The Importance Of Fatherhood

The twentieth century has been characterized by important social trends that have fundamentally changed the social cultural context in which children develop, some of which are increased absence of nonresidential fathers in the lives of their children and increased involvement of fathers in intact families (Natasha J., Cabrera. et al, 2000). The structures and functions of family life are rapidly changing in the face these prominent social trends. While fatherhood has been traditionally associated with patriarchal authority, one should thus begin to acknowledge the plurality as well as the complexity of fathers in culture and literature.

Many researchers have argued that a cross-cultural understanding of fathers requires sensitivity to the function of men within families where the responsibility for children may extend to men other than biological fathers, such as uncles and grandfathers (Engle & Breaux, 1998; Langa, 2014, Nduna & Sikweyiya, 2013). According to (Bozett & Hanson, 1991), the view of the Mexican American

Presnt in families are feelings of both hope and despair, knowing and not knowing where the family continually exists in a “state of not knowing”, and literally unable to move forward. The families’ reactions to the loss are often accompanied by denial or complete loss and often describe reality as unreal where feelings of loss had to be concealed. Upon returning from prison and or exile, in the South African context, the father returning is normally not the same as expected by the family and often the family does not resemble to the father the one he has left often resulting in emotional or cognitive loss in that the father being psychologically absent or becoming a different person (Boss,