Preventing the Developmental Effects of Dysfunctional Fatherdaughter Relationships

• Main Author: Coleman, Renee L
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01.01.2018
• Subjects: Clinical psychology
• ISBN: 0438088891; 9780438088894

This dissertation approach is a program development designed to prevent the negative effects of dysfunctional fathers-daughter relationships. Dysfunctional father-daughter relationships are operationally defined as fathers who do not regularly participate in visitation, fathers that are absent in the daughter’s life (e.g., physical and emotional absence), and abusive fathers (e.g., physical, verbal, and sexual maltreatment). This program focuses on biological fathers only and the age group of the affected daughters are from six through twelve. The program examines how the effects of a dysfunctional father-daughter relationship places the daughter in an at-risk category for emotional and behavioral problems at present and/or later in life. Development of the program is based on an empirically supported theoretical model called Emotional Security Theory (EST, Cummings & Schatz, 2012). Other theoretical influences on this study are: dialectical, social cognitive, social learning, and attachment theory. The study includes an intervention for the daughter and caregivers, which addresses the social, relational, and psychological impact of the dysfunctional father-daughter relationship. The purpose of the program is to address childhood maltreatment and prevent the maltreatment from affecting subsequent stages of development. The intervention groups will consist of six to eight topics specifically designed to utilize dialectical techniques, social learning and social cognitive theories and draw from core tenets of the attachment theory (Fitton, 2012). The educational and skills building sessions will address the social, emotional, and psychological issues presented by female youth who have experienced dysfunctional relationships with their fathers. The implications of implementation of the program design, ethical considerations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.