LOW-INCOME FATHERS’ AND MOTHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE FATHER ROLE: A QUALITATIVE STUDY IN FOUR EARLY HEAD START COMMUNITIES

Authors

Jean Ann Summers, Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of KansasFollow
Helen Raikes, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
James Butler, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health
Paul Spicer, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Barbara Pan, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Sarah Shaw, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Mark Langager, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Carol McAllister, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health
Monique K. Johnson, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health

Date of this Version

September 1999

Comments

Published in INFANT MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL, Vol. 20(3), 291–304 (1999). Copyright © 1999 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health. Published by John Wiley Inc. Used by permission.

Abstract

A qualitative inquiry in four Early Head Start Research sites explored the question of how low-income mothers and fathers view the role of fathers in their families. Role perceptions were gathered from a total of 56 parents of infants and toddlers across the four sites, using multiple data collection methods that included focus groups, open-ended interviews, and one case study. The data were analyzed to identify common themes across sites. The participants identified roles that included: providing financial support, “being there,” care giving, outings and play, teaching and discipline, providing love, and protection. Implications of these qualitative findings are discussed with respect to their relationship to current theoretical frameworks about father roles. Further, these findings shed light on the question of whether low-income families view parenting roles as being relatively discrete (i.e., separate or “traditional” functions of mothers and fathers), or whether they view their roles in a more blended, co-parenting perspective.