Demographic information

The under-eighteen conception rate in England and Wales is at its lowest since 1969. The estimated number of conceptions to women aged under eighteen was 24,306 in 2013, compared to 27,834 in 2012, which signifies a considerable decrease from the previous year (Office for National Statistics, 2015). Regional differences can be seen within these statistics. For example, in the north-east of England 30.6 per 1,000 women are aged fifteen to seventeen, in comparison to the south-east where 20.5 per 1,000 women are aged fifteen to seventeen (Office for National Statistics, 2015). Although teenage pregnancy has steadily decreased, pregnancy rates remain the highest in Europe (Public Health England 2014), while the number of pregnancies and births outside of marriage has also gradually decreased; in 1991, 18.2 per cent of UK teenage births occurred inside of marriage compared to 2.2 per cent in 2013 (Family planning Association, 2014).

For some, this may indicate a breakdown in parental relationships and suggest absentee fathers. However, in contrast to popular views which portray young fathers as feckless, promiscuous and uncaring (Barker, Reference Barker2005), research consistently shows that many young fathers are committed to both mother and child, and are keen to have an active fathering role during and beyond the pregnancy (Quinton et al., Reference Quinton, Pollock and Golding2002; Lohan et al., Reference Lohan, Cruise, O’Halloran, Alderdice and Hyde2011). In one study, up to 80 per cent of young couples conceived in an ongoing relationship (Gates and Byrom, Reference Gates and Byrom2008). Furthermore, studies have found that 39 per cent of the young fathers in the sample lived with the teenage mother during the pregnancy (Kiernan, Reference Kiernan2005), and at the time of the birth, two-thirds to three-quarters of young fathers are in a relationship with the mother (Kiselica, Reference Kiselica2008). In the UK, 78 per cent of babies who are born to teenage mothers are registered in both their parents’ names (Fatherhood Institute, 2011), arguably demonstrating a high level of commitment to the child, regardless of the parent's relationship/marital status. Many young parents do eventually go on to marry, and the likelihood of adolescent parents marrying increases if they cohabit (Fagan et al., Reference Fagan, Schmitz and Lloyd2007).

Age profile

Young fathers are commonly defined as those under the age of twenty-five (Fatherhood Institute, 2013). Due to common perceptions that individuals should postpone family life until their early thirties, young parents are typically positioned as an anomaly, whose early entry into parenthood is seen to violate social norms around individualised plans for education and employment (Duncan, Reference Duncan2007). In the UK, the average age for becoming a first time father outside of marriage is twenty-seven years (Office for National Statistics, 2015), and so in this context young parents are portrayed as deviating from normative life course practices. For babies who are born to teenage mothers, and where births are jointly registered, about a quarter of young fathers have been identified as aged twenty and under; in almost half the cases, fathers are aged twenty to twenty-four, and in one in six cases, fathers are aged twenty-five to twenty-nine (Hall and Hall, Reference Hall and Hall2007). The children of teenage mothers often have fathers who are in their twenties (Dudley, Reference Dudley2007). Younger fathers are less likely to be involved or to stay involved compared to young adult fathers at the older end of the age spectrum (Kiselica, Reference Kiselica2008). One study found 20 per cent of seventeen-year-olds are still involved nine months after the birth of their child, compared to 65 per cent of eighteen- to nineteen-year-olds, 56 per cent of twenty- to twenty-one-year-olds and 76 per cent of twenty-two to twenty-three-year-olds (Quinton et al., Reference Quinton, Pollock and Golding2002).

Young fathers, like young mothers, are more likely to come from low-income families or suffer from social exclusion and poverty. Experiences include: living in areas with high unemployment rates, homelessness, living in care, history of drug and alcohol misuse in the family and poor educational outcomes (Swann et al., Reference Swann, Bowe, McCormick and Kosmin2003). Incidences of teenage pregnancy may be more prevalent amongst certain ethnic minority groups, with Caribbean, Pakistani and Bangladeshi women more likely to become teenage mothers than white women (Berthoud, Reference Berthoud2001). Research also suggests that early fatherhood is relatively common among men of African Caribbean heritage within both a British and an American context (Wei et al., Reference Wei, Loever and Stouthamer-Loeber2002). Cultural attitudes and beliefs have been cited as possible precursors for early parenthood within minority community groups, demonstrating that beliefs around young fathering are constructed and understood differently across and within societies, and young parenthood is not necessarily considered problematic or undesirable (Arai, Reference Arai2009). As Bonell (Reference Bonell2004) argues, the view of young parenting as a major social problem is relative in terms of time, context and location. To date, little is known about the sexual practices and attitudes of British ethnic minority teenagers, or the ways in which potential risks or protective factors operate amongst them, indicating the need for further research on young minority ethnic parents (Teenage Pregnancy Unit, 2005).

From the available demographic information, young fathers cannot be seen as a homogenous group. The constitution of fatherhood, fathering practice and identities can be highly variable and are affected by individual and overlapping factors such as socio-economic background; ethnicity; opportunities for education, training and employment; residency type; relationship status with the baby's mother; support from maternal and paternal grandparents; and future trajectories (Neale and Lau Clayton, Reference Neale and Lau Clayton2011).

Relationships: young fathers and their children

When embarking on the journey of parenthood, young parents are said to be ‘positively ambivalent’, that is, they do not actively plan pregnancy but are open to the idea of having a child and welcome this when it happens (Alexander et al., Reference Alexander, Duncan, Edwards, Duncan, Edwards and Alexander2010). The bond between a father and child may begin to develop during the pregnancy (Mansi, Reference Mansi2013), and upon the child's arrival young fathers often feel a strong emotional commitment to their children (Neale and Lau Clayton, Reference Neale and Lau Clayton2011). Some young fathers report the benefits of their youthful age with regard to the physical aspects of childcare and play (Mansi, Reference Mansi2013), and many described parenthood as an accomplishment, a source of pride and responsibility, and a potential source of giving and receiving love (Ayoola et al., Reference Ayoola, Gates and Taylor2010). In one study, over 75 per cent of young fathers saw their children every day, despite many being the non-resident parent (Kiselica, Reference Kiselica2008), indicating that young fathers want to be ‘hands on’ with their offspring, and be involved with activities such as food preparation, feeding, nappy changes, play time and visits to the doctor when illnesses occur (Ross et al., Reference Ross, Church, Hill, Seaman and Roberts2010).

Emotional availability is regularly cited as an important feature of modern fatherhood, often described as ‘being there’. ‘Being there’ can be described as a father who cares for his children and is emotionally close to them, an aspect of their parenting that sits alongside their traditional provider role (Neale and Lau Clayton, Reference Neale and Lau Clayton2011). A young father's self-esteem may be affected by his inability to provide for his family. However, the potentially damaging effects of being out of work can be mitigated by a young father's significant practical involvement in the child's life (Paranjothy et al., Reference Paranjothy, Broughton and Adappa2009). The narrative of ‘doing my best’ has been highlighted as an alternative indicator of good fatherhood from young men's accounts (Shirani, Reference Shirani2015). Where there are high levels of father involvement, young men report higher levels of competence, satisfaction and investment in the paternal role (Rouch, Reference Rouch2005).

In terms of child contact times, some young fathers report this to be inadequate and express dissatisfaction with the extent of their paternal involvement (Centre for Research on Families and Relationships, 2009). Young fathers who do not engage with their children are reported to be distressed by their lack of involvement (Osborn, Reference Osborn2008). Where fathers express disinterest in their offspring, this is mainly associated with financial insecurity or uncertainty over the skills required for childcare, particularly for babies and younger children (Rhein et al., Reference Rhein, Ginsburg, Schwarz, Pinto-Martin, Zhao, Morgan and Slap1997). Stereotypes of ‘feckless’ fathers are arguably unhelpful and unrepresentative of young fathers’ behaviours and intentions when considering their engagement with their children.

Some political commentators (for example, Ian Duncan-Smith, Reference Duncan-Smith2011) have correlated young parenthood with the intergenerational transmission of poor parenting and welfare dependency. However research has shown that many young men want to be ‘better’ fathers than their own fathers were, and fulfil their paternal role in a contrasting manner to the one they had experienced (Tan and Quinlivan, Reference Tan and Quinlivan2006). Young fathers often cite the lack of a father figure in their own upbringing as the motivation for a desire to ‘be there’ and help ensure a more productive future for their child (Neale and Lau Clayton, Reference Neale and Lau Clayton2011; Neale and Davies, Reference Neale and Davies2015). The birth can encourage young fathers to face up to their responsibilities and to alter their reckless behaviour (for example, acts of alcohol and substance misuse; Reeves et al., Reference Reeves, Gale, Webb, Delaney and Cocklin2009). Seen in such a light, parenthood may be seen as more of an opportunity for young men rather than a catastrophe as portrayed within official documents (Duncan, Reference Duncan2007).

Relationship with the mother

The quality of the young father's relationship with the baby's mother and with grandparents also plays a vital role in terms of fatherhood engagement. In fact, it has a direct bearing on his paternal identity (Gavin et al., Reference Gavin, Black, Minor, Abel, Papas and Bentley2002). Where close father–mother relationships exist, fathers’ participation in childcare tends to increase and fathers spend more time with their children (Jaffe et al., Reference Jaffee, Caspi, Moffitt, Taylor and Dickson2001). Shifts in the gendered nature of parenting, in relation to social changes and attitudes, have been said to create a diverse range of parenting roles for mothers and fathers, which are no longer bound by traditional gender norms and responsibilities. Although some authors argue that, for the most part, parenting remains as a largely gendered activity (Dermott, Reference Dermott2008), such changes have created more opportunities for fathers to be involved and demonstrate alternative fatherhood practices to the breadwinner model.

Those who are separated from the mother of the child, or have not been in an established relationship beforehand, tend to have lower levels of paternal involvement compared to young fathers who are partnered (Beale, Reference Beale2009). When young parents are in conflict with one another, the father may find it difficult to negotiate and stay in dialogue with the mother. This often leads to the young man backing away from the mother and child and becoming inconsistently involved (Nylund, Reference Nylund, Holgate, Evans and Yuen2006). Problems with the mother of the child are commonly cited as a barrier to the engagement of young fathers with their children. Young mothers may block access due to feelings of distrust or wariness of the baby's father, negative perceptions of the young man's parenting abilities and/or the formation of new romantic relationships by either parent (Reeves et al., Reference Reeves, Gale, Webb, Delaney and Cocklin2009). Studies suggest that mothers’ and fathers’ successive partnerships and the arrival of additional children are associated with a decline in active fathering of any previous children (Smeeding et al., Reference Smeeding, Garfinkel and Mincy2011). Currently there is a dearth of research that follows young fathers into the post-separation period, and much is unknown about family life after such a transition.

Although young fathers may have poor relationships with the mother of the child, and may not be co-resident with their children, they may still wish to be involved as parents (Neale and Lau Clayton, Reference Neale, Clayton, Holland and Edwards2014). Young fathers can apply for a court order if they wish to improve child contact arrangements. In the past, young fathers could obtain legal aid for this process if they were on low incomes or had limited savings. However, since 2013 individuals can no longer apply for such support in child contact cases, unless there are issues of domestic violence and abuse (Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act, Great Britain, 2012). Consequently, a larger number of young fathers have to navigate the complex court system independently (Lammy, Reference Lammy2013).

The older generation

Research has indicated that maternal and paternal grandparents can play a central role in families, especially when parents are young themselves. The provision of kin care by grandparents may be particularly important for young parents, as those living in disadvantaged circumstances may have few resources to bring to parenthood and need on-going care themselves (Swann et al., Reference Swann, Bowe, McCormick and Kosmin2003). Grandparents are often the main providers of practical, emotional and financial support for their children and new grandchildren (Neale and Lau Clayton, Reference Neale, Clayton, Holland and Edwards2014). Positive relationships with grandparents and their acceptance of the grandchild are linked to increased fatherhood participation and care (Sheilds and Pierce, Reference Sheilds, Pierce, Holgate, Evans and Yuen2006). Conversely, the role of the maternal grandmother as gate-keeper is well documented within the literature, and grandparents may control, restrict or even block contact between a young father and his child (Neale and Lau Clayton, Reference Neale and Lau Clayton2011).

For young parents who are dependent on, and who also live with, their respective parents, decisions about the care of the child have a propensity to run vertically down the generations, rather than horizontally between the young parents themselves (Neale and Lau Clayton, Reference Neale, Clayton, Holland and Edwards2014). This pattern can be counterproductive to the efforts of young men to engage with their children and hinder their confidence levels. Young fathers’ accounts demonstrate that grandparental involvement can be seen as both a gift and a curse (Smith-Battle, Reference Smith-Battle1996). Consequently, maintaining the balance between support, interference and neglect can be a difficult and complex matter (Neale and Lau Clayton, Reference Neale, Clayton, Holland and Edwards2014).

Practical issues

Trying to establish an active and consistent fathering role can present a range of practical challenges to young fathers. These relate to the basic provisioning of a family: finding a home, a job and securing financial resources (Reeves et al., Reference Reeves, Gale, Webb, Delaney and Cocklin2009; Cundy, Reference Cundy2012). These make a significant difference to young parents’ lives and affect their relationships with their children and children's outcomes (Scott et al., Reference Scott, Steward-Streng, Manlove and Moore2012). Young men commonly report difficulties in securing a place of residence, which prevents them from having access to, and involvement with, their children (Berrington et al., Reference Berrington, Cobos Hernandez, Ingham and Stevenson2005). Living in shared accommodation or in single hostels or bedsits may not be compatible with the needs of children. In these circumstances, mothers are likely to restrict contact for the father (Berrington et al., Reference Berrington, Cobos Hernandez, Ingham and Stevenson2005). Securing social housing is also a challenge; since young fathers are not defined as the primary carer, their housing needs are seen as a lower priority. Where they are allocated social housing, young fathers may be placed in areas of isolation away from their family and friends through council accommodation procedures and housing shortages (Berrington et al., Reference Berrington, Cobos Hernandez, Ingham and Stevenson2005; Alexander et al., Reference Alexander, Duncan, Edwards, Duncan, Edwards and Alexander2010). Many young fathers lack financial resources and means of transport to be able to travel to see their child regularly and maintain informal support networks, potentially ‘isolating’ the young person in their new abode (Speak et al., Reference Speak, Cameron and Gilroy1997b). Research has found that young parents also move more frequently in comparison to older more settled parents, due to housing problems, fragile relationships with significant others and instances of ill health (St Michael's Fellowship, n.d.).

Employment and finances

Young fathers frequently face a greater number of economic and employment challenges in comparison to older fathers; strong links have been reported between young parenthood and a lack of participation in education, training or employment, increasing the risks of persistent poverty and economic insecurity (Swann et al., Reference Swann, Bowe, McCormick and Kosmin2003; Lemay et al., Reference Lemay, Cashman, Elfenbein and Felice2010). Longitudinal studies show that men who become fathers at a young age (under twenty-three) are twice as likely to be unemployed at age thirty than men who became fathers aged over twenty-three, even after taking account of deprivation (Centre for Social Justice, 2013). For young fathers who are employed, those under the age of twenty-three tend, on average, to have the least earning potential in comparison to older fathers in the twenty-four to thirty age bracket (Berrington et al., Reference Berrington, Cobos Hernandez, Ingham and Stevenson2005).

Employment opportunities for young fathers may be improved by re-entering the education system. However barriers include a lack of childcare, inadequate and inflexible childcare provision and young parent's concerns about stigmatisation from peers and staff (Gates and Byrom, Reference Gates and Byrom2008). If long-term educational and employment goals are difficult for young men to attain, they may view paternity as a source of prestige instead (this may be particularly the case for those from disadvantaged families; Marsiglio et al., Reference Marsiglio, Amato, Day and Lamb2000). On the other hand, some sources suggest that financial hardship can lead to disassociation and reduced participation in their child's life, even though the majority of young fathers wish for the opposite (Glikman, Reference Glikman2004). For most young parents, economic insecurity is reinforced through their dependence on welfare support. Longitudinal evidence from the 1970 British Birth Cohort Study (Berrington et al., Reference Berrington, Cobos Hernandez, Ingham and Stevenson2005) suggests that post school age young fathers (under twenty) and young adult fathers (under twenty-three) are significantly more likely to receive welfare benefits than older fathers (25 percent, 30 percent and 15 percent, respectively).

Young fathers’ support needs

As the above review shows, despite their aspirations to ‘do good’ and ‘be there’ for their children, young fathers may face considerable challenges and barriers to parenthood. For those living in disadvantaged circumstances, these challenges are all the greater, indicating the need for professional support and encouragement. When the right services are in place and good support is provided at the right time, poor outcomes for young parents and their children can be addressed (Hadley, Reference Hadley2014). Where the involvement of young fathers is supported at the antenatal stage and during the birth, they are more likely to maintain this involvement over time (Maxwell et al., Reference Maxwell, Scourfield, Featherstone, Holland and Tolman2012). However young fathers often report very negative experiences of midwifery and health visiting services, as they are seen as unsympathetic, judgmental and ill-informed about the lives of young fathers (Paranjothy et al., Reference Paranjothy, Broughton and Adappa2009). Many young men have specifically reported feelings of exclusion and marginalisation during their encounters with service providers (Roskill et al., Reference Roskill, Featherstone, Ashley and Haresnape2008). Evidence suggests that some family services do not view engagement with, or pro-active support for, young fathers as a priority (Page et al., Reference Page, Whitting and Mclean2008). Fathers may be constructed as absent, no use, troubled or troublesome, in a variety of professional settings. This is not simply confined to child protection and surveillance services, that have a safeguarding remit, and that tend, inevitably, to view young fathers as both at risk and as a risk: a threat and danger to themselves, to women and children (Featherstone et al., Reference Featherstone, Rivett and Scourfield2007; Maxwell et al., Reference Maxwell, Scourfield, Featherstone, Holland and Tolman2012; Featherstone, Reference Featherstone, Hooper, McCarthy and Gillies2013). It is a perception that has become ingrained within official orthodoxies and popular thinking on young parenthood (Duncan, Reference Duncan2007).

Young parents are often acutely aware of the dominant stereotypes surrounding early parenthood in society and this in itself can act as a barrier to their engagement with professional services. Many young fathers have expressed a desire to receive guidance from practitioners (especially for the first child) in the time leading up to the birth and afterwards (Ayoola et al., Reference Ayoola, Gates and Taylor2010), and, arguably, this key moment as they undergo a major life transition is when they are most open to learning new skills as legitimate clients of services (Neale and Lau Clayton, Reference Neale and Lau Clayton2011). The evidence suggests a desire for knowledge and preparation regarding basic childcare activities (such as bathing, handling infants and feeding procedures; McDonnell et al., Reference McDonnell, Seabrook, Braye, Bridgeman and Keating2009) as well as negotiating relationships with the mother of the child post-birth (Ashley, Reference Ashley2011).

If a young father refrains from seeking out professional support due to negative responses from practitioners or discriminatory attitudes, they risk being labelled as irresponsible or absent (Featherstone et al., Reference Featherstone, Rivett and Scourfield2007). This may explain why some studies have labelled young fathers as ‘hard to reach’. However the evidence also suggests that services may be ‘hard to use’, rather than client users being ‘hard to reach’. As Murphy (2006, citied in Gupta et al., Reference Gupta, Svendsen and Maiti2008) suggests, the term ‘hard to reach’ indicates that the problem lies within the group itself, as opposed to services’ approach to clientele. ‘Hard to reach’ also implies a homogeneous group in a way that belies the heterogeneous circumstances and characteristics of young fathers (Ayoola et al., Reference Ayoola, Gates and Taylor2010). By recognising the diverse nature of young fatherhood, policy makers and practitioners are able to frame service support from a different and more sympathetic perspective, one which is validated by the accounts of young men themselves. Engaging successfully with young fathers also requires a positive rethinking of such men. As Neale and Davies (Reference Neale and Davies2015: 3) suggest:

When appropriate formal support is provided, this is linked to better psychological, emotional and economic wellbeing of young parents, better quality of parenting and may prevent serious case reviews from occurring (Hadley, Reference Hadley2014). Examples of good practice can be seen in a number of local authorities in terms of successfully engaging and working with young fathers (Davies and Neale, Reference Davies and Neale2015). Well-funded and structured provision has been found to make a significant difference to the lives of young fathers and their children (Cundy, Reference Cundy2012). However, such support is confined to selected localities and they tend to be piecemeal and small scale, with limited funding set apart from mainstream services (Trivedi et al., Reference Trivedi, Brooks, Bunn and Graham2009). Consequently provision for young fathers is fragmented and patchy with an over reliance upon ‘local champions’ (Neale and Davies, Reference Neale and Davies2015). Fathers still do not generally feature as a specific policy area or a concern in their own right despite political rhetoric (Cundy, Reference Cundy2012). Young fathers need to be identified more effectively (Osborn, Reference Osborn2015), but tackling professional attitudes towards young fathers only forms one part of the solution. Services need to be better co-ordinated and resourced if service providers are to successfully reach out (Osborn, Reference Osborn2015).

Concluding comments

Overall, this article indicates that young men's abilities to engage and sustain a fathering role are dependent on a number of complex and often interlinking factors such as education, training and employment opportunities, relationship status with the baby's mother, support levels from maternal and paternal grandparents, residence arrangements and access to formal service provision – many of which can become barriers for them to overcome.

With regards to formal service provision, timely access to appropriate support can help a young man's positive transition into parenthood, promote fatherhood engagement and is shown to be beneficial, regardless of the father's relationship status with the baby's mother. However, commentators argue that provision for young fathers is still lacking. While young mothers encounter universal provision, such as midwifery and health visiting, such systematic contact with young fathers continues to be limited. Much more needs to be done to support and promote a father inclusive culture within policy and professional practice. Listening to the voices of young fathers and understanding their lived experiences can help overturn negative perceptions of them as parents and thereby contribute to better service provision. As Lammy (Reference Lammy2015: 11) observes, ‘Whilst Government policy alone cannot make better fathers, the UK needs to up its game when it comes to supporting them . . . A society of involved fathers is a better society for everyone.’