research and practice with men who care for children Father figures research and practice with men who care for children Seminar Friday 3rd June 2016 #fatherfigures2016

Introduction Clare Deane Impact Officer, Cardiff University School of Social Sciences (formerly Senior Researcher, Family Matters Institute) Martin Robb Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Health & Social Care, The Open University

Overview Research at The Open University Martin About FMI and Dad.info Clare Why social fathers? Martin Aims of the seminar Martin Results of an initial survey Clare Some key questions Martin

Research at The Open University Research and the OU’s mission Our research priorities Research in health and social care Research with children, young people and families Partnership with Family Matters Institute and DAD.info

About the Family Matters Institute Vision: A society that supports families and children to thrive Mission: Enhance the value society places on the family by influencing policy and embedding best practice Three main activities: 1. Training 2. Digital 3. Research

About DAD.info Europe’s largest advice and support website for fathers 1 million users per year Advice and guidance across a whole range of topics (915,658 visits to these pages last year) Moderated peer support forum (1258 users last year)

Why FMI and DAD.info are involved in this project Importance of father’s involvement in family/a child’s life on improving across a whole range of outcomes Gaps in research regarding experiences of father figures Experience of engaging fathers

Why social fathers? Lack of information about diversity of men who ‘do’ fathering Social fatherhood an under-researched area Policy debates about impact of ‘absent’ fathers and need for children to have male role models Social fatherhood a useful lens to explore men’s role in care and support of children

Defining our terms A social father is any man who performs (or sees himself as performing) a fathering role on a regular basis with children who are not his biological offspring, and when the biological father is non-resident. Social fathers might include (not an exhaustive list): Stepfathers Partners of women with children by another partner Grandfathers, uncles or other male relatives of children whose father is non-resident Male friends of the children’s mother Foster and adoptive fathers Gay fathers Donor fathers

Aims of the seminar To share current research and practice about social fatherhood To stimulate thinking about gaps in research To stimulate thinking about gaps in service provision To develop ideas for a possible research project on social fatherhood To identify possible partners and networks for future research development

Results from an initial survey Polling and surveying of fathers on DAD.info 27% of fathers on the site are a non-biological father to one or more children

Results from an initial survey 2 Relationship to the mother; 47% partner, but parents, friends and siblings also represented Relationship to the child; 53% step-father, 21% friend of the family, 15% sibling, 5% grandparent/uncle 63% self-define as a carer and 74% self-define as having responsibility for the child

Some key questions (1) Who are the social / ‘non-biological’ fathers? What kinds of care and support do social fathers offer to children? How do social fathers describe their relationships with the children they care for? How (if at all) does the care offered by social fathers differ from that of biological fathers / mothers? What motivates a man to care / not care for children who aren’t his biological offspring? How does the care provided by social fathers vary depending on age / gender of child(ren)?

Some key questions (2) What are the main issues and challenges faced by social / non-biological fathers? How are social fathers represented in the media and public discourse? What kinds of support do social fathers receive from services, and what attitudes do they encounter from professionals? How could services be improved to support social fathers?

#fatherfigures2016 @clarrrrre @MartinRobbOU @FamilyMattersUK @ou_hsc

Next steps

What happens next? Write up key points from discussion groups Share key points online (blog / Twitter) Keep in touch via mailing list / network Looking for partners / collaborators Developing research proposal and funding bid on social fathers

fatherfiguresresearch.wordpress.com

…and finally Don’t forget to give us your feedback. Thank you for coming – and for taking part.