From Traditional-Aged Students to Teenage Fathers: A Qualitative Study of Social Challenges and Experiences of East Asian Second-Generation Teenage Fathers

Authors

Luis Miguel Dos Santos, Hong Kong Shue Yan University, Hong KongFollow
Ho Fai Lo, City University of Macau, Macau SARFollow
Tanya Kwee, University of New South Wales, AustraliaFollow

Abstract

This study aims to investigate East Asian second-generation teenage fathers’ stress and problems resulting from internal factors and external influences in the United States. The relationships between the changes in the teenage fathers’ family structures, social expectations, and experiences of educational and financial challenges during the pregnancy (of their partner) and into the period of their early fatherhood were examined. Based on the Interpretative phenomenological method, ten participants who had experienced stress and problems due to their characteristics as teenage fathers, particularly second-generation East Asian Americans, participated in this study. Three semi-structured interviews, one focus group activity, and one member-checking interview were used to collect in-depth lived stories. Three themes emerged: (1) Cultural characteristics: Detrimental perspectives from family members and the public, (2) Age: The hindrance of youth as a characteristic of teenage fathers, and (3) Career development: The challenges of earning a minimum salary and having an unforeseen career. The findings indicated that counseling services based on patients’ sociocultural backgrounds and practices should be considered to offer effective treatments to ethnic minorities, in this case, East Asian Americans. The results of this study can provide a map for public health researchers to use in refining sex education and sexual health promotion, and the approach can offer a blueprint for capturing the voices of other teenage parents.

Keywords

: early fatherhood, early parenthood, interpretative phenomenological analysis, sex education, sociocultural and psychological racism, teenage father

Author Bio(s)

Luis Miguel Dos Santos is an Assistant Professor at Hong Kong Shue Yan University, Hong Kong. Please direct correspondence to luismigueldossantos@yahoo.com

Ho Fai Lo is a doctoral candidate at City University of Macau, Macau.

Ching Ting Tany Kwee is a sessional lecturer at the University of New South Wales, Australia.

Acknowledgements

The researchers like to use this part to say thank you to all participants in this study. This study could not be completed without their stories and participations.

Publication Date

9-7-2024

Creative Commons License

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

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2024.6594

Recommended APA Citation

Dos Santos, L., Lo, H., & Kwee, T. (2024). From Traditional-Aged Students to Teenage Fathers: A Qualitative Study of Social Challenges and Experiences of East Asian Second-Generation Teenage Fathers. The Qualitative Report, 29(8), 2259-2279. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2024.6594

ORCID ID

0000-0002-4799-8838