Many authorities believe that our relationship with our parents has an effect on later relationships. Attachment theory and the more recent "men's movement" have focused on parents and their role in the development of the child. To study fathers' influence, 122 male undergraduate students were surveyed at a mid-sized Indiana university regarding their relationships with their father, friend, and romantic partner. The average age of the participants was 20.7 years, and the majority of the students were either Black (11.5%) or White (85.2%). Although 70.5% of the participants had married parents and 23.8% had divorced parents, most men (89.3%) referred to their biological father in completing the survey.The present study found that closeness to fathers while growing up did not predict closeness within the men's friendships. Father closeness was predictive of romantic relationship closeness but did not predict whether or not the men would be involved in such a relationship. Individual differences prevail, however, as information obtained from personal interviews indicated that some men believed their father influenced both their friendships and their romantic relationships. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/179501 |
| Date | January 1993 |
| Creators | Pederson, Harold |
| Contributors | Hutchinson, Roger L. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | vii, 95 leaves ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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