The COVID-19 pandemic introduced new challenges for families and communities worldwide and profoundly affected family relationship, roles, and routines. This study aimed to better understand the specific experiences of low-income and noncustodial fathers – a group of parents often marginalized or overlooked in both research and practice – parenting infants, toddlers, and young children during the pandemic. Focus groups were conducted with 38 fathers who lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. The majority identified as Black or African American, reported annual household income below $50,000, and had children living outside of their household. Focus group discussions explored experiences related to parenting and co-parenting, father-child relationships, and involvement in childcare during the pandemic. We conducted thematic data analysis, drawing on principles of grounded theory. Three central themes were identified: the pandemic as a time of discovery about oneself as a parent, about one’s child(ren), and about father-child relationship(s); the complexity of sharing parenting across multiple households; and the importance of a variety of internal and external parenting resources. Findings demonstrate the depth of fathers’ commitment to and engagement in parenting, and underscore the importance of a broad, family-based approach to child and family services and the inclusion of fathers as key caregivers even when they are not romantically partnered with their children’s mother or living full-time in the same home as their children.

中文翻译：

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“我发现了自己存在的力量”：低收入和非监护父亲在 COVID-19 大流行期间养育幼儿的经验和见解

COVID-19 大流行给全世界的家庭和社区带来了新的挑战，并深刻影响了家庭关系、角色和日常生活。这项研究旨在更好地了解低收入和非监护父亲——这一群体在研究和实践中经常被边缘化或被忽视——在大流行期间养育婴儿、幼儿和幼儿的具体经历。焦点小组对居住在美国威斯康星州密尔沃基的 38 名父亲进行了调查。大多数人被认为是黑人或非裔美国人，家庭年收入低于 50,000 美元，并且有孩子生活在家庭之外。焦点小组讨论探讨了与养育和共同养育、父子关系以及大流行期间参与儿童保育相关的经验。我们利用扎根理论的原则进行了主题数据分析。确定了三个中心主题：大流行是一个发现自己作为父母、孩子以及父子关系的时期；多个家庭共同抚养孩子的复杂性；以及各种内部和外部育儿资源的重要性。调查结果显示了父亲对养育子女的承诺和参与的深度，并强调了对儿童和家庭服务采取广泛的、以家庭为基础的方法的重要性，以及将父亲作为主要照顾者的重要性，即使他们与孩子的母亲没有恋爱关系或与孩子全职住在同一个家里。