Fatherhood group sessions: a descriptive and summative qualitative studyShow others and affiliations
2020 (English)In: Nursing and Health Sciences, ISSN 1441-0745, E-ISSN 1442-2018, Vol. 22, no 4, p. 1094-1102Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
The aim of this qualitative study of fatherhood group sessions offered as part of child health care services for new parents was to examine the activities, roles, and topics initiated by the leader and describe fathers' participation. Eight new fathers took part in three audio and video recorded sessions led by a male leader. Three qualitative content analysis approaches were used to analyze data. The analysis showed that the group leader took on four leadership roles, mainly that of discussion leader, but also expert, friend, and organizer. When the group leader acted as discussion leader, fathers participated by discussing challenges and changes in their new situation. Challenges were related to raising the child, partner relationships, everyday life, and gender equality. Fathers also discussed changes in their partner relationships and an increased focus on practicalities in daily life. Fatherhood groups can help new fathers form social networks and can create space for fathers to work through challenging topics, such as gender equality in parenting. The discussion leader's choice of role is crucial to creating the space for such discussions.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2020. Vol. 22, no 4, p. 1094-1102
Keywords [en]
Child health, leader roles, infants, new fathers, parental groups, Sweden
National Category
Nursing
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hv:diva-15903DOI: 10.1111/nhs.12776ISI: 000574849600001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85092097600OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hv-15903DiVA, id: diva2:1472535
2020-10-012020-10-012021-02-09Bibliographically approved