The Impact of Father Absence on the Marital Satisfaction of African American Women

The African American community is plagued with single-parent homes, headed by women. Importantly, while the father-absent phenomenon has gained more attention, much research is still needed to gain a complete perspective of the absent father and its influence upon the adult child, specifically the adult daughter who is at significant risk of continuing in her parent\u27s footsteps. The purpose of this quantitative survey method research is to explore the impact of father absenteeism among African American adult daughters and their marital satisfaction; additionally, examining can supportive mothers moderate the effect. This study examined the marital satisfaction among African American women with absent fathers in comparison to African American women with a present father in childhood, in addition to the supportive mother variable. African American women (N=21) drawn from a convenient sample of churchgoers, who were in a heterosexual marriage, at least 18 years and older, in the Northeast region of the United States with access to an email completed measures of marital satisfaction using the Couple Satisfaction Index and the support of their mother using the Adult Daughter-Mother Relationship Questionnaire. Overall, there was not a significant difference between the marital satisfaction of African American women with absent fathers in comparison to those with present fathers in childhood. However, the regression analysis indicated that marital satisfaction decreased as the mother’s support increased for those with absent fathers. The results indicate a need for further, in-depth research considering a new sample size and including individuals that are not churchgoers