers of children with an autism spectrum disorder. Autism, 17(4), 465–480. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1742-9552.2012.00044.x.
Gill, P., Teese, R., & Sonn, C. (2014). Masculine identity negotiation in everyday Australian life: an ethno-discursive study in a gym setting. International Journal of Men’s Health, 13(1), 42–59. https://doi.org/10.3149/jmh.1301.42.
Grbich, C. (1992). Societal response to familial role change in Australia: Marginalisation or social change? Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 23(1), 79–94.
Grbich, C. (1997). Male primary caregivers in Australia: the process of becoming and being. Acta Sociologica, 40(4), 335–355. https://doi.org/10.1177/000169939704000401.
Hanna, B. A., Edgecombe, G., Jackson, C. A., & Newman, S. (2002). The importance of first‐time parent groups for new parents. Nursing & Health Sciences, 4(4), 209–214. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1442-2018.2002.00128.x.
Harrington, B., van Deusen, F., & Mazar, I. (2012). The new dad: right at home. Boston: Boston College Centre for Work & Family. https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/carroll-school/sites/center-for-work-family/research/work-life-flexibility1.html.
Kerstis, B., Wells, M. B., & Andersson, E. (2017). Father group leaders’ experiences of creating an arena for father support—a qualitative study. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 32(2), 943–950. https://doi.org/10.1111/scs.12529.
Lamb, M. E., & Tamis-LeMonda, C. S. (2004). The role of the father: an introduction. In M. E. Lamb (Ed.), The role of the father in child development (4th ed., pp. 1–31). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Lee, J. Y., & Lee, S. J. (2018). Caring is masculine: stay-at-home fathers and masculine identity. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 19(1), 47–58. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000079.
Lewis, S. N., West, A. F., Stein, A., Malmberg, L. E., Bethell, K., Barnes, J., & Walker, J. (2009). A comparison of father-infant interaction between primary and non-primary care giving fathers. Child: Care, Health, and Development, 35(2), 199–207. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2214.2008.00913.x.
Lupton, B. (2000). Maintaining masculinity: men who do ‘women’s work’. British Journal of Management, 11(3), S33–S48. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.11.s1.4.
Matthey, S., Barnett, B., Howie, P., & Kavanagh, D. J. (2003). Diagnosing postpartum depression in mothers and fathers: whatever happened to anxiety? Journal of Affective Disorders, 74(2), 139–147. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-0327(02)00012-5.
Merla, L.(2008). Determinants, costs, and meanings of Belgian stay-at-home fathers: an international comparison.Fathering: A Journal of Theory, Research, and Practice About Men as Fathers, 6(2), 113–132. https://doi.org/10.3149/fth.0602.113.
Meuwissen, A. S., & Carlson, S. M. (2015). Fathers matter: the role of father parenting in preschoolers’ executive function development. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 140, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2015.06.010.
Paulson, J., Dauber, S., & Leiferman, J. (2006). Individual and combined effects of postpartum depression in mothers and fathers on parenting behavior. Pediatrics, 118(2), 659–668. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2005-2948.
Petts, R. J., Shafer, K. M., & Essig, L. (2018). Does adherence to masculine norms shape fathering behavior? Journal of Marriage and Family, 80, 704–720. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12476.
Pleck, J.H. (1995). The gender role strain paradigm: an update. In R.F. Levant & W.S. Pollack (Eds). A new psychology of men. New York: Basic Books.
Pleck, J.H. (2010). Fatherhood and masculinity. In M. E. Lamb (Ed.), The role of the father in child development (5th ed., pp. 27–57). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Purdom, C. L., Lucas, J. L., & Miller, K. S. (2006). Couple type, parental status, and the mediating impact of social support. North American Journal of Psychology, 8(1), 1–12.
Ramchandani, P. G., Stein, A., O’Connor, T. G., Heron, J., Murray, L., & Evans, J. (2008). Depression in men in the postnatal period and later child psychopathology: a population cohort study. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 47(4), 390–398. https://doi.org/10.1097/CHI.0b013e31816429c2.
Rochlen, A.B. & McKelley, R.A. (2009). Working therapeutically with stay at home fathers. In C. Z. Oren & D. C. Oren (Eds.), The Routledge series on counselling and psychotherapy with boys and mean. Counselling fathers (pp. 207–229). Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.
Rochlen, A. B., McKelley, R. A., & Whittaker, T. A. (2010). Stay-at-home fathers’ reasons for entering the role and stigma experiences: a preliminary report. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 11(4), 279–285. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017774.
Rochlen, A. B., Suizzo, M. A., McKelley, R. A., & Scaringi, V. (2008a). “I’m just providing for my family”: a qualitative study of stay-at-home fathers. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 9(4), 193–206. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0012510.
Rochlen, A. B., McKelley, R. A., Suizzo, M. A., & Scaringi, V. (2008b). Predictors of relationship satisfaction, psychological well-being, and life satisfaction among stay-at-home fathers. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 9(1), 17–28. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243213503900.
Segrin, C., & Passalacqua, S. A. (2010). Functions of loneliness, social support, health behaviors, and stress in association with poor health. Health Communication, 25(4), 312–322. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410231003773334.
Stacey, J. (2006). Gay parenthood and the decline of paternity as we knew it. Sexualities, 9(1), 2755. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363460706060687.
Starks, H., & Trinidad, S. B. (2007). Choose your method: a comparison of phenomenology, discourse analysis, and grounded theory. Qualitative Health Research, 17(10), 1372–1380. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732307307031.
Strange, C., Bremner, A., Fisher, C., Howat, P., & Wood, L. (2015). Mothers’ group participation: associations with social capital, social support and mental well-being. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 72(1), 85–98. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.12809.
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1994). Grounded theory methodology: an overview. In N. K. Denzin, & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 273–285). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Viotti, S., Guidetti, G., Loera, B., Martini, M., Sottimano, I., & Converso, D. (2017). Stress, work ability, and an aging workforce: a study among women aged 50 and over. International Journal of Stress Management, 24(1), 98–121. https://doi.org/10.1037/str0000031.
West, A., Lewis, S., Ram, B., Barnes, J., Leach, P., Sylva, K., & Walker, J. (2009). Why do some fathers become primary caregivers for their infants? A qualitative study. Child: Care, Health and Development, 35(2), 208–216. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2214.2008.00926.x.
Willig, C. (2001). Introducing qualitative research in psychology: adventures in theory and method. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Willig, C. (2013). Introducing qualitative research in psychology. 3rd ed. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
Winetrobe, H., Wenzel, S., Rhoades, H., Henwood, B., Rice, E., & Harris, T. (2017). Differences in health and social support between homeless men and women entering permanent supportive housing. Women’s Health Issues, 27(3), 286–293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.whi.2016.12.011.
Yin, R. K. (2009). Case study research: design and methods. 4th Ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Zimmerman, T. S. (2000). Marital equality and satisfaction in stay-at-home mother and stay-at-home father families. Contemporary Family Therapy, 22(3), 337–354. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007816725358.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gill, P., Scacco, S., De Haan, S. et al. Getting into the “Dad Zone”: How Do Primary Caregiving Fathers of Young Children Experience Social Support?. J Child Fam Stud 30, 1028–1042 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-01919-1
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-01919-1