title: Father-child separation, retrospective and current views of attachment relationship with father, and self-esteem in late adolescence.
abstract: Relationships between paternal separation in childhood and adult measures of self-esteem, paternal acceptance and independence-encouragement were investigated with 236 nonparent college students as subjects. Current relationship with father was measured by a modified version of Epstein's Mother-Father-Peer Scale. Self-esteem was measured by Coopersmith's Self-esteem Inventory. Individuals who experienced separation for all reasons from their fathers during childhood recounted less acceptance by their fathers in late adolescence but not less independence-encouragement. Individuals whose parents had divorced (whether or not they had experienced a significant separation) reported lower acceptance by their fathers in both childhood and in late adolescence, and they attained lower scores on self-esteem.
authors.affiliation: Armstrong Atlantic State University, USA.
authors.forename: C B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: McCormick
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kennedy
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004243:Divorce / Q000523:psychology; D005219:Father-Child Relations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007207:Individuation; D008297:Male; D009769:Object Attachment; D010333:Paternal Deprivation; D010553:Personality Development; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012649:Self Concept