Running head: FATHER-CHILD BONDS Father-child Bonds and their Effect on Quality of Adult Intimate and Romantic Relationships

Family relationships are often considered to be blueprints for future relationships with others. The purpose of this research was to increase knowledge of how father-child relationships and perceptions of parents’ relationship in childhood are related to the quality of intimate and romantic relationships in emerging adulthood. It was predicted that college students who experience lower quality relationships with their fathers in childhood and adulthood, and had negative perceptions of their parents’ relationship in childhood, would have lower quality intimate relationships and lower quality romantic relationships in adulthood. Participants were college undergraduates recruited from the psychology department’s human participant pool. Participant relationships were assessed using the Attitude toward Father Scale (child-father in childhood), Parent-Child Relationship Questionnaire (child-father current), Relationship Scales Questionnaire (intimate), Interpersonal Relationship Scale (intimacy in romantic) and Triangular Love Scale (passion in romantic). Multiple regression analyses were used to determine the amount of variance that each predictor uniquely contributed to the outcome variables (quality of intimate and romantic relationships). Results showed that the father-child relationship in childhood uniquely predicts the quality of romantic relationships in emerging adulthood. Furthermore, post hoc analyses showed that the father-child relationship was significantly correlated with high quality romantic relationships for males, but not females. These data can inform future interventions designed to help improve weak or negative father-child relationships, specifically for young men. In addition, an exploratory analysis showed partial support for the first hypothesis that higher relationship quality with the father in childhood is associated with higher intimate relationship quality in emerging adulthood. 3 FATHER-CHILD BONDS Father-child Bonds and their Effect on Quality of Adult Intimate and Romantic Relationships Family relationships are often considered to be blueprints for future relationships with others and are typically examined to increase understanding of an individual’s relational history (Bretherton, 2010). The first relationships children experience are with their parents (Bowlby, 1979). As children mature and experience independence from their parents during emerging adulthood, they develop new relationships with others. The relationships that children build with others are influenced by the attachments they first built with their parents (Bowlby, 1979). However, many individuals do not have a relationship with one or both parents (Vogel, Bradley, Raikes, Boller, & Shears, 2006). Others have intact, but negative parental relationships (Storksen, Roysamb, Moum, & Tambs, 2005). Often, when conflict divides the family, as in the case of divorce, the mother takes primary responsibility for the children (Cabrera, Fitzgerald, Bradley, & Roggman, 2007). This situation can put strain on the marital relationship as well as the father-child relationship (Riggio, 2004). Unfortunately, the reality is that the resulting quality of some of these father-child relationships becomes poor (Aquilino, 2006). The mother-child relationship and its effect on later relationships has been the focus of much research (Bretherton, 2010). Although investigating this relationship is important for understanding the development of relationships with others, focusing on it omits an important influential factor: the father-child relationship. A recent shift to exploring father-child relationships can be attributed to the increase in empirical literature that offers support for the importance of fathers’ roles in their children’s lives (Bretherton, 2010; Goodsell, & Meldrum, 2010; Grossmann, Grossmann, Kindler, & Zimmermann, 2008). The purpose of this research was to increase knowledge of how father-child relationships during childhood are related to the quality of later intimate as well as romantic relationships in emerging adulthood. 4 FATHER-CHILD BONDS In the following pages, Bowlby’s (1988) theory of attachment is presented as a foundation for understanding the role of the father-child relationship in the child’s development. Supplemental to the theory of attachment, Sternberg’s (1986) triangular love theory is also presented to provide further understanding of the basic components of intimate and romantic relationships that individuals form. The review begins with literature on father presence, father absence, and weak paternal relationships and their effect on child personality and mental health. This is followed by a discussion of the effects of divorce on subsequent adult child intimate relationships. Also discussed are the impacts of parent-child attachment and parenting behaviors on adult child romantic relationship outcomes. This is followed by a summary of why it is important to examine the contribution of father-child relationships and perceptions of parents’ relationship in childhood on intimate and romantic relationships in emerging adulthood. Theoretical Framework Theory of attachment. In developmental psychology there are several theories that propose that the relationships children form in childhood affect the relationships they develop in adulthood (Ainsworth, 1972; Bowlby, 1979; Sternberg, 1986). Bowlby’s attachment theory emphasizes the role of attachment in creating and sustaining meaningful intimate relationships with family and others (Bowlby, 1979). According to Bowlby (1969), attachment is characterized by behaviors that promote contact and close proximity of infants to their primary caregivers. He also coined the term attachment figure, which refers to the secure base children leave to explore and return to for safety and protection. Further, Bowlby asserted that attachment theory encompasses two behavioral systems: (a) proximity behaviors that ensure protection and (b) exploration behaviors that encourage acquisition of knowledge and adaptation to the changing environment. These explorative and proximity behaviors help children build 5 FATHER-CHILD BONDS representations or internal working models of the physical and social world. Internal working models of interpersonal relationships are developed through daily experiences and interactions with others and influence children’s ability to form close relationships with others in the future. Traditionally, attachment theory has focused on the attachment relationship between mother and child and how this relationship is predictive of the child’s relationship with others in adulthood (Ainsworth, 1972; Bowlby, 1979). Attachment theory was initially proposed as an evolutionary explanation for mother-infant attachment, which maintains that the vulnerable infant will seek close proximity to a stronger individual who can provide security and protection (Ainsworth, 1967, 1972; Bowlby, 1969). Ainsworth (1967) first found evidence for this relationship in her naturalistic observational research in Uganda with mothers and their infants. Her research confirms the importance of mother-infant attachment, while also uncovering additional attachment behaviors displayed by the infants. Specifically, Ainsworth found that one of the infants she observed was exclusively attached to the father and three other infants demonstrated a preference for their fathers over their mothers. Due to the overwhelming support for mothers as primary attachment figures (Ainsworth, 1967; Bowlby, 1969), little attention was paid to these results. Additional support for Ainsworth’s findings concerning specific attachment objects comes from Schaeffer and Emerson (1964) who identified the mother as the primary attachment figure for 80% of infants in their study. However, when assessed 18 months later, fathers in 16% of the 60 families were classified as their infants’ sole attachment figures. Similar to Schaeffer and Emerson’s (1964) findings, several other research projects expected to corroborate Ainsworth’s discoveries regarding mother-infant attachment, but instead served to uncover more about the father-infant attachment relationship (Bretherton, 2005; Lamb, 1976, 1977, 1983). 6 FATHER-CHILD BONDS Although Bowlby initially focused attachment theory on the mother-child relationship, he eventually adapted his theory in accordance with the empirical support offered for fathers as primary caregivers (Bretherton, 2010). It was not until much later in his career that Bowlby (1988) acknowledged fathers as providing children with a sense of worth, trust in the provision of help, and a model on which to build future relationships. Bowlby (1988) and Ainsworth (1967) both agreed that the father primarily serves as a secondary attachment figure; however, he can serve as the primary attachment figure if the mother is not available, either physically or emotionally. There is a growing body of research exploring the importance of fathers’ roles in their children’s later relationship development (Bretherton, 2010; Freeman & Almond, 2010; Goodsell & Meldrum, 2010; Newland, Coyl, & Chen, 2010). Qualitative studies conducted by Bretherton (2005) and Goodsell and Meldrum (2010) demonstrated that enriched, reciprocal, responsive, and positive father attachment characteristics were related to higher child affection, satisfaction, caring, security, companionship, and relational outcomes with others in adulthood. Newland et al. (2010) found similar results showing that children who reported secure attachment and warm involvement with their fathers scored high on relations with parents and interpersonal relations. Most importantly for the current study, there has been empirical evidence that attachment experiences with fathers in early life influence the selection of a spouse and other relationships in young adulthood (Bretherton, 2005; Freeman & Almond, 2010; Goodsell & Meldrum, 2010; Newland et al., 2010). Although r