Study on Understanding a Past/Present Positive Relationship with Your Father
Do you or did you have a positive relationship with your father? Would you like to share that experience with a UBC researcher?
A research team at the University of British Columbia, led by the principal investigator, Dr. David Kuhl is researching this question.
If you are interested in learning more about this study, please contact Mr. Paul Nakhla by phone 604 773-7325 or by email
"*" indicates required fields
Background to the study:
Fathers, present or absent, have an impact on their children. Positive and/or negative effects of parent/child relationships generally last a life time. Adverse childhood experiences (e.g. abuse, neglect, substance abuse, mental illness) contribute to morbidity and mortality, i.e. to the leading causes of death in adults. Positive father involvement is associated with: a child’s emotional and social development, cognitive and language development, success in school, protection from risky behaviours and situations, positive outcomes in adolescence and adulthood, and in becoming gender-equitable and empowered individuals. Despite being one of the most formative relationships in a child’s life, the relationship they share with their father continues to be understudied in today’s research. Research on fatherhood lags greatly behind that of motherhood. This is in large part due to the widely held belief that the mother is the natural and most appropriate “primary caregiver” – a term that describes the person in the child’s life with whom they share the strongest bond. However, fathers also matter.
Dr. David Kuhl, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia is conducting a study to enhance our understanding of the lived experience of adult children who had/have a positive relationship with their father. This qualitative study will use in-depth interviews to examine participants’ (daughters, sons and non-binary children) self-reported positive experience of their relationship with their father.