TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2010//
TI  - A qualitative study of the meaning of fatherhood among young urban fathers
JO  - Public health nursing
A1  - Lemay, Celeste A.
A1  - Cashman, Suzanne B.
A1  - Elfenbein, Dianne S.
A1  - Felice, Marianne E.
SP  - 221
EP  - 231
VL  - 27
IS  - 3
N2  - Objective: To explore the beliefs, attitudes, and needs young men have regarding their role as a father. Design and Sample: Exploratory, descriptive, qualitative design. Young fathers/young expectant fathers were recruited from service sites within a city in Massachusetts. Men were considered young fathers/young expectant fathers if they were or would be <20 years old at the birth of a first child or the mother of their baby was or would be <20 years old at the baby's birth and the young man was <25 years old. Measures: Participants were interviewed utilizing open-ended questions, which included the following: the characteristics of good fathers, goals/needs for self and child, and whether or not they planned to raise the child as their father raised them and why. Results: Responses regarding fathering clustered into the following themes: being available; providing support; and self-improvement, including completing education and becoming a positive role model. Forty-seven percent believed that being employed or finishing school would help them be better fathers; 77% reported they would not raise their child as their own father had raised them, citing physical and/or emotional abuse/abandonment. Conclusions: Young men in this study identified several challenges to being "good" fathers. These included lack of employment, education, and positive role models.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0737-1209
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1525-1446.2010.00847.x
ID  - ref1
ER  -