| Research shows that fathers are important throughout their daughters' lives. However, many of the existing studies explore this relationship using a purely quantitative approach. Research in father-daughter relationships presents a paradox, for many young adult women, fathers are emotionally distant from their daughters, yet, for many social outcomes they are of singular importance. This study expanded current theoretical views on the importance of fathers; specifically, studying the attachment support provided by fathers to their young adult daughters through both quantitative and qualitative inquiry. Using the Attachment Network Questionnaire (ANQ), attachment rankings were explored for prevalence of attachment to fathers among four groups of young adult women through both quantitative ranking, and qualitative interviews. The combination of these findings revealed prototypical attachment functions among those clearly attached to fathers, and variations on these prototypes among other groups with rankings below that of those who were clearly attached. Results of this study ultimately give insight into the study of attachment in father-daughter relationships using a mixed methods approach. It seems that perhaps those with attachment just-below the cutoff for clear-cut are displaying characteristics of attachment relationships. However, young women in this group do not display all of the key indicators necessary for a true attachment relationship according to current definitions of attachment, though it appears that these fathers have provided their daughters with the ability to recognize the importance of the relationship and have been a significant person in their lives. Findings from this research confirm that many young adult women use their fathers as a clear-cut source of attachment support. What remains questionable is whether all cases of clear-cut attachment to fathers have been identified. |
