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.

African American fathers are increasingly documented as being involved with their children and engaging in roles that include child socialization. Yet, we have limited knowledge about the values African American fathers seek to instill in their children or the mechanism through which they transmit these values. Therefore, our objective was to explore, from African American fathers' perspectives, the values they seek to instill within their sons. Participants included 30 self-identified, African American, biological fathers of preadolescent sons at broad risk for developing aggressive behaviors, depressive symptoms, or both. The fathers participated in semistructured, qualitative interviews based on a topic guide that was developed a priori. Informed by grounded theory analysis methods, emergent themes were systematically identified by the research team. Five themes and 4 subthemes emerged from the data. The first 4 themes reflected values fathers aimed to instill in their sons: cultural messages (subthemes: cultural pride, managing racism), education (subthemes: educational attainment, social intelligence, and exposure), respect, and responsibility. The fifth theme, modeling, represented a mechanism through which fathers taught these important values. The findings provide invaluable insight, from the perspectives of fathers, into the cultural and gendered contexts that shape the values African American fathers seek to instill in their sons. An increased understanding of what is most important to fathers may be instrumental in the engagement and retention of African American fathers in prevention programs. Implications for prevention programs and future research are discussed.

No abstract

No abstract

This qualitative study examines the notion of home as it relates to place making, belonging, and community building. Using a phenomenological method of inquiry, data were gathered through in-depth qualitative interviews with 15 Somali Americans and subjected to transcendental phenomenological analyses. Three major themes were found: (1) the meaning of community: being Somali and Muslim; (2) “We help each other. We are connected”; and (3) “Home is where your root is.” The study findings highlight how Somali participants drew on their faith and culture as foundational to community building and drew on acts of mutual giving and receiving to bind them together even as subjective feelings of “home” could be place based or could transcend geography. Although sometimes disrupted by bias and discrimination, Somalis persevered in defining themselves and pursuing a sense of belonging both within their own community and in the city at large. This study offers an expansive and dynamic view of the meaning of place making, community building, and belonging (home) in the lives of displaced refugees. Both research and practice can benefit from special attention given to the “natural” formation of refugee communities and their role in enhancing adjustment to life in a new land.