The present study aimed to know, using the qualitative approach, what are the reasons for the absence of the father in the lives of his children after marital disruption. Fathers who participated in the family mediation service and had an agreement legally approved in a Free Center of Judicial Practice were interviewed. The research was carried out using semi-directed open-ended questions interviews and the results were analyzed using thematic content analysis. The fathers reported themselves as victims of a trick - “the pregnancy trick” - that aimed to oblige them to continue a relationship that would otherwise be dissoluted. Therefore, they presented difficulties concerning the establishment of an emotional bond with their child, since loving him/her would mean to assume the effectiveness of such trick. Moreover, similarities in the family history of the participants, involving paternity, were identified. Since such family histories were not problematized, they were not object of reflection, leading to the repetition of the pattern. Finally, the study highlights the need of care concerning the effects of the marital disruption, as regards the exercise of the parental roles, especially paternity.
Family relations; Marital separation; Father absence; Fatherhood
