Black Fathers of Children with Special Needs: A Qualitative Study

This poster reports an ecological systems framework used to examine selected protective and risk factors that have the potential for impacting family policy and developing interventions that focus on individual rewards, family challenges, and support needs of African American fathers who have children with special needs. A large volume of this research has been conducted from a deficit perspective and rarely includes African American men's roles as fathers (Zuberi, 1998). This study also fills several gaps noted in the literature. To fill these gaps, a qualitative study was implemented with African American male caregivers to examine their rewards, challenges, and needs of fathering children with special needs. This study includes African American male caregivers of children with special needs who regularly attend a male caregivers' support group in the outreach department at a pediatric hospital for children with special needs in Washington, DC. Transcript data (three focus groups [of 10 fathers each] and 10 follow-up face-to-face interviews) are being analyzed using qualitative software (N6/NUD*IST) to code and generate recurring themes reported by fathers and refine existing theory or generate new theories about the issues under study. Preliminary analyses indicate re-occurring themes for rewards including: pride in children's accomplishments no matter how small (e.g., toileting and attempting to tie their shoes); and participation in created kinship networks such as an organization of a male caregivers advocacy and support group. Challenges include: difficult marital/partner relationships; obtaining adequate health care; and competing demands related to high risk neighborhoods, living in poverty, or dealing with issues that disproportionately affect African Americans in general and males in particular (high unemployment, crime, substance abuse, community violence; HIV). Reported Needs include: the desire for wraparound services; referrals and linkages to other support networks and services; and assistance with improving partner relationships and parenting their child with special needs and other children. Findings from the study will be used to draw implications for future theory-based research that focuses on effective university-community partnerships, family policies, and culturally-specific interventions to improve services to African American fathers of children with special needs and their families.