Influences on Father Intentions to Engage in Caregiving

Promoting father engagement in caregiving behaviors is a global health priority to improve individual, child, family, and community health. The purpose of this study was to explore barriers and passages to caregiving as experienced by engaged fathers as additional findings of a constructivist grounded theory study on the social process of caregiving in fathers. Through convenience and snowball sampling, 35 participants participated in the study. Data analysis occurred through coding for positive and negative influences utilizing an iterative categorization matrix. Negative influences, or barriers, included preoccupation, exhaustion, controlling forces, and social culture. Positive influences, or passages, included love, expectations, lifestyle, and support. The results of this study are discussed in perspective of the Theory of Caregiving in Fathers, which was created from the original constructivist grounded theory study. The findings of this study can inform targeted tools and interventions to support ongoing challenges to caregiving by fathers.