"Harder Being Without the Baby": Fathers' Coparenting Perspectives in Responsible Fatherhood Programming.

Objective: To analyze how marginalized men's coparenting experiences shaped their. Background: Qualitative studies of RF programs reveal how participation influences men's views of themselves as fathers, but less is known about how they think of themselves as partners and coparents. Though previous research has found that RF programs shape men's fathering identities to support greater paternal involvement, men cite strained coparenting relationships as a barrier to the level of involvement they desire. Method: In-depth interviews and focus groups were conducted with a nonrandom sample of 64 low-income fathers of color who participated in a federally funded RF program. Inductive coding techniques were employed to identify how men utilized the program to manage complex and conflicted coparenting arrangements to gain greater access to their children. Results: The program helped fathers manage common coparenting challenges, including interpersonal conflict, mothers' gatekeeping, and financial obstacles. They found support for forming closer relationships with children outside "package deal" understandings of fathering and for proving their paternal commitments amid severe economic constraints. Conclusion: Fathers enrolled in an RF program largely due to conflicted coparenting relationships exacerbated by poverty, unemployment, and homelessness. Program services helped them navigate the challenges of raising children with partners, exes, or coparents with whom there was never a romantic connection. Implications: These findings reinforce the importance of addressing coparenting, but not marriage, in RF programming. Messages and services should align with how fathers prioritize bonds with children and seek to prove their paternal commitments to coparents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]