Fathers nurturing their children post-divorce: the fathers' perspective
Date
2011
Authors
Kemp, Lynda A., author
Anderson, Sharon K., advisor
Littrell, John, committee member
Bundy-Fazioli, Kimberly, committee member
Jennings, Louise B., committee member
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Volume Title
Abstract
Nurturing requires engagement and engagement can be difficult to achieve if a father does not, due to divorce, share as much time with his children as he did previously. Using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis approach, this study solicited from divorced fathers a description of their experience nurturing their children post-divorce. While much research focuses on the need of children for their father to be there; this study focused on the fathers' need to be there. The data in this study--the divorced fathers' voices--described nurturing post-divorce as a composite of both external actions and situations, and internal feelings. Overall, the data reflected the desire and commitment of these fathers to maintain, or rebuild, a nurturing relationship with their children. Two general observations emerged from these fathers' stories: that the "loss" of their children through divorce brought to light just how precious their fathering role was, and that often times fathers' relationships with their children were enhanced post-divorce. However, while being there was the common "thread" that ran through the post-divorce nurturing experience, the meaning of being there varied from father to father. Therefore, even if the "essence" of nurturing post-divorce is being there, being there is changeable, and experienced differently, by every divorced father.
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Subject
fathering
post-divorce
nurturing
fathers