Graduation Year

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Ph.D.

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Degree Granting Department

Communication

Major Professor

Steven R. Wilson, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Marleah Dean Kruzel, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Ambar Basu, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Patrice M. Buzzanell, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Jaime Corvin, Ph.D.

Keywords

applied communication, family communication, normative rhetorical thoery, program evaluation, relational dialectics theory

Abstract

Wanting to maintain or create a connection with their child, fathers in residential treatment face challenges as they navigate physical separation, restricted interaction, and substance use stigma. However, parenting services that help fathers navigate these parenting challenges in residential programs are few and rarely studied. Working alongside a local parenting non-profit, Champions for Children, this dissertation evaluated a visitation playgroup for fathers in residential treatment and their children while also seeking theoretical insight into how fathers make meaning of fatherhood during residential treatment. A study design informed by engaged communication scholarship and the phronetic, iterative approach is used to collect and analyze data. Using relational dialectics theory to interpret meanings of fatherhood in the data, findings discuss two discourses of fatherhood: (1) Fatherhood as Precarious and Peripheral and (2) Fatherhood as Enduring and Engaged. Using normative rhetorical theory as a theoretical lens, three fatherhood dilemmas were identified: (1) How can I nurture my child while still being masculine? (2) How can I encourage nurturing parenting without disengaging fathers, and (3) How can I work on improving in treatment when my absence could be harming my family? Theoretical implications for normative rhetorical theory and relational dialectics theory as well as practical implications for father-involved entities are discussed.

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