Fathers, Abuse, and Wellbeing in the Context of Family Breakdown: A Multidisciplinary Exploration

Dear Colleagues,

Research investigating fathers' experiences of family breakdown, including abuse, parental alienation, and their consequent impacts on wellbeing and mental health, is an emerging and critical field. This research area aims to achieve a robust and nuanced understanding of family dynamics, social norms, gender roles, and mental health paradigms. It also highlights the importance of understanding post-separation fatherhood. Researchers can offer insights into the methodological and ethical complexities inherent in investigating such sensitive subjects, and innovative approaches inform better understanding, leading to effective interventions and policy development. 

This Special Issue will unite scholars from a range of locations and at various career stages, inviting them to share their insights and methodologies for researching fathers experiencing family breakdown. It will also explore associated phenomena, including abuse, parental alienation, reduced access to children, mental health implications, sociocultural biases, stigmatization, the justice system's role, the impact on children's wellbeing, the changing definition of masculinity, coping mechanisms, the role of support networks, economic repercussions, and the long-term effects on father–child relationships.

Prof. Dr. Ben Hine
Guest Editor

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• fatherhood
• abuse
• parental alienation
• wellbeing
• mental health
• child contact