Fathers and their Adolescent Sons

Much has been said over the years about father and daughter relationships. However, scant research has been directed at father and son relationships. Specifically, very little has been written about father and son relationships as the son navigates his way through puberty. The purpose of this research project was to determine how the father and son relationship changes as the son matures during adolescence. Highlights of this study demonstrate that the father and son relationship does indeed change. Fathers and sons emotionally and physically separate as the son experiences pubertal changes. Distancing patterns are evident. After puberty is complete, fathers and sons seem to narrow the gap and regain some of the closeness they lost in the previous years. Fathers also change during this process as they are often going through a mid-life crisis on their own. The work concludes with a call for more research in this area, and suggestions on how fathers can become more relevant in their sons's lives.