Perspectives about paternity by young male university students from the northern region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul

Abstract

Young men's view about paternity and the involvement with their future children is a bonding issue that is still incipient in our reality. The objective of this descriptive, qualitative and exploratory study was to study the perspectives that young male university students from the northern region of Rio Grande do Sul have about paternity, study their view about how they were raised and educated for paternity, and identify how the institutions (family, peers, school) influence their development and way of thinking. The study was performed at Universidade Regional Integrada do Alto Uruguai e das Missões, in Rio Grande do Sul, with eight young male university students. Subjects' ages ranged between 20 and 24 years. Data collection took place by focal group and interviews. Thematic analysis of the data appointed the importance of the family, the father's role, financial stability, the importance of the female partner, the role of matrimony, and the way of being a father while building their lives and paternity.