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extracurricular rather than integrative, but no lessvaluable for that fact. From natural selectiondrives toward or against involved fathering tonew mediation procedures being used in familycourt, the extracurricular information willinform—if not guide—my clinical practice.
Shannon G. Caspersen, M.D.New York Presbyterian Hospital
Columbia UniversityCornell University
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2013.10.005
Fathers in CulturalContext. Edited by DanielW. Shwalb, Barbara J. Shwalb,and Michael E. Lamb. NewYork: Routledge; 2013.
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uch of traditional literature and researchin child development and psychopa-
M thology has explicitly or implicitlygranted the mother a position of supremeimportance. Although there has been increasinginterest in the role of the father in recent times, hestill sometimes remains absent from our thoughtsand discussions about parenting. Fathers in Cul-tural Context is devoted solely to exploring thechallenges faced by fathers within greatly diversecultural and sociopolitical climates, offering afascinating view of fathering practices and normsaround the world. The book contains 14 mainchapters, each devoted to an in-depth discussionof fatherhood in a different country. Ambitious inscope, the book cites hundreds of studies andexamines societies that span 6 continents andencompass over half of the world’s population.The editors state that the “variety of perspectiveschallenges readers to reconsider their own as-sumptions about fatherhood” (p. 1).
Each chapter begins with a case story of a fa-ther living in the designated country. The casestories illustrate to the reader that broad issues,such as historical influences and social policy,ultimately affect individual men and families invery real ways. Even with the looming possibility
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of reliance on cultural stereotypes, this techniqueeffectively piques the reader’s interest and bringsto life the day-to-day experiences of fathers.
Next, the author of each chapter lays out thecultural and historical factors that affect modernfathering. For example, the chapter on South Af-rica describes how the development of miningand industry, followed by the implementation ofapartheid policies, led to the division of familyunits as fathers were forced to live in urban andindustrial regions to maintain employment andfinancially support their families. Meanwhile,mothers and children remained in rural areas,often with multiple generations of women livingtogether in a community; extended relatives,including “substitute fathers” when available, allactively participated in parenting.
Depending on the country, these sectionsrequired that hundreds or even thousands ofyears of history be distilled into just a few well-organized, richly informative pages, all from theperspective of current fathering practices. Inmany countries, diverse subcultures furthercomplicate the authors’ endeavors to summarizethe history and culture; the authors effectivelybalance mentioning these variances withoutoverwhelming the reader with minute details.Some chapters also include a specific sectiondevoted to subcultural variations. This review ofhistory and culture indeed challenges the readers’assumptions about fathers in its examination ofdiverse issues, such as traditional dowry systems,the impact of human immunodeficiency virusand acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, non-married mating unions, and distributive father-hood. Another interesting issue woven intoseveral chapters is the definition of manhood ormasculinity within different cultures.
A comprehensive review of the research onfathering is provided next. The extent of researchavailable varies greatly from country to country.The chapter on Malaysia and Bangladesh, forexample, relies on relatively limited data,whereas chapters on Japan and the United Statescover an extensive body of literature. Types ofavailable studies also vary greatly, from obser-vational data and simple surveys to more com-plex investigations and analyses. Although thereare some universal themes (level of paternalinvolvement and impact of parenting style onchild development), each country’s research bodyrepresents that region’s unique concerns andchallenges. For example, research in the UnitedStates has examined the impact of absent fathers
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(due to divorce or out-of-wedlock births) andfocused on fathers’ evolving roles in the setting ofwomen’s rising level of employment. In China,research has explored the impact of paternalsternness or level of control on child develop-ment. Central and East African research explorespaternal involvement in forager, farming, andagropastoral communities and the impact ofextended kin relationships.
Each chapter then discusses social policyissues related to fathers and contemporary socialand economic conditions that affect fathering.Most countries have instituted policies aimed atincreasing paternal responsibility or involvement,although the authors’ impression of the successof these policies varies greatly. A couple of ex-amples will illustrate this. Scandinavian countrieswere among the first to institute paid paternalchildbirth leave and have passed laws allottingfathers several weeks of paternity leave per year,with an aim of increasing contact betweenfathers and children while maintaining women’srole in the workplace. In the Arab world, how-ever, “governments and oil-producing countriesand companies promote policies that allow andencourage fathers to immigrate,” which has ledto separation of fathers from their children andwives (p. 136). Themes introduced in the openingcase story are often fleshed out here, helping thereader synthesize these broad sociopolitical issueswith the challenges of the individual father.
The authors offer their conclusions and spec-ulation for the future. These thoughtful segmentsdo not just summarize the information presentedbut also help the reader integrate its significancewith the broader national and global context.Also, the wide-ranging scope of these sectionsexpands the readers’ ability to compare andcontrast the different cultures.
Fathers in Cultural Context’s strengths arenumerous. The book is meticulously researchedand well written. Each chapter integrates empir-ical studies, history, sociopolitical and culturalthemes, and the authors’ insights to paint an
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intricate picture of fathering in that country.Although it may interest anyone who workswith families, Fathers in Cultural Context isparticularly relevant to people with specific in-terests in child development, cross-cultural psy-chology, family-related public policy, or a specificculture or country. Owing to its organizationinto relatively free-standing chapters, this book isconducive to being perused piece by piece bybusy readers.
Few areas of weakness are evident. Eachchapter is dense with information, but the au-thors artfully manage to present a great deal ofdata in a very readable fashion. Despite theincreasing occurrence of same-sex parenthoodin some countries, this topic was surprisinglyabsent from the text. In a future publication,more discussion of the interplay between fathersand mothers, and how these roles are definedand balanced in different cultures, might be ofinterest to the general clinician.
In summary, this interesting book presents abroad, multifaceted study of a group of peoplewe have often overlooked: fathers. History, cul-ture, politics, social sciences research, and familydynamics are expertly woven together to providethe reader with a rich and colorful understandingof fatherhood around the world.
Shannon Wagner Simmons, M.D., M.P.H.University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2013.10.006
Disclosure: Dr. Henderson reports no biomedical financial interests orpotential conflicts of interest.
Dr. Caspersen reports no biomedical financial interests or potentialconflicts of interest.
Dr. Simmons reports no biomedical financial interests or potentialconflicts of interest.
Note to Publishers: Books for review should be sent to Schuyler W.Henderson, M.D., M.P.H., NYU Child Study Center, One ParkAvenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10016 (email: [email protected]).
AL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF CHILD & ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRY
VOLUME 52 NUMBER 12 DECEMBER 2013