| Knowledge gained about, and directly from, foster fathers (FFs) is limited. This qualitative study develops a substantive theory of foster fathering based in the reported experience of FFs. Fifteen men participated in individual, semi-structured interviews lasting one and one-half to three hours. Data, consisting of subject's quotes, was concurrently collected, coded and analyzed during the course of the study. Grounded theory methodology (Glasser & Strauss, 1967; Strauss & Corbin, 1990) was used.; The substantive theory of foster fathering is composed of six discrete, but interrelated, categories, their defining properties, and the relationships between these properties. The categories are (1) Belonging, (2) Fatherly Functions, (3) Attachment and Loss, (4) Adolescents: A Special Circumstance, (5) Personal Connections, and (6) The System. Categories and properties are supported by quotes from subjects. Results indicate that foster fathering is a complex endeavor. It is rewarding and frustrating, joyful and sad, and like and unlike legal parenting. Motivated to foster by mixtures of altruistic and narcissistic urges, FFs are committed men, caring for and becoming attached to the foster children as if they were their own. FFs present conflicted and contradictory attitudes toward the foster children's families, the official systems that direct the children's care, and toward those children/youth who thwart their fathering or limit their sense of effectiveness. The study suggests that foster fathering is carried out within an ecological system (Bronfenbrenner 1979b). It is contextually based in the intra- and interrelations of the FF, the child, the child's and the FF's family systems, and social and judicial contexts. Together, these systems shape the man's experience. Also, the theory of adult development, specifically generativity (Erikson, 1963) proves a useful reference for understanding the FF's personal commitment. Erikson's "belief in the species", virtue of "care", and man's "need to be needed" are present in the men's reported experience. Implications for further research, and for FF involvement, resource development, training, and support are discussed. |
