Fathers are important influencers on children’s development throughout their life course (Freeks & De Jager 2023; Magqamfana & Bazana 2020). Despite their crucial role in their children’s lives, South Africa has the highest proportion of absent fathers, with research reporting that one in every two fathers is absent from their children’s lives (Freeks & De Jager 2023; Ramatsetse & Ross 2022). The consequences of an absent father in the life of a child have been investigated over many years (Freeks & De Jager 2023; Makofane 2015; Ramatsetse & Ross 2022), and while the physical presence of the father alone does not necessarily ensure a positive outcome for the child or family, father absence may have detrimental consequences for families and society (Eddy, Thomson-de Boor & Mphaka 2013).

Studies have pointed to various detriments of father absence to children, including gender-related challenges, low self-perception, relationship insecurities, financial deprivation, psychological disturbances, teenage pregnancy and academic performance difficulties (Mgqamfana & Bazana 2020; Molongoana 2015). Zia, Malik and Ali (2015) investigated academic performance among adolescent girls and single mothers from diverse social and economic backgrounds who lived full-time with their fathers. Their study found that the presence of a father enhances a positive father–daughter relationship, which in turn facilitates academic achievements. For females, Schwarzwalder and Tax (2015) argue that absent fathers expose daughters to violent and unhealthy relationships and early engagement in sexual activities. Their daughters are negatively affected emotionally and experience a strong sense of abandonment and rejection from their absent fathers, which inhibits their academic performances (Freeks & De Jager 2023; Mgqamfane & Bazana 2020). In addition, the financial strain from having an absent father takes a toll on their general lives (Mgqamfane & Bazana 2020). Through this study, the researchers sought to contribute to existing literature on absent fathers, resilience and father–daughter relationships.

Factors such as cultural and familial ideologies are central to the enhancement of father–child relationships and therefore indispensable in the definition of fatherhood (Lamb & Tamis-LeMonda 2004). Fatherhood is commonly defined in terms of the father’s ability to care and provide for his children (Heartlines 2020). It involves having a broad range of responsibilities, including emotional development of their children, promoting inner growth and strength of their children and serving as teachers, moral guardians, protectors and providers for their children, which persist from childhood to adulthood (Tanfer & Mott 1997).

The contemporary view of fatherhood portrays fathers as having a bigger responsibility of financially supporting the child (Tanfer & Mott 1997). This change resulted in a slight shift to the role definition of parents, with mothers having more control over the domestic spheres and fathers drawn outside the home and into the workplace (Tanfer & Mott 1997). In South Africa, the system of apartheid and its policies disrupted family life, because of the migration of males from rural to urban areas, causing family separations, thus affecting the role of a father in the family (Chikovore, Makusha & Richter 2012). With the absence of a father in the family, it is mostly a daughter who becomes negatively affected. Research studies have proven that father–daughter relationships contribute to moulding sexual behaviours and curbing pregnancy, and that girls who grow up with absent fathers in their lives tend to have early sexual activities and become pregnant in their teenage years (Schwarzwalder & Tax 2015).

Fatherhood is a concept that is enmeshed with societal, cultural, economic and historic issues (Bitalo, Piotrowski & Naude 2024). From a societal perspective, a father is someone who is actively involved in the affairs of his children, although how they perform such duties depends on their social backgrounds. Whereas from an economic perspective, the so-called ‘high-quality fathering’ depends on their economic contributions, culture prescribes the recognition of fathers based on practices such as paying ‘inhlawulo and lobola’ (Bitalo et al. 2024:1110). Despite the various perspectives on the meaning of fatherhood, research on absent fathers is hampered by western culture and the upper socioeconomic class, from which most researchers come, which then results in a skewed perspective often without considering the fathers’ involvement in other key responsibilities (Draper & Harpending 1982). However, local studies are beginning to challenge the discourse on fathers by highlighting their several ways of involvement in caring for their children (Clowes, Ratele & Shefer 2012). A study focusing on custody, access and maintenance experiences of fathers, for instance, revealed a strong sense of family bond and the importance of the father–child relationship (Mabusela 2014). Some of the participants saw the justice system as a hindrance against strengthening the bond with their children and saw themselves as financial and emotional support providers (Mabusela 2014).

In recent years, there has been a rise in father absence from children’s lives, with literature confirming that this is because of various factors such as delayed marriage, migrant labour, violence against women and growing independence among women (Swartz et al. 2015). In the mid-twentieth century, most single-parent families arose because of the death of a spouse (Lindwall, Bailer & Daly 2011). The 1970s and the 1980 witnessed more single parent families, with the 2000s having single parents who never married (Eddy et al. 2013; Lindwall et al. 2011).

In South Africa, 31% of mothers were reported to be singlehandedly raising their children, while only 33.3% of preschool children are living with both biological parents (Freeks 2024; Statistics South Africa 2011). Among the reasons for this may be that most fathers believe that providing material and financial support defines fatherhood, a perception which often overshadows contact time as well as emotional and physical care (Swartz et al. 2015). In South Africa, where poverty is high, an emphasis on financial support may disadvantage many fathers.

There are several benefits for children with a present father in their lives, and these include the enhancement of emotional well-being (Freeks 2024; Langa 2014). Whereas fathers often engage in activities such as physical play to promote the child’s intellectual skills and social development, mothers use verbal expressions and teachings to promote these skills (Teitelbaum 2013). Therefore, this suggests that the absence of a father leaves a vacuum in the child’s intellectual and social development.

Absent fathers contribute to the psychosocial stress of their children as well as the unresolved paternal identity issues that might potentially have negative consequences on children (Freeks 2024).

Absent fathers are associated with negative effects on children’s social and economic well-being. This connection has been illustrated through a relationship between father absence and children’s delinquent behaviour, poor intellectual functioning and poor well-being (Mavungu 2013). A child who has an absent father tend to experience loss, confusion and humiliation (Chikovore et al. 2012). Acknowledgement by the father is an important part of identity development in children particularly in South Africa, where children take their father’s clan name if they are acknowledged (Chikovore et al. 2012). Thus, for many children, having an absent father does not only affect them financially, but it also affects their identity.

It is assumed that fathering a daughter can be challenging, especially for men, because daughters are closer to their mothers (Zia et al. 2015). Most fathers often doubt their importance to their daughters compared to their sons (Nielsen 2006). The reality is that their involvement in their daughters’ lives is just as important as that of the mother, because they also play a role in their psychological health, self-confidence, school achievement and intimate relationships (Zia et al. 2015). For many girls, having an absent father leads to complexities in intimate relationships, depression and poor self-esteem (Magqamfana & Bazana 2020; Ramatsetse & Ross 2022). Furthermore, fathers generally have a greater impact on the lives of their daughters, particularly the level of happiness, trust and quality of relationship with opposite genders. Daughters who have a good relationship with their fathers tend to develop confidence, a sense of independence and become successful in both academic and career activities (Nielsen 2006).

A good research study is based on a good theoretical framework. By theoretical framework, Grant and Osanloo (2014) refer to the basis upon which knowledge is constructed for research purposes. A theoretical framework underpins the study’s literature review, methodology, rationale, problem statement, goal and the questions (Grant & Osanloo 2014). It guides the research topic, including the selection of concepts and definitions that are relevant (Grant & Osanloo 2014).

Norman Garmezy’s theory of resilience was adopted to provide a structured approach to understanding how individuals develop coping mechanisms in adverse situations such as young women who grow up with absent fathers. The study effectively applied the concept of protective factors at individual, familial and community level to interpret its findings. These protective factors include individual factors such as easy temperaments in children and a positive outlook in adults, familial factors such as the support from grandparents, social fathers and siblings and, lastly, supportive factors such as the community at large, including neighbours and teachers (Shean 2015). Using the theoretical framework for this study as the guide, it was essential to know both the participants’ resilience and adversities. By adopting Norman Garmezy’s theory of resilience, the researchers sought to focus on specific principles such as ‘protective factors’ and ‘adverse events’, thereby allowing them to explore the participants’ experiences in a more guided and in-depth manner in the study. In South Africa, Malindi, Theron and Theron (2013) found that youth had protective factors such as an active community-based support system operating in their lives and a value-driven personality, which positively influenced behaviour. This showed that resilience was the result of a combination of various internal and external factors.

This study sought to explore the psychosocial barriers and enablers faced by young women who grew up with absent fathers in South Africa.

From this aim, researchers proceeded to formulate the following questions:

In conducting this study, researchers were mindful of the significance of the ethical principles of research. In that regard, they subjected a research proposal to the Institutional Review Committee of the University of South Africa for ethical protocol and approval. The committee was satisfied that the study met acceptable ethical standards and approved the protocol on 2016/03/09 with ethical clearance number (Ref no: PERC-16011). Informed consent was upheld by ensuring that all participants were properly informed about the study purpose and by signing an informed consent form before they could participate. The study also involved the protection of participants’ data and their identities as required by confidentiality and anonymity. Instead of using the participants’ real names, numbers were used to label them. Reporting of the study’s findings was also done with dignity to reflect the participants’ views as expressed during the interviews. The collected data will be stored for a period of 15 years as required by the policy of the university of South Africa on research. To guard against the emotional repercussions of the study on the participants, a clinical psychologist was organised to render debriefing after the study, though there were no incidents that required her services. Generally, the study upheld beneficence and nonmaleficence, which enabled researchers to refrain from harming the participants and ensuring that the study ultimately benefits the participants (Forzano & Gravetter 2012).

The participants were assigned numbers to protect their identities and promote ethical principle of anonymity. Six participants, who were all young black women, took part in this study. Although they were from several parts of the country, they were all based in Pretoria, South Africa’s City of Tshwane, for educational or employment purposes. The following section outlines the demographic profiles of each participant.

Participant one was 30 years old. She was a Xhosa girl from the Eastern Cape and only knew isiXhosa, isiZulu and English languages. For the purpose of the study interviews, she elected to communicate in English. Her highest qualification was a Diploma in Events Management, and her occupation was as an events coordinator at a company based in Pretoria. Her presence in Pretoria was only for employment purposes. According to participant one, she was told that her father never acknowledged paternity, and she only heard that he is somewhere around the Eastern Cape. Her mother was a single woman with three children, and participant one was the first child. Her other siblings shared a father who was present, even though not staying with their mother full-time. Participant one was raised by her maternal grandmother, with her uncle playing the role of a father figure. Participant one did not have any reunification with her father because she never met him, nor did she know anyone from the paternal side of her family.

Participant two was 27 years old, originally from Limpopo province in South Africa. She was in Pretoria for tertiary educational purposes. At the time of this study, participant three was in her second year of tertiary studies for a Diploma in Public Relations. Although her home language was Sepedi, participant two reported that she was a Swati by birth and therefore could speak Sepedi, siSwati and English. However, she was articulate in English during the interview. According to participant two, she also had an absent father. Her father had two wives, and her mother was the first wife. The other wife had her own house and children, so her father lived with such a wife and never had time for participant two and her mother. He would only visit them for about 30 min and then leave, and sometimes she would not see him at all. Participant two’s only sources of support were her mother, uncles and aunts from the maternal family side. She was the sixth child from a family of six. As far as participant two can remember, she only started to develop some kind of relationship with her father when she was in high school at around 18 years.

Participant three was 21 years old, and she was a full-time student doing her fourth year of tertiary studies in Bachelor of Education. She was a Xhosa tribe from the Eastern Cape, and her home language was isiXhosa. However, she was clear and articulate in English and isiZulu. For the purpose of the interviews, she preferred to use English. She was in Pretoria for study purposes. Participant three was a fourth child from a family of four. All she knew was that her parents got divorced when she was only two. She only knew her father as a man with substance abuse-related issues, who was paying maintenance and who would sometimes come home even though he was not welcome. Participant three’s main sources of support were her mother, her siblings and friends. Besides the financial support in a form of maintenance paid by her father, participant three’s father and paternal family members were not providing any other support. At the time of this study, participant three’s father was still absent and did not have any relationship with her.

Participant four was a Zulu woman who originally came from the KwaZulu-Natal province. Her presence in Pretoria was for employment purposes. Her highest qualification was a Diploma in Business Administration. Participant four was 30 years old. She was working as a personal assistant at a private company based in Pretoria. Although her home language is isiXhosa, she was clear and articulate in English, which is the language she preferred to use during the interview. According to participant four, her mother was in a relationship with a married man, and their relationship ended up with her birth. She never met her father. Participant four did not worry much about her father’s presence until she was in high school. Her father was only financially available to her. Her primary source of support was her mother, maternal grandmother and uncle; her father and the maternal family were never involved in her life. Participant four never got to reunite with her father, and she does not hope that such will ever happen.

Participant five was a 23 years old woman from the Northwest province of South Africa. She was not only a Motswana speaker but also articulate in English and Afrikaans and slightly isiZulu. Like other participants, she also preferred to be interviewed in English. Her presence in Pretoria was purely for tertiary educational purposes. She was doing her third year of tertiary education in Bachelor of Education. Participant five’s reasons for growing up with an absent father were because of separation. Her father used to be present in her life until he decided to leave permanently without telling her mother the reasons. He also stopped supporting her, including financially. According to participant five, she had aunts (her mother’s sisters), who were supportive to her. At the time of the interview, she still did not have any bond with her father, whom she said was the one who walked away. Participant five and her father did not reunite.

Participant six was 27 years old. She was working as a research intern in Pretoria. The main reason for her to be in Pretoria was employment. Participant six’s highest qualification was a Diploma in Office Administration. She was a Zulu woman from KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa and her home language was isiZulu. She was, however, articulate in English, isiXhosa and siSwati. For the purpose of the study interviews, she preferred to speak in English. Regarding the involvement of her father in her life, participant six said he was not always present because he was working out of the province. Although her father would be home over the weekends and was financially supportive, he was not really involved in her upbringing. Her primary source of support was her mother, maternal grandparents and aunts. According to Participant 6, no efforts were made to restore her relationship with her father.

The first theme that emerged from the analysis process involved the interpretations of the participants regarding the meaning of an absent father and the reasons for fathers to be absent. In this regard, two subthemes were generated, namely: a lack of emotional and financial support by a father and the reasons for father absence in the life of a child.

From the analysis report, participants had both benefits and challenges associated with absent fathers, and they are presented as follows:

One of the things that emerged from the findings was the status of the participants’ relationships with their fathers. Some of the participants reported an enduring negative relationship with their fathers. These experiences were filtered to generate two subthemes that are presented as follows:

Alongside the challenges reported by the participants were also protective factors that enabled them to overcome their challenges. Although they have experienced challenges while growing up because of having an absent father, participants also felt that they have been able to face these challenges head on. Their responses were clustered into two types of protective factors, namely, individual resilience and familial support:

Although the study is undoubtedly informative, it was conducted with a smaller sample. The site from which the study was conducted was also small, thereby limiting the potential diversity of experiences and perspectives. Interpretation and application of the findings should, therefore, be done cautiously in view of these limitations.