Research

In 2004, Dads & Daughters commissioned the first-ever national poll on father-daughter relationships (conducted by Roper/Starch). Our goals were to:

Identify issues and trends that support or detract from fathers having healthy and meaningful relationships with their daughters.
Raise public and media awareness about the importance of father-daughter relationships.

Findings showed that three-quarters of US fathers say their relationships with their daughters are excellent or good. Yet two-thirds of dads don't think their active involvement is vital to their daughters' well-being.

In response to these results, and the surprising lack of research on father-daughter relationships, DADs is encouraging colleges and universities, think-tanks, research institutions and policy centers to conduct research into the father-daughter relationship and the ways it influences both fathers and daughters and is influenced by other family and social factors.

Click here to view results of poll (PDF)

Topics for Research

Father-daughter relationships are pivotal in our family and societal life, but rarely the subject of rigorous study and research. To better understand and improve this relationship, Dads & Daughters encourages colleges and universities, think-tanks, research institutions and policy centers to conduct research into the father-daughter relationship and the ways it influences and is influenced by other family and social factors. DADs further encourages researchers not to rely solely on the usual subject pool – their students—to increase the likelihood of credible research data. This research should reflect the rich diversity of family composition, racial identity, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, religious affiliation and sexual orientation. The following ideas are by no means an exhaustive list of possible research topics; they are simply beginning questions in the neglected field of father-daughter research.

Impact of Fathers on Daughters

How does a father influence a daughter’s attitudes, values, behaviors, lifestyle, intimacy level, selection of a mate, spirituality?
How do fathers impact the academic performance, career choice, self-esteem, health, etc of their daughters? What type of values, activities, behaviors are influential in these areas?
How do father-daughter relationships emerge in different ethnic and racial groups? What messages do these different groups convey about growing up?
How does socioeconomic class affect what fathers convey to daughters about how to negotiate the world?”
How do fathers of girls of color negotiate racism? (Do they incorporate and/or combat the dominant white stereotype in toys? In sexist/racist song lyrics? etc)
How do fathers negotiate sexism? Would narrative, discourse, conversational, and sociolinquistic analyses pick up on subtleties in communication, relationships and interactions with the social world?.
What messages about social and class privilege do white fathers pass on to their daughters and how do they do so?
How does a father impact a daughter’s political or civic activism? Historians have suggested that fathers who are active in political or civic causes raise daughters who are likewise active and who become respected political figures. Is this an accurate portrayal of women who were past political figures? Does this theory correctly describe the political situation today?

Impact of Daughters on Fathers

How does having a daughter influence a father’s attitudes, values, behaviors, lifestyle, longevity, etc? What are the critical variables that affect this change?
How do societal gender stereotypes affect fathers?
How do father-daughter interactions influence gender stereotypes?
Do societal gender role expectations have a differential impact on mothers and fathers?
To what degree do fathers become aware of sexism and oppression against women as a result of having/raising a daughter? How does this awareness develop? What do they do about it?
How does parenting a daughter affect a father’s level of activism? Does a father become more aware of feminist ideology in his daily life or does he remain politically unchanged?
How does the father-daughter relationship change/develop when fathers coach their daughters in athletics? The coaching relationship raises intriguing questions about communication of athletic performance expectations, father-daughter bonding in the traditionally masculine arena of sport, and the spill-over effects on the other dimensions of the father-daughter relationship.
How much does the father-daughter relationship rely on sharing physical activities (i.e. playing catch, biking, playing sports)? How does the degree of reliance on physical activity transfer into the role of father as either official or unofficial coach?
What other father-daughter associations and shared activities impact their relationship?
How are fathers of girls of color impacted by the combined impact of racism and sexism?
What messages about social and class privilege do white fathers receive from their daughters and how do such messages impact them?

Family Interaction

How do subtle parent behaviors or words reinforce gender stereotypes and limit self-actualization. Are there specific verbal or non-verbal parental actions that influence a daughter’s life choices?
What is the father’s role as disciplinarian? What are the factors that create and influence this role? Are fathers better rule enforcers than mothers?
How is the father’s family authority position related to societal roles and stereotypes in general? Are stay-at-home fathers – those who work from home and/or are solely homemakers- less respected than fathers who work outside the home? Are they less likely to be disciplinarians?
How do fathers act as “life coaches” for their daughters in the area of relationships, career, skills-learning, financial literacy? Why do they instruct their daughters in such a manner?
Do fathers feel a special need to coach daughters in stereotypically male-identified activities? What kind of messages and/or warnings do they give about how to succeed? In what ways are these messages different than those they would give sons?
What do daughters look uniquely or predominantly to their fathers for?
How do fathers’ hopes and goals for their daughters differ from those for their sons? From those of mothers? How do a father’s class, race and other demographics influence these aspirations?
How is the father-daughter relationship influenced when the father is the sole caregiver because of an absent mother? Does this relationship differ dependent upon the reason for the mother’s absence (death, incarceration, divorce, abandonment or distance)?
What differences in parenting occur when raising both boys and girls versus raising only girls? What is the impact on the girl’s self-esteem, social adjustment, academic success, etc?
How does sexual orientation of fathers influence the father-daughter relationship?

Sample Topics Involving Specific Sociological Methodology

Using the traditional Bowlby-Ainsworth attachment paradigm, study attachment patterns between fathers and daughters starting at a very young age. Additionally, existing data sets using attachment measures could be reanalyzed looking at father-daughter patterns.
Similarly, using Diana Baumrind’s distinction between authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive parenting styles, look at the effect of these different styles on father-daughter relationships and on both fathers and daughters separately. There may also be existing data sets that could be reanalyzed using this paradigm.

Extended Topic Possibilities

While certain specific relationships have been suggested in the research agenda, a wide range of combinations between inputs and outcomes could be researched. The table below gives examples.

Inputs	Outcomes
Presence/absence of father/parent	Gender identity of father/daughter
Level of involvement of father/parent	Extent of gender stereotyping
Parenting style/type of involvement	Esteem and self-concept
Spirituality	Career choice
Explaining/Negotiating sexism	Mate selection
Extent of gender stereotyping	Academic achievement
Gender identity/masculine ideology	Values, attitudes, and behaviors
Sports participation	Discipline compliance
Physical activity	Volunteerism/civic activism of father/daughter
Values, attitudes, and behaviors	Financial literacy of daughter
Discourse and subtle messages presented by fathers	Involvement in legal system

It is important to consider the context of each study including race and ethnicity, class and socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, father status (biological, step, etc.) and also marital/partnering status (single, shared, two fathers, etc.).

These research topics have been compiled by Dads & Daughters Research Advisory Group. If you have any questions about the agenda or would like more information on our organization, please contact us .

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