TITLE:
Public health nurse observations of behavioral characteristics of fathers who contribute to the emotional instability of mothers, as presented in cases of infant abuse
AUTHORS:
Izumi Ueda
KEYWORDS:
Child Abuse; Father; Experienced Public Health Nurse; Characteristic; Behavior
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Nursing,
Vol.3 No.3,
July
19,
2013
ABSTRACT: The
objective of this study is to look at the understanding and perceptions of
public health nurses (PHNs) related to
behavioral characteristics of fathers that contribute to emotional
instability in mothers by reviewing abuse cases involving infants and very
young children. A qualitative descriptive design was applied to the data
analysis, based on a semi-structured
interview administered to three experienced PHNs who had been in charge of maternal and child health services
for at least five years at a public health department or health center; with
the data obtained in the interview
narratives analyzed. In the observations of the
experienced PHNs, the behavioral characteristics of fathers who are instigators
of child abuse can be classified into five categories, fathers who are: “Talking
to others about marital problems without attempting to solve these by
themselves”, “Working on learning about childcare seeking to correct childcare methods”, “Taking the initiative
in childcare at cross purposes with mothers”, “Stressing the effort they (the fathers) put into childcare”, and
“Failing to notice the own family situation and problems”. The findings of the study suggest the necessity
for PHNs to understand fathers, to be aware of the difficulty of
building a supportive relationship with fathers, and to improve skills enabling
the PHNs to help fathers form good relationships with other family members.