Brief Version of Father Presence Questionnaire – Chinese Version

Description

The impact of World War II led early empirical studies on father-son relationships to focus primarily on the absence of fathers or fatherly love (Father’s Absence). Father absence or fatherly love deficiency refers to the phenomenon where children lack a father’s education and affection due to various reasons such as long-term separation, divorce, or unexpected death (Taims, 2004). In these studies, the term “father presence” only refers to fathers living with their children or serves as a mere antonym of father absence. Over the past 30 years, researchers have increasingly shifted their focus towards father involvement (Father Involvement) in father-son relationship studies (Krampe, 2006). It wasn’t until the 21st century that father presence began to emerge as a significant topic in this research area, particularly from the perspective of adult children, exploring the impact of father-son relationships on their growth, thus enriching the studies on father-son relations. The concept of father presence is an emerging concept proposed by Krampe (2009). Krampe synthesized findings from previous research in various fields, including psychology, history, anthropology, sociology, and religion, to define father presence from the child’s perspective. He proposed that father presence reflects a psychological state of whether the father is “present” or “absent” for the child, as well as the degree of that presence. It can also be understood as the degree of child-perceived closeness and accessibility of the father.

Krampe (2009) not only defined father presence but also introduced the father presence theory, which includes a model built from a dynamic perspective, consisting of four inner-to-outer layers. The innermost part, or core, is the inner father as perceived by the child. The second layer reflects the relationship between the child and the father. The third layer involves the influence of others on the father-son relationship, and the fourth layer, which is the outermost, pertains to the child’s beliefs about the father. The inner father, referred to as The Inner Father in English, is the child’s psychological construction of the father. Bowlby’s attachment theory posits that children have an innate tendency to seek out their mothers. Krampe (2003) further suggested that children have a natural tendency to seek out others when separated from their mothers; thus, the father is often the second person children encounter after their mothers, making the search for a father also an innate tendency. This form the basis of the father presence theory.

Authors and Contact Email

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Purpose

The purpose of the father presence study is to investigate the psychological proximity and accessibility of fathers as perceived by their children.

Test Year

The research and development of the Father Presence Questionnaire (FPQ) and its Chinese version (FPQ-R) were conducted by Krampe and others in 2006 and later revised and evaluated in 2012.

Administration Method and Scoring

Krampe and Newton developed the Father Presence Questionnaire (FPQ) to measure the perceptions and experiences of adult children (ages 18 and above) regarding their fathers. The revised Chinese version (FPQ-R) comprises 96 items, divided into three higher-order dimensions and eight subscales. Due to the excessive number of items in FPQ-R, some items may have overlapping meanings. Thus, based on practicality, Pu Shaohua selected appropriate items from the Chinese revised version to create a brief version and examined its reliability and validity among college students.

Reliability and Validity

– Internal consistency reliability: The Cronbach’s α coefficients for the three higher-order dimensions of FPQ-R-B were 0.91, 0.84, and 0.87, while the Cronbach’s α coefficients for the eight subscales ranged from 0.73 to 0.89.
– Test-retest reliability: The test-retest reliability coefficients of FPQ-R-B over a four-week interval ranged from 0.53 to 0.79, with the test-retest reliability coefficients for the three higher-order dimensions being 0.79, 0.66, and 0.53, and for the eight subscales ranging from 0.53 to 0.76.

Factors and Subscales

The Father Presence Questionnaire (FPQ-R) consists of three higher-order dimensions (高阶维度) and eight subscales (分量表).

Keywords

Father Presence, Father-Son Relationship, Psychological Proximity, Questionnaire

Items in Chinese

1 对我来说，父亲很重要。
2 我感觉父亲总在我的身后并支持我的选择和行动。
3 我尊敬父亲。
4 父亲在我的生活中占据了无人可以替代的特殊地位。
5 母亲鼓励我与父亲交谈。
6 母亲喜欢父亲和我共同参加活动。
7 母亲希望我和父亲亲密。
8 当需要时，父亲协助我完成学校的作业。
9 父亲帮助我学习新的东西。
10 父亲参加我学校的典礼。
11 父亲和我一起参加各种活动和业余爱好。
12 我曾坐在父亲的膝盖上。
13 父亲曾拥抱和/或亲吻我。
14 父亲曾让我坐在他的肩膀上。
15 父亲曾抱我上床睡觉。
16 父母间的关系让我感到愉快。
17 父亲和母亲相互支持和帮助。
18 父亲和母亲相互理解。
19 父亲和母亲情感亲密。
20 母亲对外祖父很失望。
21 母亲尊敬外祖父。
22 母亲恨外祖父。
23 母亲害怕外祖父。
24 和祖父在一起时，父亲感到温暖和安全。
25 父亲和祖父都很享受在一起的时光。
26 父亲觉得与祖父之间很亲密。
27 祖父在父亲的生活中占据了无人可以替代的特殊地位。
28 父亲影响子女与朋友之间的关系。
29 父亲影响子女的道德观和行为。
30 父亲影响子女在学校的表现。
31 父亲影响子女与异性之间的关系。

Items in English

1 For me, my father is important.
2 I feel that my father is always behind me, supporting my choices and actions.
3 I respect my father.
4 My father occupies a special place in my life that no one else can replace.
5 My mother encourages me to talk to my father.
6 My mother enjoys my father and me participating in activities together.
7 My mother hopes for me to be close to my father.
8 When needed, my father assists me with school assignments.
9 My father helps me learn new things.
10 My father attends my school events.
11 My father participates in various activities and hobbies with me.
12 I have sat on my father’s lap.
13 My father has hugged and/or kissed me.
14 My father has let me sit on his shoulders.
15 My father has tucked me into bed.
16 The relationship between my parents makes me feel pleased.
17 My father and mother support and help each other.
18 My father and mother understand each other.
19 My father and mother are emotionally close.
20 My mother is disappointed with my grandfather.
21 My mother respects my grandfather.
22 My mother hates my grandfather.
23 My mother fears my grandfather.
24 When with my grandfather, my father feels warm and safe.
25 My father and grandfather enjoy spending time together.
26 My father feels close to my grandfather.
27 My grandfather occupies a special place in my father’s life that no one else can replace.
28 My father influences my relationships with friends.
29 My father influences my morals and behavior.
30 My father influences my performance in school.
31 My father influences my relationships with the opposite sex.

References

蒲少华,卢彦杰,吴平,卢宁.父亲在位问卷简式版的制定及在大学生中的信效度分析[J].中国临床心理学杂志,2012,20(04):438-441.DOI:10.16128/j.cnki.1005-3611.2012.04.001.
袁晓鸽. 父亲在位对大学生的性别角色和人际交往效能感的影响研究[D].华东师范大学,2019.
张一帆. 大学新生父亲在位、自我控制能力与异性同伴交往的关系[D].河南大学,2016.