The experience of fathers’ engagement in the lives of their ‘looked after’ children

Abstract

This qualitative study explored the experience of fathers’ involvement in the lives of their looked after children. Six lone fathers were interviewed in depth using Reflexive Thematic Analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2019) to analyse the data. My position as a researcher was informed by Family Systems Theory and Attachment Theory. These six fathers spoke about various struggles they encountered when being involved in the social care system. Findings indicated that many times, fathers go through a lengthy process to be involved in their children’s lives. However, they were able to identify what supported them in this journey: family members, professionals and engaging in therapeutic processes. Recommendations for future research were identified in relation to therapeutic practices that can improve the experience of families in contact with the social care system including children and their fathers.