Isyyteen sitoutuminen ja sen merkitys miehelle

Abstract

Isyyteen sitoutumisen käsitesisältö on muuttunut viime vuosikymmenten aikana leiväntuojaisyydestä hoivaisyyteen. Sitoutunut isä luo aktiivisen, hoivaavan ja vuorovaikutteisen suhteen lapseensa ja on mukana hänen arjessaan: on yhdessä, on saatavilla ja ottaa vastuuta. Isän sitoutumiseen vaikuttavat hänen motivaationsa isyyteen, kotityö- ja lastenhoitotaitonsa ja niihin liittyvä itseluottamus, sosiaalinen tuki sekä perhevalmennuksen kaltaiset institutionaaliset käytänteet. Tärkeimmiksi ovat osoittautuneet parisuhteeseen ja puolisoon liittyvät ns. portinvartijatekijät. Viime kädessä sitoutuminen on isän oma eettinen valinta. Sitoutumisen myönteisiä vaikutuksia isälle itselleen on todettu psyykkisessä ja fyysisessä terveydentilassa, sosiaalisissa suhteissa, perhe- ja sukukeskeisyydessä sekä työelämäsuhteissa. Ajan mittaan sitoutuminen isyyteen parantaa miehen elämänlaatua monin eri tavoin ja antaa elämälle uutta sisältöä ja merkitystä.

Fathers themselves have expanded the definition of fathering in recent years by becoming increasingly involved in a wide variety of activities in the domains traditionally associated with mothering. Three types of paternal involvement have been identified: engagement/interaction, accessibility/availability and responsibility. Engagement, often called interaction, refers to direct, one-on-one interactions with the child, whereas accessibility means occasions when a parent is available for interaction with the child, but is not currently engaged in direct interaction. Responsibility refers to the extent to which a father takes responsibility for his child's care and welfare. The four factors found to influence the level of paternal involvement are motivation, skills and self-confidence, social support, and institutional factors or practices. As to the contexts for the father's involvement, the marital relationship is one of the most important. Men are more likely to understand their role of being a father and a husband as a "package deal" - one dependent on the other. Therefore, if marital conflict is high, fathers have a much more difficult time being involved with their children. In general, it has been found that mothers can serve as gatekeepers to the father-child relationship. Many women are ambivalent about greater father involvement for a variety of reasons including concerns about their husband's competence as a caregiver, feared loss of control over a domain in which they exercise significant power, and an unwillingness to change their standards for housework and childcare. Overall, men who are involved fathers during early adulthood usually turn out to be good spouses, workers, and citizens at midlife. Despite some of the documented short term costs of father involvement for men such as stress, increased work-family conflict, and decreased self esteem, these costs do not appear to reduce overall satisfaction with parenthood. Long term, high involvement has a modest positive impact on occupational mobility, work success, career success and the father's societal generativity - even if involved fathers temporarily reduce their working hours during the first years of the baby's life. Accordingly, men's emotional involvement with their children has been found to act as a buffer against work related and other stresses. In conclusion, men who are involved fathers find parenthood more satisfying, feel themselves more intrinsically important to their child and feel encouraged to be even more involved. They are more likely to exhibit greater psychosocial maturity, be more satisfied with their lives, feel less psychological distress and be more able to understand themselves and empathically understand others. Involved fathers have fewer accidental and premature deaths, less than average contact with the law, less substance abuse, fewer hospital admissions, and greater sense of well-being overall. They are also more likely to participate in the community and socialize more, and as a rule, they increase their intergenerational and extended family interactions.