For many years the focus of research on child well-being and development has been primarily on the dynamics of the mother-child relationship. The mother was seen as the more influential parent as she spends more time with the children. The father’s role in the development process was thus undermined. Fortunately research on the father’s involvement in a child’s life has improved over the past thirty years. Where previously fathers were mostly perceived as the breadwinners and providers they are now also considered as being caregivers who are more closely involved with their children and the accompanying responsibilities. Research indicates the importance of a father’s role in child development and has found that the intellectual, emotional and social development of a child is influenced by the father. The most beneficial circumstances for children to grow up in is where both of the biological parents are part of the household, satisfied with their marital relationship and loving towards their children. Unfortunately there is a significant increase in South African families where the father is absent and where the mother is burdened with additional responsibilities. However, a father can be emotionally absent despite physical proximity and emotionally absent fathers can be included when describing fatherlessness due to the destructive effect it has on children. Some research indicates that a father is the most significant factor in his daughter’s life and the quality of their relationship influences her personality and general well-being in life. Most literature focusing on the paternal parenting role is more focused on the father-son dyad, the least studied parent-adult child dyad is that of adult daughters and fathers. A great number of research studies on the subjects of divorce, single parents, physically absent fathers and the resulting effects on males are available. Much less literature, especially in the South African context, can be found to focus on and explain the experiences of young adult women who grew up with an emotionally absent father. The aim of the study was thus to explore the subjective experiences of young adult women who grew up with an emotionally absent father. A qualitative research method was used with a phenomenological approach as research design. Eleven voluntary, 20-31 year old adult women, participated in the study and were recruited by word of mouth. Data were collected through in-depth interviews that were audio taped and transcribed verbatim. Transcribed data were analysed by means of thematic analysis from which themes and sub-themes were derived. Two main themes with sub-themes were identified. It was found that the participants experienced their fathers as emotionally absent because it was difficult to share their emotions with them, the participants' fathers did not show affection or express their love. They showed no interest, approval or acknowledgement and the participants found it difficult to trust their fathers. According to the participants their relationships with other men were influenced because of this. They further struggled with trusting other people and suffered from a low self-esteem. Due to repressed emotions they did not portray their true self and sought their fathers’ approval by doing things he liked. / MA (Clinical Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

For many years the focus of research on child well-being and development has been primarily on the dynamics of the mother-child relationship. The mother was seen as the more influential parent as she spends more time with the children. The father’s role in the development process was thus undermined. Fortunately research on the father’s involvement in a child’s life has improved over the past thirty years. Where previously fathers were mostly perceived as the breadwinners and providers they are now also considered as being caregivers who are more closely involved with their children and the accompanying responsibilities. Research indicates the importance of a father’s role in child development and has found that the intellectual, emotional and social development of a child is influenced by the father. The most beneficial circumstances for children to grow up in is where both of the biological parents are part of the household, satisfied with their marital relationship and loving towards their children. Unfortunately there is a significant increase in South African families where the father is absent and where the mother is burdened with additional responsibilities. However, a father can be emotionally absent despite physical proximity and emotionally absent fathers can be included when describing fatherlessness due to the destructive effect it has on children. Some research indicates that a father is the most significant factor in his daughter’s life and the quality of their relationship influences her personality and general well-being in life. Most literature focusing on the paternal parenting role is more focused on the father-son dyad, the least studied parent-adult child dyad is that of adult daughters and fathers. A great number of research studies on the subjects of divorce, single parents, physically absent fathers and the resulting effects on males are available. Much less literature, especially in the South African context, can be found to focus on and explain the experiences of young adult women who grew up with an emotionally absent father. The aim of the study was thus to explore the subjective experiences of young adult women who grew up with an emotionally absent father. A qualitative research method was used with a phenomenological approach as research design. Eleven voluntary, 20-31 year old adult women, participated in the study and were recruited by word of mouth. Data were collected through in-depth interviews that were audio taped and transcribed verbatim. Transcribed data were analysed by means of thematic analysis from which themes and sub-themes were derived. Two main themes with sub-themes were identified. It was found that the participants experienced their fathers as emotionally absent because it was difficult to share their emotions with them, the participants' fathers did not show affection or express their love. They showed no interest, approval or acknowledgement and the participants found it difficult to trust their fathers. According to the participants their relationships with other men were influenced because of this. They further struggled with trusting other people and suffered from a low self-esteem. Due to repressed emotions they did not portray their true self and sought their fathers’ approval by doing things he liked. / MA (Clinical Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Existing research suggests that illness can have profound implications for the family. The purpose of this thesis is to explore mothers and daughters experiences of the mothers breast cancer in order to determine how their lives were affected by the illness. In particular, I focus on shifts that occurred in their family roles, responsibilities, and relationships. Twelve qualitative interviews were performed with four mother-daughter dyads. Each mother and daughter participated in an initial interview together, as well as a separate follow-up interview. Interview data was analyzed thematically using a blended feminist-interpretive approach. The major themes emerging from the analysis pertained to: shifts in family roles and responsibilities, coping with breast cancer, and growth in family relationships. These themes identify specific aspects of mothers and daughters lives that were affected by breast cancer. Specifically, the findings contribute to the overarching theme that mothers and daughters experienced biographical disruption as a result of the mothers breast cancer, in that the illness required the women to re-assess their everyday lives and expectations for the future. However, the range of experiences described by the mothers and daughters suggest that the degree to which biographical disruption occurred varied depending on the extent to which their lives were altered by breast cancer. Therefore, I conclude that mothers and daughters experienced varying degrees of biographical disruption as a result of the mothers breast cancer. This conclusion indicates that the breast cancer diagnosis has an array of significant implications for mothers and daughters, some of which continue well beyond the completion of acute care. Recognizing that mothers and daughters family roles, responsibilities, and relationships were affected to some extent by the breast cancer experience will help to improve the types of support offered to women in the future.

Existing research suggests that illness can have profound implications for the family. The purpose of this thesis is to explore mothers and daughters experiences of the mothers breast cancer in order to determine how their lives were affected by the illness. In particular, I focus on shifts that occurred in their family roles, responsibilities, and relationships. Twelve qualitative interviews were performed with four mother-daughter dyads. Each mother and daughter participated in an initial interview together, as well as a separate follow-up interview. Interview data was analyzed thematically using a blended feminist-interpretive approach. The major themes emerging from the analysis pertained to: shifts in family roles and responsibilities, coping with breast cancer, and growth in family relationships. These themes identify specific aspects of mothers and daughters lives that were affected by breast cancer. Specifically, the findings contribute to the overarching theme that mothers and daughters experienced biographical disruption as a result of the mothers breast cancer, in that the illness required the women to re-assess their everyday lives and expectations for the future. However, the range of experiences described by the mothers and daughters suggest that the degree to which biographical disruption occurred varied depending on the extent to which their lives were altered by breast cancer. Therefore, I conclude that mothers and daughters experienced varying degrees of biographical disruption as a result of the mothers breast cancer. This conclusion indicates that the breast cancer diagnosis has an array of significant implications for mothers and daughters, some of which continue well beyond the completion of acute care. Recognizing that mothers and daughters family roles, responsibilities, and relationships were affected to some extent by the breast cancer experience will help to improve the types of support offered to women in the future.

Amy Tan¡¦s The Joy Luck Club and Cristina Garcia¡¦s Dreaming in Cuban propose the matrilineal narrative of woman suffering and spiritual growth. Multiple narrators tell personal stories about the past events to cope with their current concerns and coming difficulties. Their storytelling functions as a way of making sense of experiences and fashioning identity. The first chapter explores how the narrative activity enables the del Pino and Joy Luck women to construct a preferred version of personal experiences. They not only tell stories to create idealized self-images but also live their lives to justify the images. Though they portray themselves as capable women in personal stories, they often appear vulnerable and mentally unstable in reality. Such contradiction results from the traumatic events the women leave untold, and they resist telling partly because of their madness and partly because of their repudiation of the events. The second chapter will examine their traumatic experiences to understand how their emotional problems determine the representation of their personal narratives. Due to the early traumatic experiences, the women develop maladaptive schemas to cope with their negative emotions. The schemas, however, undermine their interpersonal relationships and prevent them from fulfilling the basic needs. While wrestling with their emotional problems, they unwittingly transplant schemas into the next generation. The third chapter examines how certain crucial moments in their lives enlighten the women to have awareness of their schemas at the core of their suffering. The death of the family members and serious mother-daughter disagreements provide the opportunity for the women to move beyond the limited way they used to perceive themselves and others. With an open and positive attitude, they relate the traumatic experiences to understand how their early suffering contributes to their present difficulties and outgrow what has troubled them before.

This thesis sets out to explore Sara Suleri¡¦s memoir Meatless Days in terms of trauma, memory and writing. The first chapter traces the historical background and Pakistanis¡¦ trauma framed in nostalgia. The second chapter probes into the teaching of Suleri¡¦s mother: the performance, the unplot and the identity, in which I resort to Julia Kristeva¡¦s critique essays to replace Suleri¡¦s mother¡¦s position in Pakistani society since she exists there with ¡§heterogeneous¡¨ cultural and national identity. The third chapter, focusing on Benjamin¡¦s theory on history and memory, deals with Sara Suleri unique writing style. Suleri¡¦s Meatless Days uses her allegorical writing to open herself to the possibilities of silence, introspection, isolation and loneliness in the memoir. Suleri¡¦s writing shares some of the single-minded self-absorption with her mother and has somehow been channeled in to her memorized and lost beloved. The memoir then develops into a story that seems to involve synchronicity, but actually involves our need for synchronicity when synchronicity is simply the way coincidence indulges itself in wish-fulfillment.

In recent research body dissatisfaction has been identified as an important risk and maintenance factor in the development of eating disorders, and studies in adolescent girls have shown a relationship between body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. Sociocultural theories have highlighted the maternal influence on body dissatisfaction and weight concerns, however, contemporary research reveals contradictory results regarding a mother’s influence on the body dissatisfaction and eating concerns of her adolescent daughter. This study investigated whether a significant relationship existed between body dissatisfaction of mothers and body dissatisfaction of their adolescent daughters in a private Johannesburg high school. A convenience sample of 97 mother-daughter pairs completed a demographic questionnaire and the Body Dissatisfaction scale of the Eating Disorder Inventory-3 (EDI-3). The daughters also completed the three scales of the EDI-3 which measure disturbed eating directly in order to screen for the presence of disturbed eating attitudes and behaviours among the adolescent girls in the sample. No significant relationship was demonstrated between the body dissatisfaction of mothers and their adolescent daughters. Among both the mothers and daughters positive relationships were shown between body dissatisfaction and body mass index (BMI). Based on the results, a mother’s own body dissatisfaction does not influence her daughter’s body dissatisfaction and disturbed eating attitudes and behaviours. Based on the screening for the presence of disturbed eating attitudes and behaviours (measured by the Body Dissatisfaction, Drive for Thinness and Bulimia scales of the EDI-3), there were girls in the sample who demonstrated disordered eating attitudes and behaviours. Higher levels of disordered eating were associated with having a higher BMI. Girls with a higher BMI tended to perceive themselves as overweight and showed more disturbed eating. The findings of the study conform to the findings of other South African studies on high school girls regarding the presence of disturbed eating attitudes and behaviours. / Dissertation (MA (Counselling Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Psychology / unrestricted

In this memoir, I use the elements and conventions of creative nonfiction to examine particular strands of my experience for significance. Initiated as an inquiry into my father's suicide, this book quickly shifted focus, re-centering around my own development as an individual, a woman, and a writer. Both my father's suicide and the subsequent birth of my daughter serve as focal points for this inquiry, which I use to articulate and explore questions related to identity development, male-female relationships and gender roles, female sexuality, mental illness, trauma, loss, grief, and the inheritance of intergenerational traumas. In places, my investigation also broadens to consider the social, economic, and cultural contexts in which my story, and my family's story, have taken place. My goal in writing this book was to reclaim something of value from a series of personal and familial tragedies and triumphs. I believe that the act of using tragedy as raw material for a new creation is in itself an act of hope. By bearing witness—both to the events that have occurred, and to my personal experience of these events—I see myself as contributing to a larger human project. Every contribution to this project, whether technological innovation or philosophical revelation, shares a common goal: that of counterbalancing the brevity of our physical lives with the richness of our shared human experience.

Sea Stories is a collection of creative nonfiction essays centered around the growth of a young woman through her experiences with water and ships. The pieces trace the origins of the narrator's tie to water from a childhood involving boating with her dad to sailing a brigantine across the Pacific Ocean and then a six-year career as an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard. The narrator's relationship with her father, predominantly viewed through their shared intimacy with water, is a base theme for the whole collection. Other themes explored in individual essays include reckoning expectations with reality, explorations of the self in and against a group, gender dynamics in military service, and the influence of fiction on life. Sea Stories shows that what we think we know, what we may have only imagined, and on the water, that self-constructed reality can be a dangerous thing.

Master of Science / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Karen Myers-Bowman / Female adolescent sexual behavior has several potential negative life consequences including: pregnancy, sexually transmitted infection, and HIV/AIDS. Educating parents on how they play a role in the decision-making process regarding the sexual behavior of their adolescent daughters has important implications for Family Life Educators. This thesis explores maternal influence on the risky sexual behavior of female adolescents related to age at first sexual intercourse, contraceptive use, and number of partners. ANOVA was used to explore the relationships between a variety of aspects in the mother-daughter relationship. Findings show there are associations between time spent together, perceptions of closeness, and communication in mother-daughter relationships, and contraceptive use at first and most recent intercourse and total number of partners.