The general topic of the study considered the concept of fatherhood in the modern world. The article’s authors stress that the understanding of the father’s role in the contemporary world has changed significantly compared to how it was previously understood. According to Duckworth and Buzzanell (2009), “Recently, the very definition of fatherhood and the nature of fathers’ roles in and out of the home have been questioned” (p. 560). The study focuses on the influence of cultural, political, economic, and other factors on the perception of fatherhood. In their research, it is essential to emphasize that the article’s authors identify the main problem it as the importance and difficulty for fathers to reconcile the duty to work, career, and important role in their family. In this regard, Duckworth and Buzzanell stress that fathers, in most cases, have considerable difficulty in trying to pay enough attention to the family and have a promising career.
To conduct the study, communication was made with the representatives of fatherhood. A total of 18 fathers were interviewed. The interviews were examined, and the answers were compared. Based on them, conclusions were made regarding the interview research. It was done in order to identify certain features of fathers’ adaptation to the possibility of joining family and work. As Duckworth and Buzzanell (2009), it was made “to locate how they constructed work-family balance and their fatherhood roles within their particular life contexts” (p. 561). In addition, a constant comparative method was used. It made it possible to assess fathers’ responses to their paternity behavior and compare and draw conclusions from those responses. It is important to emphasize that these data have also been evaluated from the point of view of social constructionism, and their research has been divided into several stages. According to Duckworth and Buzzanell (2009), “we first situate interdisciplinary fatherhood and work-family research within social constructionism tenets, then we focus on communication research in these areas” (p. 562). Consequently, the study was carried out in stages using different methods.
One of the study’s preliminary results, described in the article, is an assessment of the degree of difficulty for fathers in the relationship between family and work. It is important to note that in the course of the research interviews with 18 fathers, it was determined that the current trend of fatherhood implies the priority of family and then work. As Duckworth and Buzzanell (2009) state, “we found that these men framed and enlarged work-family balance both work and life elevated family as first by linking family to their meanings of work” (p. 562). The study, therefore, identified the priorities of modern fathers. They are to live for the family and work to provide money for it.
These results have an essential role in the topic. Since the research was based on actual interviews with fathers, it has practical application and basis. This approach is vital for understanding contemporary paternity trends in the context of sociocultural communications and factors such as economic, political, cultural, and others. The importance of the study lies in defining the modern perception of the role of fathers both from society and themselves. Therefore, based on the research described in the article, it is possible to deepen the study of social functions.
Reference
Duckworth J. D., & Buzzanell P. M. (2009). Constructing work-life balance and fatherhood: Men’s framing of the meanings of both work and family. Routledge, 60(5), pp. 558–573.