The Lived Experience of Fatherlessness in Male Adolescents: The Student Perspective
Location
Room 218
Proposal Track
Research Project
Session Format
Presentation
Abstract
THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF FATHERLESSNESS IN MALE ADOLESCENTS:
THE STUDENT PERSPECTIVE
This study investigated the lived experiences of teenage males who did not have a father figure at home during high school. Participants included eight males of varying ethnicities who graduated from high school within the last five years. This was a qualitative study with a phenomenological design. The major data collection method was three in-depth interviews. The two research questions asked “How do adolescent males perceive the absence of a father to have impacted them during high school?” and “Were any school-related interventions available for students without fathers, and if so, how did students perceive these interventions to have impacted them?” To analyze the data, horizons were coded, invariant constituents were identified through axial coding, and themes were identified. Six themes—attachment, other influences, needs, emotions, behaviors, and identity—were identified from the analysis of the data. Among the needs that participants wanted and expected their fathers to meet included support, someone to hold them accountable, someone to help motivate, and someone with whom to share a father-son bond. The participants in this study conveyed that most of these needs remained unmet. When these needs were not met, the impact was seen emotionally and behaviorally, influencing the participants’ identities.
Keywords
Father absence, Fatherlessness, Lived experience, Male adolescents, Phenomenology
Recommended Citation
Dickerson, Cory, "The Lived Experience of Fatherlessness in Male Adolescents: The Student Perspective" (2014). Georgia Educational Research Association Conference. 65.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gera/2014/2014/65
Proposal
The Lived Experience of Fatherlessness in Male Adolescents: The Student Perspective
Room 218
THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF FATHERLESSNESS IN MALE ADOLESCENTS:
THE STUDENT PERSPECTIVE
This study investigated the lived experiences of teenage males who did not have a father figure at home during high school. Participants included eight males of varying ethnicities who graduated from high school within the last five years. This was a qualitative study with a phenomenological design. The major data collection method was three in-depth interviews. The two research questions asked “How do adolescent males perceive the absence of a father to have impacted them during high school?” and “Were any school-related interventions available for students without fathers, and if so, how did students perceive these interventions to have impacted them?” To analyze the data, horizons were coded, invariant constituents were identified through axial coding, and themes were identified. Six themes—attachment, other influences, needs, emotions, behaviors, and identity—were identified from the analysis of the data. Among the needs that participants wanted and expected their fathers to meet included support, someone to hold them accountable, someone to help motivate, and someone with whom to share a father-son bond. The participants in this study conveyed that most of these needs remained unmet. When these needs were not met, the impact was seen emotionally and behaviorally, influencing the participants’ identities.
