Date of Award

January 2013

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Counseling Psychology & Community Services

First Advisor

Cindy Juntunen

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine how perceptions of one's father figure impacted reported levels of depression, anxiety, stress, alexithymia, and satisfaction with life. Participants reported that as negative perceptions of their father figure increased so did reported levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. Further, negative perceptions of one's father figure were negatively correlated with life satisfaction, such that as negative perceptions of father increased ones reported satisfaction with life decreased. Participant age was also positively correlated with perceptions of their father, whereas age increased, so did a positive view of one's father figure. When the Attitude Toward Father Scale (ATFS; Copenhaver, Eisler, 2000) was broken down into its three basic constructs, the fear of father's negative evaluation was most highly correlated with levels of depression, anxiety, stress, and satisfaction with life. This also accounted for the highest percentage of variance among these variables, suggesting that a stand alone scale of fear of father's negative evaluation may be relevant in clinical and research work. Such a shorter and potentially more powerful scale may allow psychologists to understand this phenomenon in a timelier manner, supporting both clinical interventions and research that is more conducive to data collection while diminishing participant fatigue.

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