Father-Daughter Dance: The Transference of Attachment Styles from Parent to Partner Among African-American Daughters

The purpose of this study was to measure the influence of low and high father presence on the transference of biological father-daughter, social father-daughter, mother-daughter, and daughter-partner attachment styles (adult romantic attachment) among African American adult daughters. Regression analysis results indicate that biological father-daughter attachment anxiety and avoidance are significant predictors of daughter-partner attachment anxiety and avoidance. Mother-daughter avoidance was also a significant predictor of daughter-partner avoidance. The results also indicate that African American adult daughters with low father presence endorse more psychological avoidance towards their partners than participants with high father presence. In contrast, participants with high father presence endorse less psychological avoidance towards their partners than participants with low father presence. Social father-daughter attachment styles were not predictive of daughter-partner attachment styles.