Doctoral Degrees (Psychology)

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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Psychology) by browse.metadata.advisor "Elmien, Lesch"

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    Family relationships and non-resident black South African fathers’ contact with their adolescent children: a study of families with infrequent non-resident father-child contact
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2023-03) Nell, Erika; Elmien, Lesch; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Psychology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Constructive paternal involvement has the potential to greatly contribute to family and child mental health. Many South African fathers, however, do not live with or close to their children and are not benefiting from regular father-child contact. The relationships between non-resident fathers and other members in the larger family system play a significant role in father child contact in general, but especially in Black South African communities where fatherhood is understood to happen to families rather than individuals. Moreover, the quality of the parental relationship is often significantly influenced by the inputs of maternal grandparents or other extended kin. However, the non-resident father as a member of the larger family system, in which his relationships with key family members play an important role in father-child contact, has been neglected in South African family research. This study aimed to address this gap by investigating if and how the quality of relationships with biological children of Black South African non-resident fathers is influenced by the quality of his relationships with key family members. This study was informed by family systems theory and utilised a qualitative research design in which data from multiple family members were obtained. Purposive sampling resulted in the recruitment of ten family systems with four family members participating in the study (N = 40). This included the non-residential father, his adolescent biological child, mother of the child, and extended family member. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with each of these members to explore the nature and quality of the father’s contact with the child, mother, and extended family; and how the quality of these relationships impacted father child contact. These interviews were transcribed and Braun and Clarke’s six-phase thematic analysis method was used to identify the following five themes that shed light on infrequent non-resident father-child contact: (i) Fathers as mainly material providers: The dominance of the father as provider discourse negatively affected family relationships and limited father child contact as mothers saw the father’s provision as proof of his affection for his child. (ii) Expectations of fathers beyond provision: Family members acknowledged that fathers have roles beyond provision. They thought that fathers could contribute to children’s well-being by showing interest in their children’s lives and having contact with them, as well as contribute children’s academic functioning. (iii) Responsibility for father-child contact: Mothers, children and extended kin put the onus of father-child contact on the father. Fathers in return awaited the mothers’ contact as indication that their presence was welcome and convenient, but mothers viewed this as ‘forcing’ father-child contact. (iv) Extended kin as father-child contact resource: Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za iii Extended kin supported father-child contact and could be seen as a potential resource. They often acted as intermediaries, provided a physical space for father-child contact and/or waived the payment of damages as a precondition for father-child contact. (v) Changes in families after the interviews: This theme highlights the unexpected and encouraging changes that occurred after the first interviews in terms of increased quality and frequency of father-child contact, as well as increased provision from the father. These shifts suggest that non-resident father families may be open to feedback and able to implement changes toward frequent father-child contact. Some recommendations based on these findings are that more should be done on the macrosystem level to emphasise, promote and support a range of non-resident father contributions to child well-being, providing non-resident fathers with knowledge and skills (that do not involve money) to build father-child connections, and the encouragement and provision of mediation services for non-resident families to assist family members to work together to support constructive non-resident father-child contact