Fatherless Daughters: How Growing Up Without a Dad Affects Women

Growing Up Without a Dad Shapes Who You Are

It took six decades, but I can finally utter a huge truth that caused me tremendous shame and sadness: My father didn’t love me. I never spoke that deep, dark secret, but it was always festering inside of me. It manifested itself in many ways throughout my life as I struggled with a food obsession, low self-esteem, social anxiety, and depression.

Whether a dad was present but rejecting like mine or walked away from his fatherly duties entirely, his absence leaves an indelible mark on a daughter’s psyche as she grows into adulthood. What does the research say about woman who grew up with fathers who didn’t love them-daughters who were never daddy’s little girl?

Below, you’ll find six ways a daughter may be affected by an uninvolved dad.

“Fathers provide their daughters with a masculine example. They teach their children about respect and boundaries and help put daughters at ease with other men throughout their lives. […] So if she didn’t grow up with a proper example, she will have less insight and she’ll be more…