"Gäller att passa in i bilden eller så är man fel på det..." En kvalitativ studie i mäns upplevelse av att bli ofrivilligt far

ABSTRACT Author: Rowena E. Nystrand Title: “It’s a case of fitting into the picture, otherwise you’ve failed …” A qualitative study of men's experience of becoming an involuntary father (translated title) Supervisor: Anders Östnäs Assessor: Håkan Jönson The background to this paper lies in a media interest in the problems of unwilling fathers but with very little research having been done in the area. During the 1990’s, interest in male research increased but the focus on the maternal role still dominates in 2010.The aim of the paper is to describe and analyse men’s experiences of becoming unwilling fathers. More specifically, by means of interviews, the paper endeavours to capture the experience of involuntary fatherhood: how it affects the individual in his different roles, society’s views of unwilling fathers, what sort of support society can offer and how the relationship to the child’s mother is affected. The study is based on a qualitative approach with four semi-structured interviews. Two of these are with unwilling fathers and two are with researchers in the area of male parenting/involuntary fatherhood. The result showed that all men can become unwilling fathers, that the reasons for unwillingness may be several and that the experience can vary. Common factors are powerlessness and a crisis process. The relationship to the child’s mother is generally affected and the relationship is seldom maintained. Support from society may vary, depending on how willing the man is to accept help, depending on the resources of the local municipality and also the amount of commitment there is to the issue. More research in the area is desirable, which can result in the level of knowledge among professional people being raised. This can ultimately lead to unwilling fathers being able to get help in their roles both as men and in their roles as fathers. Key words: Qualitative Study, Involuntary Fatherhood, Parenting, Responsibility, Crisis Process, Powerlessness