Abstract

This study aimed to qualitatively evaluate the unique lived experience of adoptive fathers, specifically their mental health and support needs. Following participation in a community peer-support group, adoptive fathers were interviewed, and interview data was combined with adoptive fathers’ contributions to a series of community workshops focusing upon the lived experience, mental health, and support needs of adopters. Data was thematically analysed, and four themes were identified, highlighting the multiple marginalisation of adoptive fathers, the reduction in mental health experienced by a change of role, the stigmatisation and silence around male mental health, and the importance of peer-support for adoptive fathers. Results are discussed in the context of social barriers and facilitators to male mental wellbeing and the wider literature on adoption and parenting, and recommendations are made for improvements to policy, practice, and adoptive fathers’ mental health.