FSU therapist examines the evolving roles of fathers

“As Father’s Day approaches on June 21, a Florida State University licensed marriage and family therapist is examining how cultural and societal changes have reshaped modern fatherhood. Long viewed as the “helper” or “secondary parent” in raising children, fathers are increasingly taking on a more central role in family caregiving. According to a recent Pew Research Center study , most Americans (57%) say it’s extremely or very acceptable for men to take care of the home and children while their wife works for pay. Jamila Holcomb , an associate teaching professor at the FSU Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences, teaches students about the complexity of family life. As a therapist, she helps support individuals and families as they heal from trauma and navigate mental health and relationship challenges. Holcomb says that fatherhood has evolved from a provider-focused role to a relationship-focused one. “The definition of a ‘good father’ has transformed significantly over the last 25 years,” Holcomb said. “We have moved away from viewing fatherhood primarily through the lens of financial provision or discipline and toward a broader understanding of fathers as active caregivers, co-parents and emotional supports within the family system. Today, fatherhood often includes being involved in daily childrearing, contributing to household responsibilities and creating secure, emotionally connected relationships with children.” Holcomb believes that research highlighting the benefits of involved fathers is helping drive this shift. “One important shift is that research has increasingly demonstrated that fathers play a meaningful role in children’s social, emotional and behavioral development,” Holcomb added. “Studies examining father involvement have found that engaged fathering is associated with positive developmental outcomes, including improved social and psychological outcomes for children. Validating the importance of the fatherhood role has led to greater societal awareness and psychoeducation, and an increased interest in fathers adapting to this evolving role.” Media interested in discussing the evolving role of fathers may contact Holcomb via email at jholcomb@fsu.edu . Jamila Holcomb, associate teaching professor, FSU Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences What is another big reason behind the role of fatherhood changing over time? One major factor is the changing landscape of families and gender roles. As more women pursue higher education and build careers, many families require a more equitable division of household and caregiving responsibilities. We also now have a greater understanding of the “invisible labor” or “mental load” involved in maintaining a household. This involves the planning, anticipating, organizing and emotional management that often goes unnoticed and unrewarded. Research and public discourse have highlighted how this invisible labor can disproportionately fall on mothers and contribute to stress and burnout (Ciciolla & Luthar, 2019). This creates an even greater need for fathers to participate not only in completing tasks, but in sharing responsibility for managing family life. Do present-day fathers face more societal pressure to be around and active compared to the fathers of previous generations? I think there is more societal pressure on fathers to be more present and active, but I don’t view that pressure as inherently negative. Much of this shift is coming from our evolving understanding of child development, our expanding ideas about masculinity and a recognition that nurturing and emotional connection are important aspects of fatherhood. For many generations, traditional gender roles limited fathers’ identities to being providers or authority figures, while caregiving and emotional expression were often assigned primarily to mothers. As those expectations change, fathers have more opportunities to develop and express qualities like nurturance, vulnerability and emotional availability. These are all qualities that will greatly improve their own health and well-being, as well as their relationships with their children. Now that fathers are increasingly encouraged and expected to take on more active parenting roles, it is important that we collectively continue to support fathers in doing that. We should all be advocating for changes in workplace policies, greater community support and continued expansion of cultural norms that value involved fatherhood. The post FSU therapist examines the evolving roles of fathers appeared first on Florida State University News .

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