<i>“I Had No Hope, I Had No Help at All”</i>: Insights from a First Study of Fathers and Recurrent Care Proceedings
This article presents data from the first large-scale study of fathers involved in repeat (or recurrent) care proceedings in England. The project complements important research on mothers and recurrence. It consisted of three elements: an analysis of population-level administrative data from the Chi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-11-01
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| Series: | Societies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/10/4/89 |
| _version_ | 1797547195930509312 |
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| author | Georgia Philip Lindsay Youansamouth Stuart Bedston Karen Broadhurst Yang Hu John Clifton Marian Brandon |
| author_facet | Georgia Philip Lindsay Youansamouth Stuart Bedston Karen Broadhurst Yang Hu John Clifton Marian Brandon |
| author_sort | Georgia Philip |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article presents data from the first large-scale study of fathers involved in repeat (or recurrent) care proceedings in England. The project complements important research on mothers and recurrence. It consisted of three elements: an analysis of population-level administrative data from the Child and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS), a survey of fathers in pre-proceedings and care proceedings, and a qualitative longitudinal (QL) study of recurrent fathers. Here we report findings from the survey and the QL study, offering an expanded definition and description of fathers and recurrence. Elsewhere, we reported that a significant number of fathers appear in recurrent care proceedings and that the majority return with the same partner. Alongside this, there is also a notable pattern of “missing” fathers demonstrated by the proportion of lone mothers reappearing before the court. Our survey indicates a certain profile of recurrent fathers, but also that recurrent fathers are not straightforwardly a homogenous group. We report on the significance of recurrent fathers’ early lives, on the phenomenon of enduring couple relationships and on the prevalence of issues affecting parenting, such as poor mental health, substance use and domestic abuse. Insights from the QL study in particular reveal legacies of harm, loss, and a lack of emotional and relational resources in childhood, which have debilitating and far-reaching consequences. We argue the importance of understanding the vulnerabilities of recurrent fathers and of challenging certain assumptions in child welfare and family justice practices. There is much to be learnt from existing services for recurrent mothers, but also a need for bespoke or adapted services that may be more responsive to particular circumstances of recurrent fathers and couples. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:40:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4a36f838fe334e559f9274d35e58a6f1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4698 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:40:52Z |
| publishDate | 2020-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Societies |
| spelling | doaj.art-4a36f838fe334e559f9274d35e58a6f12023-11-20T21:46:49ZengMDPI AGSocieties2075-46982020-11-011048910.3390/soc10040089<i>“I Had No Hope, I Had No Help at All”</i>: Insights from a First Study of Fathers and Recurrent Care ProceedingsGeorgia Philip0Lindsay Youansamouth1Stuart Bedston2Karen Broadhurst3Yang Hu4John Clifton5Marian Brandon6Centre for Research on Children and Families, School of Social Work, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR97TJ, UKCentre for Child and Family Justice Research, Department of Sociology, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YW, UKCentre for Child and Family Justice Research, Department of Sociology, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YW, UKCentre for Child and Family Justice Research, Department of Sociology, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YW, UKCentre for Child and Family Justice Research, Department of Sociology, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YW, UKCentre for Research on Children and Families, School of Social Work, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR97TJ, UKCentre for Research on Children and Families, School of Social Work, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR97TJ, UKThis article presents data from the first large-scale study of fathers involved in repeat (or recurrent) care proceedings in England. The project complements important research on mothers and recurrence. It consisted of three elements: an analysis of population-level administrative data from the Child and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS), a survey of fathers in pre-proceedings and care proceedings, and a qualitative longitudinal (QL) study of recurrent fathers. Here we report findings from the survey and the QL study, offering an expanded definition and description of fathers and recurrence. Elsewhere, we reported that a significant number of fathers appear in recurrent care proceedings and that the majority return with the same partner. Alongside this, there is also a notable pattern of “missing” fathers demonstrated by the proportion of lone mothers reappearing before the court. Our survey indicates a certain profile of recurrent fathers, but also that recurrent fathers are not straightforwardly a homogenous group. We report on the significance of recurrent fathers’ early lives, on the phenomenon of enduring couple relationships and on the prevalence of issues affecting parenting, such as poor mental health, substance use and domestic abuse. Insights from the QL study in particular reveal legacies of harm, loss, and a lack of emotional and relational resources in childhood, which have debilitating and far-reaching consequences. We argue the importance of understanding the vulnerabilities of recurrent fathers and of challenging certain assumptions in child welfare and family justice practices. There is much to be learnt from existing services for recurrent mothers, but also a need for bespoke or adapted services that may be more responsive to particular circumstances of recurrent fathers and couples.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/10/4/89recurrencefatherscare proceedingsfamily justice |
| spellingShingle | Georgia Philip Lindsay Youansamouth Stuart Bedston Karen Broadhurst Yang Hu John Clifton Marian Brandon <i>“I Had No Hope, I Had No Help at All”</i>: Insights from a First Study of Fathers and Recurrent Care Proceedings Societies recurrence fathers care proceedings family justice |
| title | <i>“I Had No Hope, I Had No Help at All”</i>: Insights from a First Study of Fathers and Recurrent Care Proceedings |
| title_full | <i>“I Had No Hope, I Had No Help at All”</i>: Insights from a First Study of Fathers and Recurrent Care Proceedings |
| title_fullStr | <i>“I Had No Hope, I Had No Help at All”</i>: Insights from a First Study of Fathers and Recurrent Care Proceedings |
| title_full_unstemmed | <i>“I Had No Hope, I Had No Help at All”</i>: Insights from a First Study of Fathers and Recurrent Care Proceedings |
| title_short | <i>“I Had No Hope, I Had No Help at All”</i>: Insights from a First Study of Fathers and Recurrent Care Proceedings |
| title_sort | i i had no hope i had no help at all i insights from a first study of fathers and recurrent care proceedings |
| topic | recurrence fathers care proceedings family justice |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/10/4/89 |
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