ROMANELLI, Geraldo. Paternity in middle class families. []. , 3, 2, pp.79-96. ISSN 1808-4281.

Studies on parent-children relationships have shown the relevance of the mother in terms of child care and socialization, while the presence of the father in the performance of these tasks has been little discussed. In the present study, ethnographic data were used as reference to discuss the social construction of paternity and to investigate some aspects of the relations between fathers and sons in ten middle class families of Ribeirão Preto-SP. The data collected indicate the fathers and mothers as well as sons point out certain alterations in the relationship between sons and fathers. Among such alterations, a greater proximity of the fathers in relation to their offspring is observed, although they still remain as the source of authority at home and encourage the construction of different gender identities for sons and daughters.

: Paternity; sons; middle class families; socialization; maternal care.

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