AUTHOR : 김수지, 이선희, 권두리
INFORMATION : page. 137~163 / 2020 Vol.27 No.3
The purpose of this study was to understand the nature of the experience of middle-aged fathers as parents of an early-adult child. For this purpose, we interviewed eleven fathers with one or more early-adult child and analyzed the collected data using the phenomenological method. As a result, four categories, eleven topics, and twenty-five semantics were emerged. The four categories were ‘extended child adolescence and delayed child independence’, ‘changes in the father’s role with child development’, ‘awareness of the parental role influenced by the father’, and ‘facing old age’. In conclusion, first, the fathers who participated in the study were concerned and felt sorry for their early-adult children who had difficulty finding a job, and supported and remained interested the careers of their early-adult children. Second, the participants in this study belatedly realized the importance of fatherhood in raising children, and although they did not have close relationships with their children in their early years, the fathers’ own efforts led to changes in the parent-child relationship. Third, fathers with early-adult children attempted to get along with their children by escaping from the parenting inherited from their parents, and made constant sacrifices for their early-adult children. Finally, fathers with early-adult children recognized that they should successfully play the role of a parent while also taking care of their elderly parents as children and preparing for their upcoming old age. The results of this study provide academic data for the development of intervention programs for middle-aged fathers with unmarried adult children.
28 Volumes, 4 Issues, 765 Articles