Can It Affect Her Relationship With Other Men?

Most of the research done on paternal absenteeism has been geared towards understanding its effects on sons. However, one of most lethal effects of this dilemma on daughters was said to be that it can affect their relationships with other men (Erickson, 1998, p. 122). When asked to give their opinion of whether they felt that the relationships between daughters and other men can be affected by paternal absence, 78 of the daughters said that they believed so. There were 11 participants who said “no” while 12 said that these relationships may be affected. Two of the participants said that they did not know. The relationship between a father and his daughter, as Erickson posited, is critical to the formation of her perceptions of men and her ability to relate to them. This study revealed that most of daughters questioned agreed with this important finding.