Transcript MIB - The Fatherhood Institute

MIB
FAMILIES:
Towards a Psychology of
Liberation
Professional Experiences
Youth worker
Taught in primary, secondary and community
schools in Birmingham and London
Trained as an Educational Psychologist in 1988
Lectured at UCL and Birmingham Universities
Talks and workshops at national and international
conferences
Trained as a counsellor
Most recent training in couples and family therapy
Worked in health, education, social services and
voluntary sector as psychologist
Findings from PhD
thesis
Beyond Father
Absence: Black
Fathering and
Child Outcomes
www.nineninepine.com
Background
The role of black men in
families is one of the most
conspicuously neglected
areas of family research."
Taylor, Chatters, Tucker and Lewis (1990,
p996)
Background
Paternal Deprivation
Lower IQ scores
Poorer academic outcomes
Lower self/esteem and achievement motivation
‘Feminised’ cognitive profile
‘Underachievement’ of
African/Caribbean boys
Consistently lowest level of 5 GCSE passes
Grades A*-C
Background
Is there a link between being
reared in a black lone mother
households and poorer
psychological outcomes?
If yes, are the magnitudes of
the effects greater for boys
than for girls?
Introduction
The thesis was a ‘new direction‘ in the study
of underachievement in black children.
Through a comprehensive analysis and
review of research into family life, fathering
behaviour and academic achievement.
Using a ‘multi-racial’ sample, the research
focused on children from African and
Caribbean backgrounds and examined the
links that existed between family structure
and the educational outcomes for
African/Caribbean boys in particular
Reconstructionist vs. Constructionist
Review of Literature
Limited resource base
Literature underlined the
caricatures and stereotypes of
the promiscuous, violent, absent
and/or irresponsible fathers.
Clarke (1957) depicted Caribbean
families as matrilineal and as
marginalising males.
Clarke, E. (1957). My Mother Who Fathered Me: A study of
the Family in Three Selected Communities in Jamaica.
London: Allen and Udwin.
Review of Literature
Stycos and Back (1964) found that
although Jamaican fathers were
frequently absent from the
household, this was in fact part of
the ‘life’ of many families.
Non-resident fathers had their
specific and distinct role to play
particularly in making financial
provision and to discipline their
sons.
Stycos, J. and Back, K. (1964). The Control of Human
Fertility in Jamaica. New York: Cornell University Press.
The role of the father
in child development
‘Being there’
Residency contributes to positive outcomes
Snarey, J. (1993). How Fathers Care for the Next Generation: A Four
Decade Study. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
‘Provider-Protector’
Bread-winner and disciplinarian
Griswold, R. (1997). Generative fathering: A historical perspective. In
A. Hawkins and D. Dollahite, Generative Fathering: Beyond Deficit
Perspectives. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
‘Generative Fathering’
From the Eriksonian theory of generativity
Erikson, E. (1950). Childhood and society. New York: Norton.
Hawkins, A., and Dollahite, D., (1997). Beyond the role-inadequacy perspective
of fathering. In A. Hawkins, and D. Dollahite Generative Fathering: Beyond
Deficit Perspectives. California: Sage.
Review of Literature
Nobles and Goddard, (1984) stated that there is a
difficulty in comparing black fatherhood and
masculinity with Eurocentric standards when the
concept of Africanity is considered. They argued
that the concept of white masculinity perhaps stems
around individual progress and the accumulation of
wealth and power over others, whilst black
masculinity incorporated a sense of community and
family achievement. An example of this was the
idea and success of the ‘Million Man March’ that
took place in America in 1997.
Nobles, W. and Goddard, L. (1984). Understanding the Black Family: A
Guide for Scholarship and Research. California: Black Family Institute.
Review of Literature
The contemporary discourse on
black fatherhood centres on the
demythologisation of the black
father as uninvolved and absent.
“Closer examination of the
positive aspects of the father’s
presence should be carried out,
that includes a picture of what
non-residential fathers and
resident fathers actually do”.
Review of Literature
The black perspective on the contemporary
theory of ‘generative fathering’ amplifies the
theory in highlighting the importance of
family and ‘connectedness’ (a sense of
belonging) as being linked to developing
ideas on manhood. How a black man
measures up in manhood terms is
inextricably linked to his ability to fulfil the
roles that he expects of himself.
Amin, K., (1997). Fathers and Fathering: Recent Research. Runnymede
Trust.
Review of Literature
The significance of the kinship network in
contemporary black families is that older
relatives are seen as a resource to provide
answers to black fathers on how to face
challenges, as it is likely that they have a
history that will demonstrate how these
same challenges were overcome for them
and are able to present a balance of hope
and wisdom.
Diagram 1A: African kin network
Child
“Uncle”/
Friend of
Father
Father
Paternal
Grandfather
Uncle
Paternal
Grandmother
Aunt
Mother
Maternal
Grandmother
“Aunt”/
Friend of
Mother
Maternal
Grandfather
Diagram 1B: ‘ Fatherless’ African kin network
Child
Uncle
Aunt
Mother
“Aunt/
Friend of
Mother
Paternal
Grandfather
Paternal
Grandmother
Maternal
Grandmother
Maternal
Grandfather
Diagram 2A: Nuclear family
Child
Diagram 2B: ‘Fatherless’ Nuclear family
Child
Mother
Review of Literature
Allen and Connor (1997) concluded their
description of generative black fathering by
suggesting that there is a need for more
research that incorporates the viewpoint not
just on what black fathers do but also what
they should do.
Allen, W., and Connor, M., (1997). An African-American perspective on
generative fathering. In A Hawkins and D Dollahite. Generative Fathering:
Beyond Deficit Perspectives. Current Issues in the Family Series, Vol 3.
(pp52-70). Beverley Hills, CA: Sage.
Review of Literature
Despite the generally poor image of black
fathers, there is evidence to commend black
men that seems to escape the attention of
researchers and writers on the area when
they stated :
“We choose in our definition to emphasise the
competence
of
African
American
men,
prosperous and poor, young and old, over the
past 400 years. Without this competence, so
many of us and our families would not be doing
as well as we are.” (Allen and Connor, 1997)
Review of Literature
The research did not only provide a
description of what black fathers do,
but also enabled a reappraisal in
order to identify the things that black
fathers should do more or less of i.e.
Fathering ‘style’.
Constructs
Father availability
Residence vs non-residence
Frequency of contact with the child
Father involvement
Scores on care-giving measures
Father-child relationship
Ratings of ‘closeness’
Fathering ‘style’
Health, hygiene and grooming; finance; leisure;
emotional; discipline; intellectual; supports
Design of the Studies
Four Studies (Two Pilot/Two Main)
Three of the studies examined the views
of over 600 children on role of the father;
one asked fathers themselves
Focused on specific perceptions of
children from African descent
Also accessed perspective of children of
South Asian descent
First ever research examining family life
using multi-racial group of children done
in Britain
Review of Literature
Generative fathering for black fathers
emphasises overcoming the image of
being a victim.
Given this assertion, we would expect
to see the child’s raised self-esteem as
a consequence of generative black
fathering.
Findings: Pilot Study
Children gave more favourable ratings for
the involvement of their non-resident fathers
than their resident fathers.
‘Idealisation’ of the absent father,
(Furstenburg and Nord, 1985).
Resident father feels he is contributing well
by virtue of the fact that he is present in the
child’s home i.e. feel that their role is best
summarised in terms of them just ‘being
there’ (Snarey, 1993).
Findings: Pilot Study
Useful in dispelling myths that absent
fathers are less active than present
ones.
The worldview (beliefs, values and
opinions) of the father is more
important than his residence in
shaping his relationship with and
support of his child.
Findings: Contact with
father
There were benefits of father availability to
the self-concepts of children
Fathers appear to be important for
children’s psychological development but
this is not an isolated independent effect but
is linked to the quality of marital and
parental relationships in the family context
within which the child grows up. Paternal
warmth, emotional closeness and
playfulness appear particularly important in
fostering a successful father-child
relationship.
Findings: Father selfratings
Black fathers were asked to rate their
level of involvement with their
children.
These fathers rated their fathering
‘style’ as focusing on health, hygiene
and grooming, and intellectual
activities.
Findings: Father selfratings
Their ratings showed that the children
with highly involved fathers obtained
significantly higher scores on the
global self-esteem measure.
Higher levels of black father
involvement with intellectual activities
and emotional support were found to
improve behaviour self-esteem
Findings: Fathering
‘style’
One of the differences found between the
White/European and African/Caribbean
fathers was that black fathers emphasised
more of a discipline role through self-report.
Married, black fathers were most likely to
enact this role.
The child-report of black fathering is wholly
different, suggestive of a more nurturing,
stimulating role of the father.
Findings: Fathering
‘style’
For black fathers a lower level of
emotional support to his children was
also linked to significantly lower
behaviour self-esteem.
Findings: Fathering
‘Style’
The findings suggested that black
fathering should feature increased
emotional and financial support to
promote the optimal conditions for the
child’s academic success.
These
fathering styles were linked to
elevated behaviour and school selfesteem.
Findings: Fathering
‘style’
To maximise the opportunities for children, black
fathers also need to consider redressing the
balance between the activities that are utilised to
increase social and moral development.
The findings would further suggest that black
fathers should redress the balance between the
financial support of their sons to a fathering style
that emphasises emotional support, if we are to
even begin to measure the effect on both the actual
and perceived emotional behaviour of boys in
schools.
Findings: Marital
Status
Several significant findings were reported for
married black fathers.
The level of involvement of resident married black
fathers was significantly higher in comparison to
resident unmarried black fathers.
Married black fathers were significantly more
involved in providing discipline for the child, and in
supporting them in their recreational activities.
Increased social self-esteem was also found to be
an outcome for black children with married fathers.
Findings: Age of the
child
Black fathers also rated themselves as
having more involvement with their
primary school-aged children than
their secondary school-aged children
and their younger children.
The black father also rated himself as
making higher financial contributions
to his older children
Findings: Gender
There was a trend towards a higher
level of financial involvement with
their sons, which may indicate that in
their view, black fathers attempt to
model the role of a financial provider
for their sons.
Findings: Gender
Black girls rated their fathers as
providing more emotional support
compared to black boys.
This
significant
finding
may
be
a
contributory
factor
in
the
overrepresentation of boys with
emotional and behavioural difficulties
Findings: Residence
of the father
In the two main studies, black children
rated their non-resident fathers as
significantly less involved in their
lives.
The findings were that the school and
social self-esteem are most affected by
the lack of a father in the home.
Findings: Residence
of the father
The residence of the father was significantly related
to positive outcomes for the African/Caribbean
child.
Two of the studies provided support for the notion
that an outcome of quality black fathering is
improved self-esteem. Children who had a resident
father also had significantly higher school and
social self-esteem.
The African/Caribbean sample in one study
provided further support for the finding that more
advanced number skills is a potential outcome of
having a resident father.
Findings: Intellectual
Development
Although the African/Caribbean group had
a significantly higher number of lonemother families, no significant differences
between one- and two-parent children were
found for either their cognitive/intellectual
development or their academic
achievement except for one Study which
produced the findings that black children
with resident fathers had significantly better
developed number skills.
Findings: Family
Structure
The Studies were not able to show that the
extended family structure provided
psychological advantages for
African/Caribbean children, there was some
indication of the relative importance of
contact with the grandparents within the
African/Caribbean culture(s) and the
configuration of the black extended family
to support lone-mothers.
High mother involvement also had benefits
for the self-esteem of the children
Conclusions
The black extended family household
configures around the non-residence of the
black father.
Suggests that the black extended family
household reflects the ‘social support
system’ used to describe the black
extended family as it manifests in America
Further, it exemplifies the concept of
‘Africanity’ that represents the cultural
connection between Africans throughout the
diaspora.
Conclusions
It was a joint and balanced effort from both
parents that was more likely to contribute to
scholastic success.
Although the relationships with the parents
are paramount, children, women and men all
benefit when men are actively involved in
the family. In short, when fathers assume an
equitable parenting role, this increases
psychological development.
Conclusions
For black families it is positive involvement
that should be noted as opposed to more
involvement
Black fathers would need to develop their
own, personalised repertoire of physical
and emotional; verbal and non-verbal signs,
signals and actions to demonstrate the
equity of their commitment to the emotional
development of their sons and daughters.
Conclusions
Teachers also have a role even by
adjusting their perceptions
Consideration should be given to
developing groupwork or individual
counselling for children of
divorce/relationship breakdown.
‘Loss’ groupwork in Child and
Adolescent Mental Health Services
Conclusions
It is clear that the adults in the child’s
network of support have important roles to
play in minimising the possible effects of
marital/relationship breakdown
Potential parents need to begin to discuss
their parenting arrangements and ‘styles’ at
the moment of conception.
Is it possible to reverse the legacy of slavery
and to choose a parent that you want to
spend your life with?
Conclusions
Given the consistent pattern of unmarried
mothering within the African/Caribbean
communities, the communities must feel
empowered to define what is ‘good’ and
desirable and what is ‘bad’ and undesirable
from the standpoint of their own interests
and conditions of existence.
The survival of the black family in any form
is a “miracle” indicating that the strengths of
black families remain the kin networks, and
extended family network.
Conclusions
The finding that the father’s physical
presence in the home is linked to the
advancement of number skills is important
in that there were no specific activities
linked with this.
This suggested that ‘just being there’ is of
crucial importance and that black men
should be simply encouraged to come in to
the school and just…be there.
Conclusions
However, this thesis is the beginning of
a demonstration that clearly fathers
cannot be conceptualised as mothers,
given the impact of the financial
provider role through the eyes of both
fathers and children.
Conclusions
The perspective of the child is of huge
importance, as it is the impact of
fathering behaviour that needs to be
explored and contrasted with the
opinions of the mothers and the
fathers themselves, particularly when
examining its relative influence on
child outcomes.