Date

8-9-2024

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)

Chair

Ralph (Mike) Ogburn

Keywords

absent biological father, aggression, attachment, father absence, hostility, violent outcomes

Disciplines

Psychology

Abstract

The absence of a biological father during early childhood can evoke numerous and often potentially violent or life-altering adverse outcomes for adult males during adulthood. Research on the long-term effects of father absence on adult men raised without a biological father during early childhood has garnered considerable attention among institutions, U.S. policymakers, and criminologists. The goal of this research was to extrapolate data related to the absent father phenomenon in Southeastern Washington state and how it leads to violent outcomes in adult males. This transcendental phenomenological qualitative study used structured interviews and assessments to explore the lived experiences and outcomes of 14 adult males raised with absent biological fathers during at least the first six years of their early childhood. Results indicated that participants’ lived experiences included living in single-mother households where they felt absent of fatherly love and drew negative comparisons to other children with active fathers or two parents. Participants reported struggling with forming secure attachments, a history of aggression and mental illness, intrusive thoughts to cause harm to others (including animals), property destruction, and incarceration. By gaining an understanding of the effects of father absence and the lived experiences of adult men with absent biological fathers during early childhood, healthcare professionals, churches, and social services will be able to refine interventions and strategies to provide improved assistance to youth and adult males struggling to cope with their father’s absence.

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