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Unheard Voices: African American Fathers Speak about their Parenting Practices.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Doyle, O; Clark, TT; Cryer-Coupet, Q; Nebbitt, VE; Goldston, DB; Estroff, SE; Magan, I
Published in: Psychol Men Masc
July 1, 2015

Researchers have called for qualitative investigations into African American fathers' parenting practices that consider their social context and identify specific practices. Such investigations can inform the way we conceptualize African American fathers' parenting practices, which can in turn contribute to prevention interventions with at-risk youth. We conducted semi-structured, qualitative interviews about parenting with 30 self-identified, African American, biological fathers of pre-adolescent sons at-risk for developing aggressive behaviors, depressive symptoms, or both. Fathers provided descriptions of their parenting practices, which were at times influenced by their environmental context, fathers' residential status, and masculine ideologies. Our systematic analysis revealed four related themes that emerged from the data: managing emotions, encouragement, discipline, and monitoring. Of particular note, fathers in the current sample emphasized the importance of teaching their sons to manage difficult emotions, largely utilized language consistent with male ideologies (i.e., encouragement rather than love or nurturance), and engaged in high levels of monitoring and discipline in response to perceived environmental challenges and the developmental needs of their sons. The findings provide deeper insight into the parenting practices of African American fathers who are largely understudied, and often misunderstood. Further, these findings highlight considerations that may have important implications for father-focused prevention interventions that support African American fathers, youth, and families.

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Published In

Psychol Men Masc

DOI

ISSN

1524-9220

Publication Date

July 1, 2015

Volume

16

Issue

3

Start / End Page

274 / 283

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Social Psychology
  • 52 Psychology
  • 1701 Psychology
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Doyle, O., Clark, T. T., Cryer-Coupet, Q., Nebbitt, V. E., Goldston, D. B., Estroff, S. E., & Magan, I. (2015). Unheard Voices: African American Fathers Speak about their Parenting Practices. Psychol Men Masc, 16(3), 274–283. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038730
Doyle, Otima, Trenette T. Clark, Qiana Cryer-Coupet, Von E. Nebbitt, David B. Goldston, Sue E. Estroff, and Ifrah Magan. “Unheard Voices: African American Fathers Speak about their Parenting Practices.Psychol Men Masc 16, no. 3 (July 1, 2015): 274–83. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038730.
Doyle O, Clark TT, Cryer-Coupet Q, Nebbitt VE, Goldston DB, Estroff SE, et al. Unheard Voices: African American Fathers Speak about their Parenting Practices. Psychol Men Masc. 2015 Jul 1;16(3):274–83.
Doyle, Otima, et al. “Unheard Voices: African American Fathers Speak about their Parenting Practices.Psychol Men Masc, vol. 16, no. 3, July 2015, pp. 274–83. Pubmed, doi:10.1037/a0038730.
Doyle O, Clark TT, Cryer-Coupet Q, Nebbitt VE, Goldston DB, Estroff SE, Magan I. Unheard Voices: African American Fathers Speak about their Parenting Practices. Psychol Men Masc. 2015 Jul 1;16(3):274–283.

Published In

Psychol Men Masc

DOI

ISSN

1524-9220

Publication Date

July 1, 2015

Volume

16

Issue

3

Start / End Page

274 / 283

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Social Psychology
  • 52 Psychology
  • 1701 Psychology