Social and culturalfactors influence the experience offatherhood. This descriptivefocus-group study describes the lived experience of fatherhood from the perspectives of 5 unmarried, low-income, African American adolescent fathers in a Midwestern urban area. Naturalistic inquiry approach guidedthe study. Seven themes o(ffatherhood emerged: barriers tofatherhood, value offatherhood, introduction to.fatherhood, competencies offatherhood, role-set relationships, social norms of fatherhood, and father-child contact. This study suggests that nurses should support the involvement of adolescent fathers with their children. Future study may determine the influence of adult female family members on the decisions of adolescentfathers to remain involved with their children.
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