A systematic study on fatherhood identity and the impact of unemployment in South Africa and other African countries.

Abstract

Fatherhood identity has been associated with their ability to fulfil societal gender role expectations. Historically, the role of fathers consisted of the caregiving role. However, due to the post-industrial revolution, fathers were forced to leave their families for work purposes. The separation between mothers and fathers resulted to the separation of work and family life which led to fathers identifying with the provider role. Black South African fathers in particular, were then socially constructed to be breadwinners who stayed in the city, leaving their partners and family to take care of the children (Lesenjane, 2006). This systematic review showed that the available literature on this topic has focused mostly on Black fathers and the reasons for this are not clear at this point. Other parts of Africa have not focused on this topic, which limited the number of studies representing Africa as a whole. This systematic review focused on a social constructionist framework which looked at fatherhood identity and the impact of unemployment in South Africa and other African countries. The review intended to contribute to the gap in literature regarding fatherhood. Previous studies have based their research on motherhood and the challenges in which mothers have encountered, however, the struggles encountered by fathers have not been fully addressed. A total number of 55 studies were extracted and the findings offer insight pertaining to fatherhood identity and the impact of unemployment.