Exploring Parenting Influences: Married African American Fathers’ Perspectives

Authors

Felicia L. Murray, Tarleton State UniversityFollow
Shann Hwa Hwang, Texas Woman's UniversityFollow

Abstract

This qualitative study sought to understand married, resident African American fathers’ perceptions about parenting influences. Specifically, this study explored fathers’ perceptions about sources and/or experiences that informed their approaches and attitudes about parenting. Social learning theory, the modeling and compensation hypothesis, as well as literature on the intergenerational transmission of parenting served as theoretical frameworks. Eight fathers participated in semi-structured interviews. One main theme and four subthemes emerged from the data. Findings indicated that a number of influences including but not limited to experiences from their family of origin informed current parenting approaches and attitudes.

Keywords

African American Fathers, Black Fathers, Fatherhood, Parenting Influences, Phenomenology, Resident Fathers

Author Bio(s)

Felicia L. Murray, Ph.D., LCSW is an Assistant Professor in graduate studies with Department of Social Work at Tarleton State University. Her research interests include father engagement and involvement, co-parenting, outcomes for former foster youth, professional leadership development and leveraging technology for interventions. Correspondence can be addressed directly to: FMURRAY@tarleton.edu.

Shann Hwa (Abraham) Hwang, Ph.D., CFLE, is an associate professor in the Department of Family Sciences. He teaches classes on family development, parenting education, family theories, and research methodology. His research focuses on father-child relationships, financial stress, couple conflict, and Asian immigrant families. Correspondence can also be addressed directly to: Shwang@twu.edu.

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the fathers who graciously shared their experiences with us.

Publication Date

2-29-2020

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2020.4012

Recommended APA Citation

Murray, F. L., & Hwang, S. H. (2020). Exploring Parenting Influences: Married African American Fathers’ Perspectives. The Qualitative Report, 25(2), 553-568. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2020.4012