Doctoral Dissertation Research: Masculinity and Fatherhood in Post-trauma and Post-conflict Contexts

Yale University, New Haven CT

Investigators

Abstract

Social science research on factors that affect family well-being in post-conflict settings has tended to neglect the caregiving roles of adolescent and young adult men. Instead, researchers have attended more to male deficits, recognizing men for the damages they impart via their absence or harmful behaviors rather than for any positive contributions they might make within the family. This gap in knowledge is problematic because it impedes the development of effective and culturally appropriate post-conflict and post-trauma interventions to promote family well-being, provide for child health and resilience, and prevent the intergenerational transmission of violence that might feed future conflicts. Therefore, Yale University doctoral student Kristen McLean, under the supervision of Dr. Catherine Panter-Brick, will undertake research to address this issue. The researcher has chosen the Kono District of Sierra Leone as an appropriate site to investigate the post-conflict and post-trauma family roles of younger men. This is an appropriate site because the region was particularly devastated by the country's 1991-2002 civil war and has also been affected by the Ebola epidemic. The researcher's overarching research question is: does extreme adversity shape young men's masculinity, fatherhood experiences, and family well-being? She will gather data using a variety of anthropological methods, including: participant observation, semi-structured interviews, the administration of standard scales to assess mental health and resilience, the collection of life history narratives, and analysis of archival materials. Findings from this research will deepen understanding of what it means to be a man in a context of debilitating poverty and public health crisis, identifying key challenges young men face as well as resources they rely upon as they assume traditional older adult parenting roles. Study findings also will advance social science theory of masculinity, fatherhood, and resilience, adding to theoretical debates on gender, family well-being, and the role of fathers in child development.