A personal and relational model of father identity construction

Although extensive, the identity theory literature does little to explain how specific identities are constructed. Developmental and sociological work primarily have focused on either images of possible future selves in adolescence, or established identities in adulthood and their impacts on behavior. To date, little work has connected the two realms or proposed what processes occupy the "black box" of identity creation between adolescence and adulthood. To begin to address this gap, we use identity theory to propose a model of father identity construction, focusing on the influence of personal and relational characteristics. Specifically, we propose that the formation of men's status and role identities as fathers are shaped by paternal self-efficacy and existing identity hierarchies, as well as their experiences with their own fathers and fathering role models and the views of their partners-coparents. Implications and additional applications of the model are elaborated.