‘New fatherhood’ - fact or fiction? The perceptions and experiences of fathers in South Africa

Abstract

During the past two decades, fatherhood has become an increasingly important issue, not only in scholarly debates but also in popular forums in South Africa. This article reports on some findings of a quantitative study, undertaken in the Gauteng province of South Africa, that aimed to shed light on the extent to which men are embracing the “new fatherhood” culture and have become active, nurturant fathers. Although men are becoming more actively involved in child-care, many still find it difficult to manifest high levels of active fatherly involvement, even if they consider it fair to expect a man to perform active fatherwork and define fatherhood as synonymous with nurturant paternal involvement. The research results also indicate the existence of a positive correlation between a man’s perception of his paternal involvement and his experience of marital quality.