The determinants and influence of non-resident fathers' relationships with their adolescent children
| dc.contributor.advisor | Louw, D. A. P. | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Louw, A. E. | |
| dc.contributor.author | De Wit, Estelle | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2015-08-12T11:56:22Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2015-08-12T11:56:22Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2013-01 | |
| dc.description.abstract | English: This study examined the patterns of contact and involvement between adolescents and their nonresident fathers after divorce in an ethnically diverse sample. The data was analysed to determine the role of Lamb, Pleck and Levine’s (1986) three constructs in the involvement of non-resident fathers, i.e. interaction, availability and responsibility. The results indicated that the majority of male and female adolescents reported continued direct and indirect contact with their fathers, regardless of paternal remarriage and the lapse of time since the divorce. In measuring father involvement, the adolescents reported on four aspects of father involvement i.e. financial contributions, shared activities, communication and feelings of emotional closeness. The results on father involvement indicate that most fathers make contributions financially in terms of the payment of maintenance, school fees and pocket money. Adolescents further reported that they spent most of their time with their non-resident fathers engaging in leisure activities such as shopping and frequenting restaurants. Boys reported higher levels of communication and feelings of emotional closeness than girls. Overall, the study postulates that non-resident fathers play a less significant role in providing parental guidance to their children. The most important limitation of the research was indicated as the lack of empirical investigation of mother-child involvement. This study investigated the influence of non-resident fathers’ involvement in the well-being of their adolescent children after divorce. Guided by a systemic ecological framework on father involvement and utilising data from a representative sample of adolescents from intact and divorced families, father involvement was measured by means of the Hawkins Inventory of Father Involvement (IFI). Adolescents’ sense of well-being was measured by means of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The results obtained on the IFI indicate that adolescents from divorced families perceived their fathers as lacking in support for their mothers and in salient aspects of all three components of Lamb, Pleck and Levine’s (1986) concept of father involvement, i.e. interaction, availability and responsibility. Consequently, the adolescents from divorced families obtained lower scores on reported well-being on the SDQ in terms of externalising behaviours (hyperactivity) and internalising behaviours (emotional symptoms and pro-social behaviour). Recommendations to promote increased father involvement were made. The purpose of this study was to examine the post-divorce attachment security of adolescents to their mothers and non-resident fathers. The Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) was used to compare the attachment security of adolescents from intact homes to those from divorced homes. The data gathered indicate that adolescents from divorced homes reported statistically significant differences in attachment security with their fathers overall and specifically in the areas of trust and communication measured by the IPPA. Therefore, the findings indicate that divorce affects attachment security negatively. No statistically significant gender differences concerning the attachment security of male and female adolescents from divorced homes for either mother or father were found. Two theoretical models (the theory of mattering and the reflective functioning of parents) are discussed as guidelines to assist policy makers in addressing problems in attachment security for children from divorced homes. | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | Afrikaans: In hierdie studie is die patrone van kontak en betrokkenheid tussen adolessente en hul nie-residensiële vaders ná egskeiding in 'n etnies diverse steekproef ondersoek. Die data is gebruik om Lamb, Pleck en Levin (1986) se drie konstrukte van betrokkenheid van nie-residensiële vaders (interaksie, beskikbaarheid en verantwoordelikheid) te ondersoek. Die resultate toon dat die meerderheid van manlike en vroulike adolessente direkte en indirekte kontak met hulle vaders rapporteer het, nieteenstaande faktore soos hul vaders se hertroue en die verloop van tyd sedert hul ouers se egskeiding. Ten einde vaderbetrokkenheid te evalueer, het adolessente ten opsigte van vier konstrukte van vaderbetrokkenheid rapporteer: finansiële bydraes, deelname aan verskillende aktiwiteite, kommunikasie en gevoelens van verbondenheid. Dit blyk dat die meerderheid vaders finansieel ten opsigte van onderhoud, skoolfooie en sakgeld bydra. Die adolessente spandeer meestal tyd met hul vaders deur winkelsentrums en restaurante te besoek. Seuns het hoër vlakke van kommunikasie en emosionele geborgenheid met hul vaders as meisies gerapporteer. In die geheel gesien, blyk dit dat nie-residensiële vaders te kort skiet in die wyse waarop hulle ouerleiding aan hulle kinders bied. Die belangrikste tekortkoming van die studie is uitgewys as die gebrek aan 'n empiriese ondersoek met betrekking tot die moeder se betrokkenheid. In hierdie studie is die invloed van nie-residensiële vaders se ouerskapsbetrokkenheid op die welstand van hul adolessente kinders ondersoek. 'n Sistemies-ekologiese model van vaderbetrokkenheid is gebruik om die navorsing te rig. 'n Steekproef van adolessente uit intakte en geskeide gesinne is gebruik om vaderbetrokkenheid deur middel van die Hawkins Inventory of Father Involvement (IFI) te meet. Die adolessente se welstand is bepaal deur die Strengths and Difficulties Quesionnaire (SDQ). Die resultate van die IFI toon aan dat die adolessente uit geskeide gesinne hul vaders se betrokkenheid in terme van ondersteuning vir hulle moeders as problematies ervaar, asook wat betref kernaspekte van Lamb, Pleck en Levine (1986) se drie konstrukte van betrokkenheid van nieresidensiële vaders, naamlik interaksie, beskikbaarheid en verantwoordelikheid. Die adolessente uit geskeide gesinne het laer tellings van gerapporteerde welstand in die SDQ behaal ten opsigte van eksternaliserende gedrag (hiperaktiwiteit) en internaliserende gedrag (emosionele simptome en prososiale gedrag). Aanbevelings is gemaak om verhoogte vaderbetrokkenheid aan te moedig. Die doel van hierdie studie was om adolessente se geborgenheid aan hul moeders en nie-residensiële vaders ná egskeiding te ondersoek. Die Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) is as 'n meetinstrument gebruik om die geborge sekuriteit van adolessente uit intakte en geskeide huisgesinne te vergelyk. Die data toon dat adolessente uit geskeide gesinne statisties beduidende verskille in geborgenheid teenoor hul vaders in die algemeen gerapporteer het en spesifiek in die areas van vertroue en kommunikasie soos gemeet deur die IPPA. Die resultate toon derhalwe dat egskeiding 'n negatiewe impak het op geborge sekuriteit. Geen statisties beduidende geslagsverskille tussen die geborge sekuriteit van manlike en vroulike adolessente uit geskeide gesinne vir moeders of vaders is gevind nie. Twee teoretiese modelle (tersaaklikheidsteorie en die reflektiewe funksie van ouers) word bespreek as riglyne vir beleidsverbeteringe van geborge sekuriteit vir kinders uit geskeide huisgesinne. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11660/826 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_ZA |
| dc.publisher | University of the Free State | en_ZA |
| dc.rights.holder | University of the Free State | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Thesis (Ph.D. (Psychology))--University of the Free State, 2013 | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Father and child | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Parent and teenager | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Absentee fathers | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Teenagers -- Family relationships | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Children of divorced parents | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Divorce -- Psychological aspects | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Contact and involvement of fathers after divorce | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Non-resident fathers | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Interaction | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Adolescents | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Availability and responsibility | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Involvement of non-resident father | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Adolescent well-being | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Externalising behaviour difficulties | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Internalising behaviour difficulties | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Hawkins Inventory of Father Involvement | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Attachment security | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Reflective functioning of parents | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Theory of mattering | en_ZA |
| dc.title | The determinants and influence of non-resident fathers' relationships with their adolescent children | en_ZA |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_ZA |