ABSTRACT

First published in 1982. A decade ago the psychological literature contained few pieces on fathers and fathering. The father was the forgotten parent. Since then, the focus on fatherhood has intensified, with a proliferation of research studies on the subject. This newfound interest in a man's importance to his children can be attributed to a variety of recent, far-reaching developments. This study is presented under the belief that the rich data available through psychoanalysis may provide a unique window on the evolution and vicissitudes throughout life of fatherhood and fathering from the perspectives of both parent and child.

part I|82 pages

History and Review

chapter 1|18 pages

The Roots of Fatherhood

Excursions into a Lost Literature

chapter 2|12 pages

In Search of Fathering

A Review

part II|156 pages

Developmental Perspectives

chapter 5|13 pages

Engrossment

The Newborn's Impact upon the Father

chapter 7|16 pages

“The Second other”

The Role of the Father in Early Personality Formation and the Dyadic-Phallic Phase of Development

chapter 8|11 pages

Discovering Daddy

The Mother's Role

chapter 10|12 pages

On Father Hunger

The Father's Role in the Modulation of Aggressive Drive and Fantasy

chapter 12|15 pages

From Mother to Father

The Boy's Search for a Generative Identity and the Oedipal Era

part III|115 pages

Developmental Perspectives: The Later Phases

chapter 15|10 pages

Mentorship in Middle Childhood

chapter 16|11 pages

The Father's Role in Latency

chapter 17|9 pages

Fathers and Adolescent Sons

chapter 18|25 pages

Aspects of Prospective Fatherhood

chapter 19|14 pages

Patterns of Expectant Fatherhood

A Study of the Fathers of a Group of Premature Infants

chapter 20|13 pages

The Father in Midlife

Crisis and the Growth of Paternal Identity

chapter 21|9 pages

Vicissitudes of Grandfatherhood

A Miracle of Revitalization?

part IV|91 pages

Cultural and Historical Variations

chapter 23|25 pages

The Father and the Child's Representation of God

A Developmental Approach

chapter 24|15 pages

The Patriarchal Tradition

Creation and Fathering in Genesis

chapter 25|18 pages

Fathers in Nineteenth-Century Novels

Some Portrayals of Unconscious Conflict in Paternal Attitudes and Behaviors

chapter 26|7 pages

Fathers and Sons

An Indian Experience

chapter 27|21 pages

The Changing Faces of Fatherhood

A New Exploration in American Family History

part V|139 pages

Clinical Problems and Applications

chapter 28|16 pages

The Father-Child Relationship

Changes after Divorce

chapter 29|13 pages

Divorce and the Child

“The Father Question Hour”

chapter 30|10 pages

Abusive Fathers

chapter 31|17 pages

Father-Daughter Incest

chapter 32|13 pages

Abdicating Fathers, Homosexual Sons

Psychoanalytic Observations on the Contribution of the Father to the Development of Male Homosexuality

chapter 34|8 pages

Early Loss of the Father

A Clinical Case

chapter 35|13 pages

Fostering the Consolidation of Paternal Identity

The Tufts Family Support Program

chapter 37|17 pages

Afterword