Year: 2002
Type: article
Abstract: Variations in fathering is now recognized as a given in this area of inquiry. This invitation by McMahon & Rounsaville (2002) to consider substance abuse is a welcome addition to the roster of factors that influence fathering. Just as research on typical fathers has undergone a series of intellectual stages, so will research in this area as well. As these authors note correctly, the need for comprehensive descriptive data should clearly be at the top of the agenda. We need to know much more about the scope of the problem—what are the demographic correlates associated with substance abuse in terms of age, education, employment history and marital/relationship patterns and what kinds of substance abuse in terms of type, duration and treatability need to be specified? Not only is the quality of the relationship important, but the nature of the mother's substance abuse history of usage is important to know as well. To what extent do substance abusers tend to partner with other abusers? At this early stage, attention to the contextual factors that support or hinder father involvement is critical. Perhaps most central are the nature of the living arrangements and the quality of the father's relationship with the child's mother. Even in intact families, maternal gatekeeping is a significant factor in understanding father involvement (Bietel & Parke 1998; Allen & Hawkins 1999). In non-residential arrangements, gatekeeping not only by the mother but by the extended family is likely to play an even more central role in regulating the degree of access that fathers have to their offspring. A major advance in our understanding of fathering is the need to locate fathers as part of a family system (Parke & Buriel 1998). While it is useful to examine the direct effects of father involvement on children and fathers themselves, it is critical that we recognize that father effects are often indirect as well. In this case, father's substance abuse may alter the mother–father relationship that, in turn, changes the mother's enactment of her parental role. Mechanisms such as lack of partner social support, increased maternal depression, loss of income due to father abuse may contribute to diminished parenting competence by mothers. In this case, fathers are indirectly rather than directly altering the parenting context. As research on fathering has matured, questions about process have assumed a more central role. Among non-substance-abusing fathers, research has suggested that fathers play a central role in the development of emotional regulation in their children (Parke 2002) However, this central process is important not only for understanding how well children learn this critical cluster of skills, but emotional regulation abilities of fathers themselves may be an important process to examine to better understand impediments to more adequate parenting among substance-abusing fathers. Another aspect of this issue that needs attention is the impact of becoming a father on men's own development. As several writers (Snarey 1993; Palkovitz 2002) have argued, fathering is a socially generative experience that has the potential to transform individuals and increase their sense of responsibility. Examination of the protective role that fathering may play in the regulation of substance abusing patterns would be worthwhile in light of the evidence that recidivism rates are lower among parents than non-parents (Parke & Clarke-Stewart 2002). Perhaps the major obstacle to disentangling the effects of substance abuse is that it is associated with a cluster of other problems such as unemployment, low education, other psychological problems and, in some cases, incarceration. Great care needs to be taken not to attribute the problems of fathering to substance abuse per se rather than to the collection of associated problems. To make progress on this issue multiple methods are necessary. Qualitative approaches such as focus groups are an important first step in order to gain understanding of father's own thoughts, feelings and perspectives on the issues. This step will help ensure that the problem is framed in ways that are, indeed, relevant to the core issues of concern to substance abusing fathers (Parke 2002). Ethnographic studies (Sullivan 1993) are another useful approach that have been used successfully with young unwed fathers. To complement these qualitative strategies a variety of quantitative approaches are useful, including national surveys to help document the scope of the problem. Observational studies of father–child and father–partner interactions are needed to help discover the processes that characterize these dyads (Parke 2000). Moreover, multiple perspectives are needed, especially maternal and extended family members attitudes toward substance-abusing fathers. The perspectives of social service providers also need to be better understood because these individuals often influence maternal attitudes about the appropriateness of father involvement. Only by casting a wide methodological net will we be able to make progress in understanding the benefits and barriers to involvement of substance-abusing fathers. In closing, it is clear that this call for more recognition of the role of substance-abusing fathers in families is important and overdue. By focusing on this neglected group of fathers we will not only understand better the causes and consequences of fathering behaviors in this population but will increase our appreciation of the diverse array of factors that alter fathering behavior in non-substance-abusing groups as well. Children, partners and men themselves will benefit by this increased knowledge by directing us to better policies and treatments.
Source: Addiction
Author: Ross D. Parke
Institution: University of California, Riverside
Language: English
Subfield: Demography
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2047980241