Reference:
Military Family Research Institute. (2005). Military fathers on the front lines. West Lafayette, IN: MacDermid, S. M., Schwarz, R., Faber, A., Adkins, J., Mishkind, M., & Weiss, H.
Summary:
Using data gathered through focus groups conducted with 27 fathers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, this chapter examines how the physical, temporal, and social settings associated with military deployments affect men’s thoughts and actions as fathers. The data offers new insights on how deployed military fathers encounter and deal with challenges to their involvement as parents. Despite dangerous physical conditions of war and limited opportunities to engage in direct interaction with their children, some fathers take creative steps to ensure they remain a presence in their children’s lives while other fathers disengage and abdicate their parenting responsibilities.