Deconstructing the essential father.

Abstract

In the past two decades there has been an explosion of research on fathers (see Booth & Crouter, 1998;Lamb, 1997; for recent reviews). There is now a broad consensus that fathers are important contributors to both normal and abnormal child outcomes. Infants and toddlers can be as attached to fathers as they are to mothers. In addition, even when fathers are not physically present, they may play an important role in their children's psychological lives. Other important issues about fathers and families remain controversial. For example, scholars continue to debate the extent to which paternal involvement has increased over the past 20 years (Pleck, 1997). Similarly, we are only beginning to study the ways that fathering identities vary across subcultures (Auerbach, Silverstein, & Zizi, 1997;Bowman & Forman, 1998;Roopnarine, Snell-White, & Riegraf, 1993). Nor do we understand clearly the effects of divorce on fathers and their children (Hetherington, Bridges, & Insabella, 1998).Overall, this explosion of research on fathering has increased the complexity of scholarly thinking about parenting and child development. However, one group of social scientists (e. g. Biller & Kimpton, 1997;Blankenhorn, 1995;Popenoe, 1996) has emerged that is offering a more simplistic view of the role of fathers in families. These neoconservative social scientists have replaced the earlier "essentializing" of mothers (Bowlby, 1951) with a claim about the essential importance of fathers. These authors have proposed that the roots of a wide range of social problems (i. e. child poverty, urban decay, societal violence, teenage pregnancy, and poor school performance) can be traced to the absence of fathers in the lives of their children. Biller DECONSTRUCTING THE ESSENTIAL FATHER

A Genetically Informed Study of Marital Instability and Its Association With Offspring Psychopathology.

“…Yet, other researchers suggest that many different family forms can provide children with the necessary nurturance and guidance (Silverstein & Auerbach, 1999). Overall, the consequences of marital instability for children Correspondence …”

La promotion de la paternité

“…Les conclusions de ces études se situent sur un continuum qui va d'une conception androgénique de la parentalité, reconnaissant peu ou pas de spécificité au père par rapport à la mère (Bem, 1976;Popenoe, 1993;Silverstein et Auerbach, 1999), à une conception de la paternité vue comme distincte de la maternité (Abelin, 1971;Kazura, 2000;Lamb, 1975Lamb, , 2004Le Camus, 2000;Miljkovitch, 1998;Paquette, 2005). Sur le plan de l'action sociale au regard de la parentalité, il y a principalement trois courants.…”

“…Un courant s'inspire du modèle de l'attachement de Bowlby (Ainsworth et al, 1978;Bowlby, 1969Bowlby, , 1973Bowlby, , 1980Bowlby, , 1988 et met l'accent sur le lien mère-enfant, revendiquant des services sociosanitaires qui ciblent la dyade mère-enfant. Un second prend appui sur la conception androgénique de la parentalité (Bem, 1976;Popenoe, 1993;Silverstein et Auerbach, 1999) et revendique des services sociosanitaires adaptés à la diversité des configurations familiales. Enfin, un troisième courant se fonde sur la recherche sur la spécificité du rôle paternel (Kazura, 2000;Lamb, 2004;Le Camus, 2000;Miljkovitch, 1998;Paquette, 2005;Parke, 2000) et revendique des services sociosanitaires qui consolident le rôle du père au sein des familles.…”

“…Il existe dans ce champ une gamme politique (Cabrera et Peters, 2000;Clatterbaugh, 1990;Curran et Abrams, 2000;Messner, 2000) qui va de la reconnaissance de la diversité familiale et de la revendication de politiques sociales offrant du soutien à des modèles pluralistes de la famille (Silverstein et Auerbach, 1999) à un parti pris qui cherche à mettre sur pied des politiques sociales visant à encourager davantage le modèle familial hétérosexuel avec parents biologiques mariés (Faludi, 1991;Falwell, 1981;Hill et Owen, 1982;Pringle, 1995). On remarque dans cette gamme certains militants et politiciens qui semblent récupérer la recherche afin d'appuyer leur programme politique (Pringle, 1995) et certains chercheurs qui génèrent de la recherche pour faire avancer leurs revendications politiques (Messner, 2000;Skeggs, 2003).…”

Práticas educativas familiares: a família como foco de atenção psidoeducacional

“…Essa perspectiva, chamada de essencialista e neoconservadora por Silverstein & Auerbach (1999), desconsidera a família como um fenômeno social e histórico, em que há uma igualdade biológica para a relação de cuidado com o filho. Em outras palavras,"...a maternidade [paternidade] é uma relação de cuidado e não uma tarefa associada ao sexo" 4 (Maturana, 1993: 12).…”