Institutional Responses to Fatherlessness in Rapidly Developing Regions: A Qualitative Case Study From Indonesia

ABSTRACT

Fatherlessness is a profound emotional void increasingly intensified in developing regions by macroeconomic shifts, urbanization, and demanding capitalist labor structures. Because macro‐institutional contexts are often treated as static background factors, a gap remains in understanding how localized multi‐stakeholder networks collaborate outside Western welfare frameworks. This qualitative exploratory pilot study used purposive sampling and in‐depth interviews with 10 institutional stakeholders in Sleman, Indonesia. Data were analyzed using a framework‐based coding matrix informed by Ecological Systems Theory, yielding strong inter‐coder reliability (κ = 0.85). Most institutions characterized the crisis as the emergence of the “passive father,” associating emotional detachment with economic exhaustion, digital interference, and patriarchal legacies. The findings revealed structural divergence within the response network: micro‐level actors employed trauma‐informed pastoral care and grassroots mentorship to address academic decline and youth street violence (klitih), while macro‐level coordination remained hindered by bureaucratic fragmentation. Informants also noted maternal resilience, with single mothers adapting to dual‐provider roles. The study contributes to Asian social policy by highlighting the operational paradox between functional meso‐level referral pathways and fragmented macro‐level coordination, emphasizing integrated cross‐sector mechanisms and stronger institutional safety nets for child welfare.