Development, Validation, and Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Father Hunger Scale

Scholars have emphasized the importance of fathers in child development with regard to academic performance, emotional expression, and psychological adjustment. This study builds on that literature and describes the development of an empirically derived measure of father hunger , the emotional and psychological longing that a person has for a father who has been physically, emotionally, or psychologically distant. Study 1 employed 105 undergraduates who responded to 41 father-hunger items and 4 free-response questions. Exploratory factor analysis yielded 1 primary factor with 11 items. Study 2 employed 240 undergraduates whose responses supported the scale's 1-factor structure, convergent validity with other validated scales, and test-retest reliability across 14 days. The Father Hunger Scale holds promise in advancing research on the role of fathers throughout child and adult development, as well as on the causes, correlates, and sequelae of unrequited father hunger.