How can you Really Step Up?: The Dad-Double-Bind Grounded Theory of Fathering in the United States During COVID-19

In recent years, dads have been spending more time with their kids, and the gap between how much time moms and dads devote to parenting has started to close. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, families had to quickly adapt to new routines, often working and parenting from home at the same time. So how did these changes affect dads?

To find out, a team of researchers at the University of Maryland and The Pennsylvania State University interviewed 44 fathers from across the U.S. between May and July 2020. All of them had at least one child under the age of five. Most of the dads were White, married, working full- time, and had a college degree and a household income over $50,000. Led by Dr. Sonia Molloy. The results were published in our flagship journal, the Psychology of Men and Masculinities.

Morgan, A. A., Molloy, S., Ezra, P., & Smith, T. J. (2025). “How can you really step up?”: The dad-double-bind grounded theory of fathering in the United States during COVID-19. Psychology of Men & Masculinities, 26(1),
89–104. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000479

Photo by Juan Pablo Serrano: https://www.pexels.com/photo/father-and-child-s-hands-together-1250452/

What were the key questions you were addressing in this article?

Two questions for this study guided us: 1) In what ways did COVID-19 facilitate changes in the family? And 2) In what ways did COVID-19 shape fathering dynamics?  As our data analysis process began to reveal patterns of family systems theory, we became even more interested in how the pandemic had impacted the family system and the father’s subsystems within the family.

What were the main conclusions of your article?

This study is the first of our knowledge to discover this concept of the dad-double-bind. Grounded theory analysis of the data revealed the concept of a double-bind experienced by fathers. Aligned with family systems theory, as fathers experienced the contextual changes of COVID-19, so did they experience disruptions within their family systems that disrupted the coparent subsystem, family cohesion, family roles, and family rules. With changes to the homeostasis of the family system, fathers felt constrained in a double-bind with desire and pressure to alter fathering, which was informed by contemporary fathering ideals yet felt constrained by family and societal roles and rules. Fathers experienced this contradiction as the need to “step up” and “step aside.” The grounded theory analysis showed that fathers were unaware of this experience and pointed to the need to highlight this hidden experience.

What are the key implications of your article for research, policy, or practice?

This study examined fathers in a unique time, which can inform how policies can impact families significantly. Most of the fathers we spoke to had been working from home, working reduced hours outside of the home, or laid off due to the pandemic, and this time at home revealed how fathers did step into more contemporary fathering roles of caregiving, feeding, and playing with their children. However, our data also showed that fathers were constrained by many factors, including limited knowledge, lack of support, children’s preference for mom, and conflict in needing to be the provider and protector during a time of crisis. Therefore, more time at home with young children is a large part of facilitating fathers to step up. Family leave policies are one way to contribute to more time at home when children are young and when family roles are being established. Support and parent education that is targeted to fathers is also needed as many fathers wanted to step up but did not know how. As our study revealed many family systems theory concepts, the results can inform family psychologists, therapists, community service providers, and practitioners in understanding the nuances that fathers may be experiencing yet unaware of. Mental health providers should focus on coparent communication and father support. Finally, our study has implications for anyone who works with families to be inclusive of fathers as a vital parent in the family system.

Where do you see this line of research heading in the future (i.e., what’s next)?

We are interested in a deeper analysis of the many factors contributing to fathers' experiences of the dad-double-bind. Qualitative research with fathers, in addition to coparents, can reveal the nuances of the coparenting dynamics and family rules and roles that can inform how fathers are or are not experiencing this dad-double-bind. We are also interested in learning more about the father’s context that informs the societal messages that fathers are receiving both to step up and to step aside. These messages can be coming from professionals who work with families, such as physicians and teachers, as well as from media and books.

How did you become interested in this line of inquiry?

When the shutdowns from the pandemic began, we were interested in how the contextual changes would impact families. Specifically, with child care, schooling, and work shutdowns, we wanted to examine how fathers who had children four years old and under were navigating caring for children who required constant supervision and care. Previous research has shown that father’s involvement and identity are related to their relationships and contextual environments. Thus, we were interested in understanding fathers’ perceptions of their engagement with their children, their relations with their coparent, and how they viewed being a father and a man in society at this time.

Amy A. Morgan

Assistant Professor of Couple and Family Therapy
Department of Family Science
School of Public Health
aamorgan@umd.edu
301-405-4011