Paternal Involvement i

CRITICAL FACTORS INFLUENCING PATERNAL INVOLVEMENT:

FATHERS EXPERIENCES OF NEGOTIATING ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES

by

MARVIN M. BRAVO

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS

in

THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES

GRADUATE COUNSELLING PSYCHOLOGY PROGRAM

We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard

..

Janelle Kwee, Psy.D., Thesis Supervisor

..

Marvin McDonald, Ph.D., Second Reader

..

Marvin McDonald, Ph.D., Thesis Coordinator

..

Richard Young, Ph.D., External Examiner

TRINITY WESTERN UNIVERSITY

September 23, 2013

Marvin Bravo and Janelle Kwee

Paternal Involvement ii

Abstract

This qualitative study uses the Critical Incident Technique (CIT) to explore incidents

fathers report to be helpful or hindering to their parental engagement. CIT was chosen as

the primary methodology so as to allow fathers themselves to be the voice behind what

they deem important factors in fostering the father/child relationship. Eight fathers were

interviewed for this study. All together 206 incidents were pulled from the interviews. Of

the 206, 132 incidents were identified by participants as helpful (HE) in promoting

efficacy in their role as fathers. Forty seven incidents were identified as hindering (HI)

and another 27 as wish list (WL) items. These 206 incidents were further broken into 10

helping, six hindering, and four wish list categories. Participants also provided a list of

29 recommendations for paternal engagement. All HE, HI, and WL incidents were

assigned to one of the following categories, some of which were dichotomized by HE/HI

poles: (a) positive and negative role models, (b) Mother/Father relationship (d) Fathers

Religion/Spirituality (e) Responsibility (f) Attachment (g) Personal Decision (h)

Characteristics of Children (I) Reflective parenting (j) Societal Influence (k) Fathers

Characteristics, and (l) Extended Family Influence. Research findings indicate that

fathers identify major themes of responsibility, engagement, and father/mother dyad as

important factors in determining their involvement with their child. However, in as much

as these were noted as important factors within the father/child relationship, fathers

consistently reported them to be the platform from which one should understand the

larger context of paternal involvement. The study further highlights the interconnectivity

of these and other identified categories and sheds light on the challenges that are inherent

to dads as they navigate the myriad roles they find themselves in.

Paternal Involvement iii

Table of Contents

LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... vi

LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ vii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................................. viii

Dedication .......................................................................................................................... x

Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................... 1

Rationale .....................................................................................................................................3 Research Question .................................................................................................................................5

Key Concepts ..............................................................................................................................5 Paternal Involvement. ............................................................................................................................5 Responsibility. .......................................................................................................................................6 Attachment. ............................................................................................................................................6

Chapter 2: Literature Review .......................................................................................... 8

Father, Fatherhood, and Fathering ..........................................................................................8 Influences of Fatherhood on Fathering. .................................................................................................9 Primacy of Motherhood Approach. ...................................................................................................... 13 Fathering Roles. ................................................................................................................................... 16

Attachment Theory, Ecological Theory, and Father Involvement ......................................17

Narrative and Fathering ..........................................................................................................23 Contemporary Roles of Fatherhood. .................................................................................................... 25

Focus and Rationale for This Study .......................................................................................26

Chapter 3: Method .......................................................................................................... 28

Methods of Inquiry ..................................................................................................................28 The Critical Incident Technique. .......................................................................................................... 28 Critical Incident Technique and Paternal Involvement. ....................................................................... 29 Rationale for Enhanced Critical Incident Approach. ........................................................................... 29

Recruitment Strategy ...............................................................................................................30

Participants ...............................................................................................................................31

Materials and Procedure .........................................................................................................33 Paternal Involvement Semi-structured Interview Protocol (PISIP). .................................................... 33 Contextual Component. ....................................................................................................................... 33 Critical Incident Component. ............................................................................................................... 34 Recommendation. ................................................................................................................................ 34

Procedure ..................................................................................................................................35 Data Analysis. ...................................................................................................................................... 36 Reliability ............................................................................................................................................. 37 Validity. ............................................................................................................................................... 39

Ethical Considerations .............................................................................................................40

Chapter 4: Results .......................................................................................................... 42

Summary of Categories ...........................................................................................................43

Helping Categories ...................................................................................................................45

Paternal Involvement iv

Positive and Negative Role Models (PNRM). ..................................................................................... 46 Mother/Father Relationship (MFR). .................................................................................................... 48 Responsibility. ..................................................................................................................................... 50 Attachment. .......................................................................................................................................... 51 Fathers Religion/Spirituality (FRS). ................................................................................................... 53 Characteristic of Children (CoC). ........................................................................................................ 55 Personal Decision (PD). ....................................................................................................................... 56 Reflective Parenting (RP). ................................................................................................................... 58 Extended Family Influence (EFI)......................................................................................................... 59 Societal Influence (SI). ..................................