Transitions to parenthood; care-experienced young fathers’ perspectives.

Aim: This study aimed to explore how care-experienced young fathers experience the transition to fatherhood through their firsthand accounts, supplemented by the perspectives of professionals who have worked with them. Four fathers and sixteen professionals took part in this qualitative study. All the fathers had experienced the care system and had either become fathers or were transitioning to fatherhood before the age of 25. All professionals had worked with care-experienced fathers and were recruited from the National Health Service (NHS), Local Authorities (LAs) and the voluntary sectors, covering five regions of the United Kingdom. Method: The study employed two methods: (1) unstructured interviews to explore the experiences of care-experienced young fathers, and (2) a questionnaire for professionals to document their experiences through observations of working with care-experienced young fathers in practice. The interviews and professional responses were analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA) (Braun and Clarke, 2019), resulting in two main themes for care-experienced young fathers and two main themes for the professionals, each with their respective sub-themes. Qualitative Longitudinal Research (QLR) provided an analytical framework, rather than a design method, drawing on key concepts to enhance analysis. Findings: Two main themes were identified for the care-experienced young fathers, (1) - (In) stability with two subthemes; Quality of care experience and Stability of mind, (2) - Journey to fatherhood with three subthemes; Joyful uncertainty, Expectations of fatherhood and Parenting wisdom, and for the professionals, two main themes (1) – Observations through the life course with four subthemes; Pregnancy- an opportunity to change, Neonatal- the confidence curve, Infancy- a steep learning curve and Childhood- the road ahead, (2) – Reflections from practice. Conclusions: Care-experienced young fathers face multiple challenges on their journey to fatherhood, which are further exacerbated by their experiences of care. All the young fathers interviewed expressed a desire to be included and involved with their children by incorporating caring masculinity into their identity as fathers. Professionals’ views generally align with those of young fathers, with differences in interpretation of behaviour and subsequent views on the motivation and confidence of a care-experienced young father.