Young unmarried fathers current relationship with their children: The South African Social Work perspective

Abstract

The nature of relationship between young unmarried fathers and their children remains a concern in South Africa. The increasing rate of absent and  none involvement is on the high rise. Based on the qualitative research, this article discuses young unmarried fathers' current relationships with their  children. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine young and unmarried fathers in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The participants  had a total number of fifteen children, four of whom lived with their fathers and paternal families. Findings indicated that high unemployment and  financial status of the father and his family impacted significantly on father-child current relationship. All the participants in the study desired to have  relationships with their children beyond being just providers. But Care and contact parental responsibilities and rights are reduced to financial support  only by maternal family. Thus, comprehensive social work services are recommended not only for psychosocial support but also for family and  community education.