Orienting Frameworks and Concepts

Abstract

In this chapter, the concepts and the theoretical frameworks regarding the study of fathers, adolescent girls, and their family lives are discussed. First, the framework of time—historical time, generational time, and life course time—is a central theme since the focus of the study includes two family generations: fathers and daughters who live through very different times. In addition, the orientation of individualism and collectivism provide a useful perspective in the Chinese context as a result of globalization and the significant social changes in recent decades. Furthermore, the concepts of identity and gender; care and fathering; and family negotiations represent the main sensitizing concepts that I have employed in approaching the analysis of the data in Chaps. 4, 5, 6, and 7.