The Mediating Role of Lack of Fatherly Love in the Relationship Between Self-Esteem and Adjustment Among Undergraduate Students

Abstract

This study examined the mediating role of lack of fatherly love in the relationship between self esteem and adjustment among undergraduate students. A correlational design was adopted. Participants were 622 undergraduate students, comprising 340 females and 282 males, aged 16–25 years, with a mean age of 21.11 years (SD = 2.538), drawn from five tertiary institutions in Enugu Nigeria using availability and purposive sampling techniques. Data were collected using measures of adjustment, lack of fatherly presence, and self-esteem. Pearson correlation and regression-based mediation analysis were used to test the hypotheses. The findings showed that self-esteem did not significantly predict adjustment, B = 0.115, β = .040, p = .694. Lack of fatherly love also did not significantly predict adjustment, B = 0.022, β = .027, p = .796. Similarly, self-esteem did not significantly predict lack of fatherly love, B = −0.222, β = −.066, p = .536. The proposed mediating effect of lack of fatherly love was also not significant, indirect effect = −0.005, 95% CI [−0.108, 0.064]. However, the overall adjustment model was significant, F(6, 89) = 2.478, p = .029. The study concludes that self-esteem and lack of fatherly love did not independently explain adjustment in the sample.