The contribution of a South African intervention for fathers to child and family well-being: recommendations for practitioners

ABSTRACT

The present study explored how an intervention programme for fathers contributed to child and family well-being. Using a qualitative research methodology the authors conducted 20 interviews with 10 mothers and 10 children of fathers who had attended an intervention programme for fathers. A semi-structured interview schedule was used to collect the data through face-to-face interviews. The data analysis was conducted by means of a thematic analysis. All ethical considerations were adhered to by ensuring the confidentiality and anonymity of participants. The following themes were found in the study: Child–parent relationships, Fathers Involvement in childcare and well-being. The study revealed that (1) the intervention contributed to the well-being of children and their families; (2) involvement of fathers in the lives of their children increased post the intervention; (3) fathers’ communication skills improved; (4) they were more involved in unpaid care and (5) spousal relationships improved with less conflict in their relationships.

KEYWORDS:

• Fatherhood
• fathering
• father involvement
• parenting
• children
• child well-being
• family
• parent–child relationship

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Sonke Gender Justice and Rural Impact.