As Son Becomes Father: Reflections of Expectant Fathers on Their Fathers in Dreams

There has been growing recognition among clinicians and researchers that the period preceding the birth of a man's first child is an important developmental transition during which preparations for fatherhood and the establishment of a paternal identity begin to take place (Feldman, Nash, & Aschenbrenner, 1983; May, 1982; Ross, 1983; Soule, Standley, & Copans, 1979). Some consensus exists in the literature that “expectant fatherhood” can be considered a phase in the adult developmental process of parenthood or, more specifically, fatherhood (Benedek, 1959, 1970a, 1970b; Osofsky, 1982). While no specific criteria have been developed to establish that expectant fatherhood constitutes a universal developmental phase or subphase (Gurwitt, 1976), it has been commonly accepted that parenthood represents a developmental process (Benedek, 1959, 1970a, 1970b; Parens, 1975).

A host of writers have examined the psychological and psycho-pathological reactions to expectant fatherhood, using a variety of techniques and perspectives (Curtis, 1955; Einzig, 1980; Feldman, Nash, & Aschenbrenner, 1983; Gerzi & Berman, 1981; Gurwitt, 1976; Hartman & Nicolay, 1966; Herzog, 1982; Jarvis, 1962; Liebenberg, 1969; Osofsky, 1982; Towne & Afterman, 1955; Wainwright, 1966; Zilboorg, 1931). As in other developmental periods, in expectant fatherhood conflicts from earlier life periods are awakened. The most common psychodynamics written about in the literature on expectant fathers (viz., activated oedipal conflicts, disrupted dependency needs, and rearoused sibling rivalry) and other less common manifestations have been reviewed (Zayas, 1987). Psychoanalytic