The Forgotten Partner: A Phenomenological Study on the Experience of a Teenage Father

Authors

  • Rebecca D. Jason

Keywords:

teenage father, teenage fatherhood, phenomenological study

Abstract

Teen dads are often overlooked in the big picture of teen pregnancy and people neglect to think about the impact of fatherhood on them. Thus, this research study investigated the experiences of the forgotten half, the teenage fathers, in their journey into fatherhood. To provide understanding of the context of the experience of the participants, a descriptive phenomenological, qualitative design was used. Four men who became fathers at their teen years agreed to participate in the research. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken, audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed using qualitative content analysis inspired by Collaizi (1978) to explicate the essence of the phenomenon. Participants in this study expressed difficulties being teen fathers but also showed positive attitudes towards the experience. They are affected by parenthood, too; they need help, advice, and encouragement to take responsibility, both for the babies they have fathered and for their own education and future. Positive social support, how to best connect fathers to social supports, and national policy on preventing young parenthood by increasing teen awareness of the difficulties of young parenthood were outlined, showing implications for practice, policy making, and for future researches to help young fathers.

Published

2018-05-18