title: Unheard Voices: African American Fathers Speak about their Parenting Practices.
abstract: Researchers have called for qualitative investigations into African American fathers' parenting practices that consider their social context and identify specific practices. Such investigations can inform the way we conceptualize African American fathers' parenting practices, which can in turn contribute to prevention interventions with at-risk youth. We conducted semi-structured, qualitative interviews about parenting with 30 self-identified, African American, biological fathers of pre-adolescent sons at-risk for developing aggressive behaviors, depressive symptoms, or both. Fathers provided descriptions of their parenting practices, which were at times influenced by their environmental context, fathers' residential status, and masculine ideologies. Our systematic analysis revealed four related themes that emerged from the data: managing emotions, encouragement, discipline, and monitoring. Of particular note, fathers in the current sample emphasized the importance of teaching their sons to manage difficult emotions, largely utilized language consistent with male ideologies (i.e., encouragement rather than love or nurturance), and engaged in high levels of monitoring and discipline in response to perceived environmental challenges and the developmental needs of their sons. The findings provide deeper insight into the parenting practices of African American fathers who are largely understudied, and often misunderstood. Further, these findings highlight considerations that may have important implications for father-focused prevention interventions that support African American fathers, youth, and families.
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois, Chicago, Jane Addams College of Social Work (Drs. Doyle, Nebbitt, Mrs. Cryer-Coupet, and Ms. Magan); Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Drs. Doyle, Goldston); University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, School of Social Work (Dr. Clark); University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Departments of Social Medicine, Psychiatry, and Anthropology (Dr. Estroff).
authors.forename: Otima
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Doyle
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois, Chicago, Jane Addams College of Social Work (Drs. Doyle, Nebbitt, Mrs. Cryer-Coupet, and Ms. Magan); Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Drs. Doyle, Goldston); University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, School of Social Work (Dr. Clark); University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Departments of Social Medicine, Psychiatry, and Anthropology (Dr. Estroff).
authors.forename: Trenette T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois, Chicago, Jane Addams College of Social Work (Drs. Doyle, Nebbitt, Mrs. Cryer-Coupet, and Ms. Magan); Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Drs. Doyle, Goldston); University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, School of Social Work (Dr. Clark); University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Departments of Social Medicine, Psychiatry, and Anthropology (Dr. Estroff).
authors.forename: Qiana
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Cryer-Coupet
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois, Chicago, Jane Addams College of Social Work (Drs. Doyle, Nebbitt, Mrs. Cryer-Coupet, and Ms. Magan); Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Drs. Doyle, Goldston); University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, School of Social Work (Dr. Clark); University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Departments of Social Medicine, Psychiatry, and Anthropology (Dr. Estroff).
authors.forename: Von E
authors.initials: VE
authors.lastname: Nebbitt
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois, Chicago, Jane Addams College of Social Work (Drs. Doyle, Nebbitt, Mrs. Cryer-Coupet, and Ms. Magan); Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Drs. Doyle, Goldston); University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, School of Social Work (Dr. Clark); University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Departments of Social Medicine, Psychiatry, and Anthropology (Dr. Estroff).
authors.forename: David B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Goldston
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois, Chicago, Jane Addams College of Social Work (Drs. Doyle, Nebbitt, Mrs. Cryer-Coupet, and Ms. Magan); Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Drs. Doyle, Goldston); University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, School of Social Work (Dr. Clark); University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Departments of Social Medicine, Psychiatry, and Anthropology (Dr. Estroff).
authors.forename: Sue E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Estroff
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois, Chicago, Jane Addams College of Social Work (Drs. Doyle, Nebbitt, Mrs. Cryer-Coupet, and Ms. Magan); Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Drs. Doyle, Goldston); University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, School of Social Work (Dr. Clark); University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Departments of Social Medicine, Psychiatry, and Anthropology (Dr. Estroff).
authors.forename: Ifrah
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Magan
keywords: African American fathers; at-risk youth; parenting practices; prevention; qualitative