Military fathers' perspectives on involvement

Military fathers endure repeated separations from their children. In this qualitative study we describe military fathers' range of involvement with their children, paying special attention to the implications of deployment separation and reintegration. We discuss father involvement using three...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of family psychology 2011-08, Vol.25 (4), p.521-530
Main Authors: Willerton, Elaine, Schwarz, Rona L, Wadsworth, Shelley M Macdermid, Oglesby, Mary Schultheis
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Afghan Campaign 2001
Children
Children & youth
Cognition
Conceptualization
Emotions
Father Absence
Father Child Relations
Father-Child relationships
Fathers
Fathers - psychology
Focus Groups
Human
Humans
Installation
Iraq War, 2003-2011
Male
Military Deployment
Military Personnel - psychology
Parent participation
Parental Involvement
Parenting - psychology
Qualitative research
Reintegration
Stress, Psychological
United States
Work life balance
Young Adult
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Summary:Military fathers endure repeated separations from their children. In this qualitative study we describe military fathers' range of involvement with their children, paying special attention to the implications of deployment separation and reintegration. We discuss father involvement using three overlapping major domains of functioning: cognitive, affective, and behavioral. Additionally, we consider how types of father involvement differ vis-à-vis child age. Data were gathered via focus groups conducted with 71 fathers at 14 U.S. military installations. Descriptions of involvement were rich and varied. Involvement with children was a major concern for fathers, despite or perhaps because of the challenges of military careers. We discuss factors that help explain variations in involvement and offer insights about the conceptualization of father involvement for occupations requiring prolonged absences from home.
ISSN:0893-3200
1939-1293
DOI:10.1037/a0024511