Conceptos

The work of Smith (1964) was one of the earliest documented studies of the role of Caribbean fathers. UNICEF recently commissioned research in the Caribbean into the role and function of men in families (Brown, Newland, Anderson and Chevannes, 1998). As in the American context, this response was a means of clarifying the way that men must evolve to adapt to the changing roles of women. In their report they draw upon earlier unpublished research conducted by the authors, and also research that was published locally. The resource base was very limited as they were able to access

literature that only served to underline the caricatures and stereotypes of the promiscuous, violent, absent and/or irresponsible fathers. The research therefore included the evidence from the Clarke study (1957) that depicted Caribbean families as matrilineal and as marginalising males. Also in common with the early research in America, most of the research evidence that was accessed tended to describe the male contribution to family life from a female perspective.

In the second edition of Clarke’s classic book My Mother who Fathered Me

(1975), she was able to refer to the local research report by Stycos and Back (1964) who found that although Jamaican fathers were frequently absent from the household, this was in fact part of the ‘life’ of many families. Accordingly, non-resident fathers had their specific and distinct role to play particularly in making financial provision and in disciplining their sons. Stycos and Back (1964) also found that these non-resident fathers had established visiting arrangements that made it possible for the family still to consider that he was the head of the family. The authors were careful to point out the drawbacks of comparing the developments of Caribbean society with contrasting societies with a different social, political and economic history, whilst acknowledging that there may be minimal overlap between other ethnic groups due to the African retentions of social organisation.

Using a combination of survey and facilitative discussion, the researchers were able to elucidate information on the meanings of fatherhood to Jamaican men, how it related to their identities, self-esteem, financial and other

responsibilities and the division of labour within the household. The findings also established previously un reported patterns to the domestic behaviour of the Caribbean male. They found that up to 50% of the participants cooked, tidied the home, and went shopping at least twice every week, but that the fathers did not feel that these tasks were self-reinforcing. The research also confirmed the general pattern of fathers with multiple mothers of their children. Although they were a minority, they represented nearly 50% of all fathers. The status given to these children were ‘inside’ (resident) children and ‘outside’ (non-resident) children. There was wide variation in the participants’ understanding of the social and psychological implications of fathering, but many of them accepted that the ‘outside’ children were more psychologically vulnerable.

The Caribbean family expects the male to be the breadwinner, and in contrast to modern western political philosophies, many women also expect this and fiercely defend their right to be in the home, presumably as a form of rebellion against their identities as ex-slaves (which was that she must toil) (Black, 1998). Male intervention in domestic chores was, at times, admonished and gravely discouraged. This finding is underlined in the study of Paul (1983), who wrote about the division of labour in Bermudan households. Hence, the vicious circle that continuously leads back to irresponsible fathering was described as an unfortunate ‘loop of fate’ for the Caribbean male, in that the active pursuance of the provider role potentially caused an imbalance in his ability to truly fulfil a nurturing role. An additional difficulty was that the harsh economic conditions within the developing countries often meant that either

parent had to leave their offspring with adult relatives whilst they migrated in order to generate a higher family income, giving the superficial impression of a lack of due care. Overall, the findings suggested that some of the negative elements of Caribbean family life are culturally determined.

Once he became a father, the Jamaican male had to balance his responsibilities to his parents, his siblings and their children, then to the mother(s) of his children, and his ‘outside’ and ‘inside’ children. They were also able to underline the similarities between the behaviour and beliefs of Jamaican fathers that is commonly held by fathers in established mainstream research. The findings revealed that Jamaican fathers spent as much time in childcare activities as his Euro-American counterparts and that Jamaican fathers saw their principal roles in terms of providing financial resources, counselling and communicating with their children in order to advance their moral values and social skills. Conversely, there was a feeling that just the knowledge and experience of being a father was self-defining and was an overt indicator of his developing maturity. The participants did not feel that living in a different household from their children prevented adequate fathering from taking place, but they acknowledged that living within the same household provided opportunities for them to widen their contribution. Finally, the participants acknowledged that the quality of the relationship with the child was linked to the quality of the relationship that the father had with the child’s mother.