Publication year
2011
Citation Title
Military fathers’ perspectives on involvement
Journal Name
Journal of Family Psychology
Journal Volume
25
Issue Number
4
Page Numbers
521-530
DOI
10.1037/a0024511521
Summary
A description of military fathers' perspectives on involvement with their children is provided. Results around father involvement are presented using three overlapping major domains of functioning: cognitive, affective, and behavioral. While fathers' described many different types of involvement, one central theme was how much involvement with children was a major concern for them, despite or perhaps because of the challenges of military careers.
Key Findings
Within each of the three domains, cognitive, affective, and behavioral, fathers’ talked about involvement and how the deployment cycle affected, albeit in different ways, their involvement.
Fathers’ cognitions about not being able to be there underlay how they monitor, regulate, and direct their fathering. For example some would leave most of the child-rearing duties to their partner so as not to disrupt the order of the household.
Fathers expressed complex emotions about their relationships with their children in light of the demands of their military jobs. For example fathers’ expressed some guilt and desire not to alienate their children when they returned from a deployment.
Implications for Program Leaders
Support the development of a technology platform (e.g., online modules, app, website) to disseminate child and youth development information to Service members and their partners
Develop online modules that focus on effective parenting practices that Service members and their families can use in raising their children at different stages of development
Help fathers and children anticipate and develop skills to maintain emotional closeness even when fathers are physically not present
Implications for Policy Makers
Recommend awareness campaigns on the importance of child and youth development for military families and their children
Continue efforts to support on-line communication between deployed Service members and their families
Develop incentive plans for fathers to participate in on-line parent education programs
Methods
Participants were recruited through fliers, assemblies, and broadcast media.
Data were gathered via focus groups conducted with 71 fathers at 14 U.S. military installations.
Data analysis included three members of the research team independently reading each transcript, discussing divergent coding, and establishing consensus on common themes.
Participants
Participants were fathers who had returned from deployment within the past 6 months.
Most participants identified as White (n = 39), and 13 as Black, 10 as Latino, and 9 as other. Most fathers were between 25 and 29 (n = 20) and 30-34 (n = 21) years of age.
On average, participants had more than one child in the household. Their children ranged in age from 5 months to 28 years as follows: infants (n = 35), preschool children (n = 23), school-age children (n = 34), adolescents (n = 18), and adults (n = 4).
Limitations
While the questions in the focus group protocol were broad and open-ended, it is possible that important topics were omitted or that not all fathers expressed their opinion.
With the focus group method there is the potential for social desirability effects.
Fathers who volunteered to participate may have been more committed to fathering than those who did not, which could have biased the outcomes of the study.
Avenues for Future Research
Explore fathers descriptions of involvement from a variety of different military contexts and ranks
Evaluate the effectiveness of on-line parenting resources for military fathers in terms of access, usage, and utility
Investigate further the effects of parent-child relationship among families where one spouse is deployed
Focus
Multiple Branches
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Branch
Military Component
Abstract
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-ˆ-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.
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