Concerns and coping behavior of middle-aged fathers with unresolved paternal conflicts

• Main Authors: Chua, Betty Ann Kristine T., Cron, Nivard Allan G., Laja, Leny Resurreccion
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 1997
• Subjects: Coping behavior; Middle age; Fathers; Conflict (Psychology)
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/7135
• Institution: De La Salle University

The data gathered from the exploratory study were obtained through the use of different kinds of methodology. As far as the entirety of this study is concerned, all the information acquired refer back to one main concern: the problems and coping behavior of middle-aged fathers with unresolved paternal conflicts. This study's main concern comprises and deals with a lot of factors: their present lives as brought about by the effects of having paternal conflicts, and the complexities of fatherhood after dealing with the said experiences they met way back. Purposive sampling was used in selecting the respondents who are middle-aged fathers living within the Luzon grid. The socio-economic status of the subjects was not considered. Also, this study did not focus on the time the paternal conflict occurred. A one-on-one in-depth interview with each of the respondents was conducted, allowing the researchers to obtain the necessary data and information that are held valuable and significant in the overall completion of the study. The grounds of the analysis of the content of this study refer back to the interviews and data collected. The results of the data show that middle-aged fathers experience financial, familial and health problems. The nature of the unresolved paternal conflict varies among cases: there are financial conflicts, the physical absence of their father, conflict of principle, and the son's having a wrong perception of his father. The results also show that middle-aged fathers employ various coping strategies: they keep their problems all to themselves, resort to other immediate family members for emotional support, emulate or be exactly the opposite of their father, be indifferent towards other people, and just become optimistic about things. This study also found out that the unresolved paternal conflicts of most of the nine middle-aged fathers still have an effect towards their present lives. At present, being fathers themselves, the middle-aged fathers try not to commit the same faults which their own fathers did to their respective families.