The Changing Role of Fatherhood: The Father as a Provider of Selfobject Functions

Abstract

Fatherhood is evolving. The way that men carry out their paternal role is reflective of the historical time era in which they live, social and cultural forces, both the mother and the father's expectations for fathering behaviors, as well as the father's own innate capabilities, wishes, and desires. Fatherhood is also greatly influenced by men's relationships with their own fathers, the quality of that relationship, and the extent to which the father was emotionally available. The ever-changing role of fathers has been a challenge for the psychoanalytic literature. There is no comprehensive theoretical body of knowledge about fatherhood that takes into account the changing nature of fathering, especially considering men's desires to be emotionally responsive and nurturing parents. This article examines the changing role of the father and suggests a model of paternal involvement that expands the nurturing and available father role to include the father as a selfobject. It discusses the importance of understanding men's relationships with their fathers, a central dynamic in shaping fathers' involvement with their children. The residual impact of paternal deprivation is explored, followed by two clinical vignettes that symbolize the search for missing selfobject functions. This article concludes by outlining clinical implications and questions to pose to assess the selfobject relationship with one's father.

Becoming a father is an emotional roller coaster – an analysis of first‐time fathers′ blogs

“…The expectant fathers reflect on their future role as fathers, and in their reflections and stories, it is notable that they do not take the role for granted (Dick ). They do not turn to their own fathers for support, but say that they do not want to do make the same mistakes as their fathers.…”

Okul Öncesi Dönemde Çocuğu Olan Babaların Baba Çocuk İlişkileri ve Babalık Rolü Algıları Arasındaki İlişkinin İncelenmesi: Gaziantep İli Örneği

“…In modern society the concept of fatherhood and fatherhood roles and responsibilities have started to be questioned and reconceptualized (Aktürk, 2015;Bayer, 2013;Chin, Hall, and Daiches, 2011;Crespi and Ruspini, 2015;Czymoniewicz-Klippel, 2019;Dempsey and Hewitt, 2012;Dick, 2011;Eggebeen and Knoester, 2001;Johansson, 2011;Zeybekoğlu, 2013). Hovewer, the fact that mothers are still the main target group in research on parenting (Mercan and Tezel-Şahin, 2017;Tezel-Şahin and Özyürek, 2016) and that in Turkey, research conducted with fathers lag behind those conducted with mothers (Mercan and Tezel-Şahin, 2017) is noteworthy.…”

“…Modernleşme, küreselleşme ve teknolojik gelişmelere bağlı olarak ülkemizde ve dünya genelinde toplumsal yapıda ve ailenin yapısı ve işleyişinde önemli dönüşümler yaşanmıştır (Sayıl ve Selçuk, 2017;Tekin-Epik, Çiçek ve Altay, 2017;Zeybekoğlu, 2013). Modern toplumda geleneksel aile yapısı yerini modern çekirdek aileye, aile içerisindeki cinsiyete dayalı iş bölümü yerini daha eşitlikçi bir rol ve görev dağılımına ve geleneksel anne babalık kavramları da yerini modern anne babalığa bırakmıştır (Aktürk, 2015;Bayer, 2013;Chin, Hall ve Daiches, 2011;Crespi ve Ruspini, 2015;Czymoniewicz-Klippel, 2019;Dempsey ve Hewitt, 2012;Dick, 2011;Eggebeen ve Knoester, 2001;Johansson, 2011;Lamb, 2000;Zeybekoğlu, 2013).…”

La paternidad desde el punto de vista relacional: Sobre el "nacimiento del padre"

“…Si el padre real no ha estado disponible, probablemente se ha construido un "padre anhelado" que, aunque más deficientemente, funciona como un objeto del self imaginario, en el sentido que ya hemos descrito a partir de la obra de Herzog (2001). La pérdida del padre real, y el "anhelo de padre" sustitutivo, una especie de "padre anhelado interior" (un padre intrapsíquico) sumerge al adulto en una búsqueda de padre real desplazado a figuras sustitutivas en las que la persona (todavía niño o ya adulto) busca encontrar el correlato de la imagen idealizada del padre que necesitaron (y necesitan) (Jones, 2007;Dick, 2011).…”