Teenage fathers: Life experience and signification

• Autor(es):

  Trindade, Zeidi Araujo (Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo. Departamento de Psicologia Social);

  Menandro, Maria Cristina Smith (Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo. Departamento de Psicologia Social).

• Fonte:

  Estudos de Psicologia (Natal); volume 7, número 1, páginas 15-23. Janeiro 2002.

• Assuntos:

  Paternity;

  Adolescents;

  Parental practices.

• Resumo:

  Changes occurred in the life of teenage fathers and the meaning of fatherhood and motherhood for these adolescents were investigated. Eight participants sixteen to twenty-one years old were interviewed with directions focusing: changes arising of paternity; meanings of fatherhood and motherhood; parental practices. Among the changes referred figured the loss of freedom and the insertion in the job market. For them, to be a father means, mainly, to work to provide the needs of the child and also to educate, give comfort and attention. The mother is the one who cares and caresses, makes sacrifices and is the most important figure in the child's life. The most mentioned parental practices were related with leisure and play. The data indicate the permanence of a strong link with the traditional parenting models, although an emergence of significant affective relations between parents and children was also detected.

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