Relationship between Father-Daughter Relationship Quality and Fear of Intimacy among Female Students of United States International University – Africa, Nairobi County

The role of fathers in the lives of their children has recently become a topic of interest in research since most of the parenting research has focused on the mothers’ relationships with their children. The studies that have been done on fathers are mostly on father-son relationships, and considerably less have focused on fathers and daughters. Increasing numbers of divorce cases and non-committal relationships in the contemporary society raises curiosity on the nature of intimate relationships. There is a question on whether intimacy is related to nurture, and in particular, if fathers influence their daughters’ patterns of intimacy. The study aimed to establish whether there was an existing relationship between father-daughter relationship quality and fear of intimacy levels among female university students in United States International University – Africa, Nairobi County. The other objectives included assessing the father-daughter relationship quality among female university students, and evaluating the level of fear of intimacy among female university students. The study utilized a correlational research design. Convenient sampling was used to obtain the sample of 135 female students from the United States International University. The father-daughter relationship quality was assessed using the Network of Relationships – Relationship Quality Version while the fear of intimacy was established using the Fear of Intimacy Scale. With the use of SPSS 24.0, descriptive statistics such as percentages and the measures of central tendency were used to describe the data collected. The Pearson correlation coefficient was also used to determine whether a relationship existed between father-daughter relationship quality and the fear of intimacy among female university students. The findings revealed that there were no significant differences between father-daughter relationship quality and the fear of intimacy among female students in the United States International University. Significant differences were however observed between the age of the respondents and the closeness in relationship with their fathers. A significant relationship (r = 0.81, p =0.00) was also found among perceived relationship with fathers and closeness while a significant negative (r = -0.27, p =0.00) correlation was observed among perceived relationship with father and discord. Based on these findings, it was suggested that workshops and outreach programs should be considered to sensitize both fathers and daughters on the importance of their relationship, and on ways that could be improved. Due to the high levels of fear of intimacy recorded, a suggestion was made that female students should be encouraged to go for therapy, which is offered freely within the school.