Abdication of Responsibility for Father–Child Contact in a Group of Black South African Non-resident Father Families: A Systems Perspective

Abstract

Much of what is known about non-resident fathers is based on studies conducted in North America and Europe, and on the accounts of only one family member. This article draws from a study which utilised a family systems perspective and obtained the views of four members of ten Black South African non-resident father families ( N = 40) with infrequent father–child contact. The aim was to investigate if and how non-resident fathers’ contact with adolescent children was influenced by relationships with various family members. Individual interviews were conducted with each of the family member and thematically analysed. Here, we engage with one of the master themes that shows the circular dynamic in families in which various family members held implicit assumptions about who was responsible for father–child contact and, subsequently, did not view the responsibility to be theirs. Infrequent or lack of non-resident father–child contact should therefore be addressed as a family systems issue.