Fatherhood in the New Millennium: A European Perspective

Lynda Clarke, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Ceridwen Roberts, University of Oxford

This paper is based on research which aimed to enable researchers and policymakers to appreciate the current knowledge, research issues and policies being considered in the area of fathers and fathering in a number of countries in Europe, the USA and Australia. Results indicate that while fathers clearly matter in some European countries’ policies and discourse (Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Italy Germany and the UK) in other countries (e.g. Netherlands, France and Spain) there is negligible acknowledgement of the need for information about fathers and fathering but for different reasons. And the few studies are limited by methodological constraints. While we are at the cusp of an expansion of interest in fathers in Europe, there is still confusion about the part men should play or do play in contemporary families. The differing perspectives taken in both policy and research on fathers reveal interesting cultural priorities and attitudes to families.