Sustaining father involvement: exploring non-resident fathers' sustained involvement in their children's lives over a 5-year period

Samukimba, Jill Chidisha

Sustaining father involvement: exploring non-resident fathers' sustained involvement in their children's lives over a 5-year period

Thesis / Dissertation

2026

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

Department of Sociology

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Abstract

This qualitative longitudinal study explores what it takes for non-resident isiXhosa unmarried fathers to be involved and sustain their active involvement in their children's lives over a fiveyear period. To date, few studies in the region have focused on the temporal aspects of fathering and how fathering involvement shifts over time. The thesis presents insight into a longer-term understanding of the fathering experience. By drawing on in-depth interviews with a sample of non-resident fathers, the study maps out how fathering and caregiving is maintained despite the changing socio-economic and relational dynamics. The thesis argues that there are three major elements that non-resident fathers depend on to be involved and sustain their active involvement in their children's lives. Non-resident fathers depend on i) resources in the form of money, space and time, ii) harmonious relationships with social actors involved in gatekeeping their involvement, including biological mothers and grandmothers and iii) a set of beliefs that understand fathering as more than economic provision. The study argues that neither relational aspect, material resources, nor ideological beliefs alone can sustain father involvement. Through deep engagement with the fathers over time, the thesis demonstrates that it is an enduring commitment to all three aspects that sustains father involvement over time.