An Exploration of Aspects of Boundary Ambiguity Among Young, Unmarried Fathers During the Prenatal Period

Abstract: This research represents an exploration of patterns of boundary ambiguity among poor, young, unmarried men and their reproductive partners. Interviews were conducted with men and their partners during the third trimester of pregnancy. Interviews focused on patterns of men's physical and psychological presence in relationships with their partners and in activities associated with pregnancy and prenatal care. Patterns of presence among fathers-to-be are identified and factors associated with those patterns are explored. Patterns of presence reflect degrees of physical and psychological presence in relation to pregnancy and the father role. These patterns reflect the influence of various social and emotional dimensions that impact a man's transition to the new father role and raise a number of policy and practice issues. Key Words: boundary ambiguity, fatherhood, fathers. Thirty-five percent of births today occur to unmarried mothers. A disproportionate number of these mothers are poor, young, unmarried women (Hamilton, Martin, & Sutton, 2004). It has been suggested that children born to unmarried mothers are four times more likely to have an absent father than children born to married mothers (Clarke, Cooksey, & Verropoulou, 1998). Although there is growing attention to factors and processes that may contribute to young fathers disengaging from involvement with their children, there has been little explicit attention to prenatal influences on subsequent disengagement. As rates of nonmarital childbearing have grown, however, there has been considerable concern among policymakers and practitioners over patterns of child involvement among unmarried fathers and potentially negative child outcomes associated with a lack of father involvement. This concern has been conveyed to the author in conversations with state and federal legislators (M. Dewine, personal communication, March 21, 2005; R. Gardner, personal communication, October 10, 2006; R. Lutta., personal communication, November 5, 2006; L. Wachtmann, personal communication, October 1, 2002). It is also evident in various statewide initiatives in states such as Alabama (http://www.dhr.state.al.us/page.asp?pageid=427), Connecticut (http://www.fatherhoodinitiative.st.ate. ct.us/), Wisconsin (http://www.dwd.state.wi.us/ wifatherhood/), Iowa (http://www.dhs.state.ia.us/ fatherhood/), and Georgia (http://www.state.ga. us/GAFatherhood/index.html) among others as well as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Promoting Responsible Fatherhood Initiative (www.fatherhood.hhs.gov). Fatherhood incorporates aspects of men's motivations, behaviors, and internalized images of themselves as fathers (Day, Lewis, O'Brien, & Lamb, 2005). It has been suggested that, more than mothering, fathering is sensitive to contextual influences (Doherty, Kouneski, & Erickson, 1998). Thus, it is important to consider fathering in situated contexts (Arditti, Smock, & Parkman, 2005); in particular, aspects of those contexts that may serve to limit enactment of the father role. This is especially important in terms of fathers who exist on the margins of their children's lives (Day et al., 2005), specifically, those fathers who live separately from their children due to divorce and repartnering. Weiss and Fine (2004) suggested these limiting factors ultimately become integrated into social identities. Little attention has been given to the context of young, unmarried fathers. The purpose of this study was to explore young men's movement into the father role using boundary ambiguity (BA) theory as a guide. Specifically, we were interested in learning more about how various factors may contribute to a heightened sense of BA and the degree to which such ambiguity may serve to limit or inhibit men's progress through the transition to the father role. BA and the Prenatal Period It has been suggested that times of transition such as the move to a new father role often reflect heightened levels of BA (Boss, 1992). …