Die impak van afwesige vaders op adolessente dogters se psigososiale welstand

Abstract

It was found that many children in South Africa grow up without a biological father's involvement. The absence of a parent within a family system causes a vacuum in the parenthood role and has a negative influence on a family's ability to function efficiently. The impact of absent fathers on the well-being of adolescent girls is investigated in this study. The study was done in two phases. During the first phase semi-structured interviews were conducted with six girls where the father was absent. The participants' personal opinions of the impact their fathers' absence has on their lives were set out in themes. The qualitative data obtained from the interviews was used in that variables were identified that could be tested during the second phase. For the second phase, 30 adolescents completed questionnaires. These findings were reported in statistical form. The two sets of findings were compared with each other. It seems that the adolescent girls have a huge number of unfulfilled needs that can be ascribed to the absence or their fathers. They have a need for spending time with their fathers and to bond closely with him. The participants mentioned that their mothers fulfilled both the role as the mother and as the father and partly compensate for the absence or their fathers. The data collected through this study will assist fathers in forming a better idea of their value within the family structure.