How Can She Overcome?

When asked how they felt daughters might be able to overcome the hurt inflicted by paternal absenteeism, 31 of the daughters in the survey said that they believed that the intervention of God would be necessary to the process. This included salvation, allowing God to heal the pain and asking God to help them to go work through the effects that paternal absenteeism may have had on them. There were 14 persons who believed that it would be necessary for daughters whose fathers have been absent to go through counseling and 7 daughters who believed that she must forgive herself and/or her father.

Seven persons also said that they felt that one of the things that may help is to have positive father figures in her life so that she might be able to rise above the challenges. Reconciliation between the father and daughter was listed as one of the ways to overcoming by 4 daughters in the survey. Two of the participants also felt that by educating the community of the effects of this problem on daughters, she might be able to triumph. There were 2 daughters who said that a daughter whose father is absent needs love and support and 1 daughter said that those daughters can form positive relationships with other men.

It is noteworthy that the answers with the highest frequency pointed to God and to counseling as solutions to overcoming. Among this group of daughters, most of them believed that a relationship with God might help daughters to overcome the negative effects of paternal absenteeism. The results which came in second pointed to forgiveness and surrogate fatherhood. It is evident from the results of this survey that the daughters believe that daughters do not have to succumb to the pain of father absence, but that they can rise above the difficulties that it brings.