Stay-at-home dads (SAHDs) have become more prevalent in today’s society. Despite these changes, there remains a paucity of research on the mental health needs of SAHDs. This qualitative study examined SAHDs’ social experiences and mental health needs. The research identified three themes: (1) becoming a SAHD, (2) being a SAHD at home, and (3) being a SAHD in society. Implications for mental health counseling practices and future areas of research are discussed.
American Counseling Association. (2014). ACA code of ethics. Author.
2.
BakerC. E. (2014). African American fathers’ contributions to children’s early academic achievement: Evidence from two-parent families from the early childhood longitudinal study-birth cohort. Early Education and Development, 25, 19–35. http://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2013.764225
3.
BergerJ. L.AddisM. E.GreenJ. D.MackowiakC.GoldbergV. (2012). Men’s reactions to mental health labels, forms of help-seeking, and sources of help-seeking advice. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 14, 433–443. http://doi.org/10.1037/a0030175
BrinkmanS.KvaleS. (2015). InterViews: Learning the craft of qualitative research interviewing (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
6.
BrymanA. (2012). Social research methods (4th ed.). Oxford University.
7.
Burkstrand-ReidB. A. (2012). Dirty Harry meets dirty diapers: Masculinities, at-home fathers, and making the law work for families. Texas Journal of Women and the Law, 22, 1–44.
8.
ChesleyN. (2011). Stay-at-home fathers and breadwinning mothers: Gender, couple dynamics, and social change. Gender & Society, 25, 642–664. http://doi.org/10.1177/0891243211417433
9.
ChesleyN.FloodS. (2017). Signs of change? At-home and breadwinner parents’ housework and child-care time. Journal of Marriage and Family, 79, 511–534. http://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12376
10.
ConnellR. W. (1995). Masculinities. University of California Press.
11.
DoucetA. (2016). Is the stay-at-home dad (SAHD) a feminist concept? A genealogical, relational, and feminist critique. Sex Roles, 75, 4–14. http://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-016-0582-5
12.
DunnM. G.RochlenA. B.O’BrienK. M. (2013). Employee, mother, and partner: An exploratory investigation of working women with stay-at-home fathers. Journal of Career Development, 40, 3–22. http://doi.org/10.1177/0894843511401744
13.
Englar-CarlsonM.KiselicaM. S. (2013). Affirming the strengths in men: A positive masculinity approach to assisting male clients. Journal of Counseling and Development, 91, 399–409. http://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6676.2013.00111.x
14.
FischerJ.AndersonV. N. (2012). Gender role attitudes and characteristics of stay-at-home and employed fathers. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 13, 16–31.
15.
GordonT. V.NichterM.HenriksenR. C. (2012). Raising black males from a black father’s perspective: A phenomenological study. The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families, 21, 154–161. http://doi.org/10.1177/1066480712466541
16.
GubriumJ. F.HolsteinJ. A. (2003). Postmodern interviewing. Sage.
17.
HeppnerM. J.HeppnerP. P. (2009). On men and work: Taking the road less traveled. Journal of Career Development, 36, 49–67. http://doi.org/10.1177/0894845309340789
18.
HoeweJ.AppelmanA.StevensE. (2017). Mr. Mom in the news: The relationship between stereotypes and perceptions of gendered news stories. Communication Research Reports, 34, 11–20. http://doi.org/10.1080/08824096.2016.1224163
19.
IsaccoA.HofscherR.MolloyS. (2016). An examination of fathers’ mental health help seeking: A brief report. American Journal of Men’s Health, 10, 33–38. http://doi.org/10.1177/155798831581395
20.
KramerK. Z.KramerA. (2016). At-home father families in the United States: Gender ideology, human capital, and unemployment. Journal of Marriage and Family, 78, 1315–1331. http://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12327
21.
LatshawB. A. (2015). From mopping to mowing: Masculinity and housework in stay-at-home father households. Journal of Men’s Studies, 23, 252–270.
22.
LatshawB. A.HaleS. I. (2016). The domestic handoff: Stay-at-home fathers’ time-use in female breadwinner families. Journal of Family Studies, 22, 97–120. http://doi.org/10.1080/13229400.2015.1034157
23.
LiongM. (2017). Sacrifice for the family: Representation and practice of stay-at-home fathers in the intersection of masculinity and class in Hong Kong. Journal of Gender Studies, 26, 402–417. http://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2015.1111200
24.
McFarland-PiazzaL.HazenN.JacobvitzD.Boyd-SoissonE. (2012). The development of father-child attachment: Associations between adult attachment representations, recollections of childhood experiences, and caregiving. Early Child Development and Care, 182, 701–721. http://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2011.573071
25.
MedvedC. E. (2009). Constructing breadwinning-mother identities: Moral, personal, and political positioning. Women’s Studies Quarterly, 37, 140–156.
26.
MuellerT. G.BuckleyP. C. (2014). Fathers’ experiences with the special education system: The overlooked voice. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 39, 119–135. http://doi.org/10.1177/1540796914544548
27.
Price-RobertsonR.BaxterJ.MathewsS. (2017). Longitudinal associations between fathers’ mental health and the quality of their coparenting relationships. Child Psychologist, 21, 215–226. http://doi.org/10.111/cp.12072
28.
RehelE. M. (2014). When dad stays home too: Paternity leave, gender, and parenting. Gender and Society, 28, 110–132.
RochlenA. B.McKelleyR. A.WhittakerT. A. (2010). Stay-at-home fathers’ reasons for entering the role and stigma experiences: A preliminary report. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 11, 279–285.
31.
RoulstonK. (2010). Reflective interviewing: A guide to theory and practice. Sage.
32.
RushingC.PowellL. (2015). Family dynamics of the stay-at-home father and working mother relationship. American Journal of Men’s Health, 9, 410–420. http://doi.org/10.1177/1557988314549414
33.
RushingC.SparksM. (2017). The mother’s perspective: Factors considered when choosing to enter a stay-at-home father and working mother relationship. American Journal of Men’s Health, 11, 1260–1268. http://doi.org/10.1177/1557988317693347
34.
SaldañaJ. (2013). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Sage.
35.
SinnoS. M.KillenM. (2009). Moms at work and dads at home: Children’s evaluation of parental roles. Applied Developmental Science, 13, 16–29.
36.
SolomonC. R. (2014). “After months of it, you just want to punch someone in the face”: Stay-at-home fathers and masculine identities. Michigan Family Review, 18, 23–38.
37.
StevensE. (2015). Understanding discursive barriers to involved fatherhood: The case of Australian stay-at-home fathers. Journal of Family Studies, 21, 22–37
38.
TerriquezV. (2013). Latino fathers’ involvement in their children’s schools. Family Relations, 62, 662–675. http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12026
39.
TinsleyC. H.HowellT. M.AmanatullahE. T. (2015). Who should bring home the bacon? How deterministic views of gender constrain spousal wage preferences. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Process, 126, 37–48.
