The increasing awareness about the important role that fathers play in their daughters’ lives, have lead to the undertaking of this study. The goal of this study was to determine whether there is a specific parenting style of fathers that will contribute to the achieving of a higher level of emotional intelligence in grade 2 daughters. Quantitative research with an exploratory and descriptive nature was used. Data were collected with the use of the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ) as well as the Cilliers Emotional Intelligence Test. The sample consisted of 24 Grade 2 girls and their parents. The conclusion was that the relationship between parenting style dimensions and emotional intelligence was not showed through the parenting style or dimension mostly used, but through the parenting style dimension that was used the least. / Thesis (M. Diac. (Spelterapie))

Interparent violence (IPV) is a global family issue. Witnessing IPV confuses children and adolescents about the parental relationship. Adolescent females often perceived fathers as strong and depend on them for safety, security, and support. It is unclear how witnessing maternal perpetrated IPV (MPIPV) affects adolescent females' socialization and development, the perception they have of their fathers, and the meaning they ascribe to father abuse. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to contribute to the literature, provide an understanding of MPIPV implications for adolescent females' social development, and bring more awareness to the lived experiences of witnessing MPIPV. Social learning, feminist, and attachment theories were useful as the conceptual framework and in understanding the lived experience of adolescent girls who witness their mothers abusing their fathers. Five young adult females chosen through purposeful sampling from the southwest region of Florida responded to semi-structured open-ended questions. Interpretive phenomenology was the analytic framework to sort, code, and analyze the data. Findings revealed these females' experiences of anger and emotional stress, their concurrent juggling of coping and stress, their closeness to both parents, and their forgiveness to them despite inimical events between them. Recommendations were that human services professionals who worked with this population develop education and training programs to support both parents and adolescent females in an effort to reduce the effects of MPIPV. This training could result in a positive social change over time as negative perceptions, thoughts, and behaviors of adolescent girls change and increased awareness about the implications of MPIPV in the home occurs