Research Clusters
New Fathers
Led by Ed Bader, Co-Chair FIRA (Community); Catholic Community Services of York Region, and Dr. Andrea Doucet, Department of Sociology, Carleton University
Based in London, York Region, and Toronto
Focus: to increase community, practitioner, and academic understandings of the experiences of new fathers in Canada: how men are impacted by the transition to fatherhood, the supports new fathers need and the services that are currently available to them.
This cluster has undertaken three phases of research activities focusing on the time period from pregnancy through the first eighteen months of the child's life, when new fathers' interest and needs are highest.
- A national survey of community organizations to ascertain the levels of support services offered to fathers before, during and after the birth of their children from community organizations and the health system.
- Ten focus groups with diverse groups of fathers across Canada designed to get men's perspectives on which services they want and which existing programs they find the most and least helpful.
- Collecting narratives of new fathering through in-depth interviews with 20 fathers as well as several case study couples. This data provides insight into the impact of new fatherhood on family relationships, gender roles as they relate to parenting, personal and social identities, masculinities and the balance of work, family and social responsibilities.
The Partnership: Partners in this cluster include Focus on Fathers program (Catholic Community Services of York Region); the Working with Families Institute, Department Family and Community Medicine, U. of T. (Dr. Bill Watson, also staff physician St. Michael's Hospital), Tim Paquette, chair of the Father Involvement Initiative - Ontario Network and formerly with the National Project Fund on Fatherhood, Invest in Kids, (Carol Crill Russell), DadsCan (Dr. Neil Campbell founder of the Dad Classes in London, Ontario). Andrea Doucet will serve as a researcher in this cluster and provide student supervision.
For more information, publications and associated materials please visit the resource area of this site by clicking here. Some examples of references and resource materials available include the following:
A Girl’s Guide to Rookie Dads (Today’s Parent, Pregnancy and Birth, Autumn 2004)
Authored by John Hoffman. An overview for new mothers (and fathers) about fatherhood. The article considers how men learn to become fathers, including developing a relationship with the baby, the challenges of shared responsibility for a new baby, and how parents learn to communicate with one another.
Teaching Skills to First-time Fathers Via Video Coaching
A team led by University of Alberta researchers Joyce Magill-Evans
(Rehabilitation Medicine), and Margaret Harrison (Nursing), and University of
Calgary researcher Karen Benzies (Nursing) tested the effectiveness of
video-coaching as a way to teach parent/baby interaction skills to new fathers. To read more about this study, follow the link above.
Executive
Summary (Father Involvement Community Research Forum Spring 2006 - Early
Results)
Authored by Ed Bader and Andrea Doucet. A summary of research into factors
relating to parenting by new fathers. Summary includes an overview of academic
research into parenting by new fathers, community partnerships, and the
development of new resources and programs.
