TY - JOUR
T1 - “How Can You Really Step Up?”
T2 - The Dad-Double-Bind Grounded Theory of Fathering in the United States During COVID-19
AU - Morgan, Amy A.
AU - Molloy, Sonia
AU - Ezra, Pond
AU - Smith, Theresa J.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© (2023), (American Psychological Association). All Rights Reserved.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - Recent research suggests fathers are engaging more with their children, with an overall convergence in the amount of time mothers and fathers spend with their children. However, little is known about how fathering engagement was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, in which families found themselves working and living in new ways. Using a constructivist grounded theory methodology, we conducted 44 semistructured interviews with U.S. fathers of at least one child aged four or younger between May and July 2020. Interviews explored fathers’ perceptions of how COVID-19 affected fathering and family dynamics. Participants included fathers from 23 states who were predominantly White (86.36%), married (93.18%), college-educated (45%), and employed full-time (79.54%), with gross family incomes greater than $50,000 (70.4%). Axial and selective coding were used to inductively generate findings. Sensitized by a family systems perspective, our grounded theory analysis revealed that, for some families, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in increased father engagement, couple subsystem changes, stronger family cohesion, and a redefining of fathering roles and rules. A new theoretical fathering concept also emerged: the daddouble-bind, described as conflicting societal messages that told fathers to “step aside” (e.g., lack of fathering classes and support, their kids preferring mom) as “contemporary fatherhood” concurrently asked them to “step up.” We explore how the dad-double-bind was highlighted due to the fathers’ experiences early in the pandemic, which is shaped by a cultural lag between fathering desires, expectations of actions, and societal constraints. We conclude with recommendations to support fathering engagement.
AB - Recent research suggests fathers are engaging more with their children, with an overall convergence in the amount of time mothers and fathers spend with their children. However, little is known about how fathering engagement was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, in which families found themselves working and living in new ways. Using a constructivist grounded theory methodology, we conducted 44 semistructured interviews with U.S. fathers of at least one child aged four or younger between May and July 2020. Interviews explored fathers’ perceptions of how COVID-19 affected fathering and family dynamics. Participants included fathers from 23 states who were predominantly White (86.36%), married (93.18%), college-educated (45%), and employed full-time (79.54%), with gross family incomes greater than $50,000 (70.4%). Axial and selective coding were used to inductively generate findings. Sensitized by a family systems perspective, our grounded theory analysis revealed that, for some families, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in increased father engagement, couple subsystem changes, stronger family cohesion, and a redefining of fathering roles and rules. A new theoretical fathering concept also emerged: the daddouble-bind, described as conflicting societal messages that told fathers to “step aside” (e.g., lack of fathering classes and support, their kids preferring mom) as “contemporary fatherhood” concurrently asked them to “step up.” We explore how the dad-double-bind was highlighted due to the fathers’ experiences early in the pandemic, which is shaped by a cultural lag between fathering desires, expectations of actions, and societal constraints. We conclude with recommendations to support fathering engagement.
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U2 - 10.1037/men0000479
DO - 10.1037/men0000479
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85203004892
SN - 1524-9220
JO - Psychology of Men and Masculinity
JF - Psychology of Men and Masculinity
ER -