abstract: 'Objective To understand how low-income men''s views of paternal

  responsibility shape their engagement with fatherhood program messages

  and services. Background Research on the situated contexts of fathering

  has found that the social and symbolic dimensions of fathering spaces

  influence how men construct and enact fatherhood scripts. Qualitative

  studies of fatherhood programs have mostly investigated parenting

  education and job assistance programs, revealing how fathering

  interventions allow disadvantaged men to shape positive paternal

  identities. Method In-depth interviews and focus groups were conducted

  with a nonrandom sample of 64 primarily Black and Latino low-income

  fathers who participated in a federally funded responsible fatherhood

  program. An inductive coding technique was used to identify reasons men

  enrolled, the alignment of program messages with fathers'' views, and how

  the program allowed fathers to negotiate obstacles to sustained

  involvement. Results Fathers overwhelmingly found the program valuable

  because it offered the social and economic means they needed to enact

  varied meanings of paternal responsibility-or ``being there.{''''} Most

  fathers reported that the program allowed them to realize their

  involvement goals, thereby enabling them to better align their paternal

  identities and behaviors. Conclusion Fatherhood programming that

  promotes a broader idea of paternal provision to include money and care

  aligns with how disadvantaged fathers tailor their understandings of

  paternal involvement to account for socioeconomic constraints, including

  poverty and racism. Implications Fatherhood interventions can influence

  disadvantaged men''s abilities to claim and enact responsible parent

  identities, but programs must address the importance of resources and

  opportunities, including and especially access to well-paid work, for

  shaping paternal involvement.'
affiliation: 'Randles, J (Corresponding Author), Calif State Univ Fresno, Dept Sociol,
  5340 N Campus Dr,M-S SS97, Fresno, CA 93740 USA.

  Randles, Jennifer, Calif State Univ Fresno, Dept Sociol, 5340 N Campus Dr,M-S SS97,
  Fresno, CA 93740 USA.'
author: Randles, Jennifer
author-email: jrandles@csufresno.edu
author_list:
- family: Randles
  given: Jennifer
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1111/fare.12376
earlyaccessdate: AUG 2019
eissn: 1741-3729
files: []
issn: 0197-6664
journal: FAMILY RELATIONS
keywords: economic distress; family policy; fathers and fatherhood; qualitative
keywords-plus: MEN
language: English
month: FEB
number: '1'
number-of-cited-references: '34'
orcid-numbers: Randles, Jennifer/0000-0002-4845-5691
pages: 7-20
papis_id: 1f89ffb2e1cc1a80bfdf5ae35e4f9874
ref: Randles2020meansmeaning
times-cited: '13'
title: The Means to and Meaning of ``Being There″ in Responsible Fatherhood Programming
  with Low-Income Fathers
type: Article
unique-id: WOS:000479813100001
usage-count-last-180-days: '3'
usage-count-since-2013: '8'
volume: '69'
web-of-science-categories: Family Studies; Social Work
year: '2020'