Ausencia paternal e incidencia en la calidad de las relaciones de pareja en adultos tempranos de la Universidad de Cuenca, Facultad de Jurisprudencia y Ciencias Sociales, carrera de Orientación Familiar, periodo 2025– 2026

Abstract

Father absence is a common family trait and can affect people's emotional and relational development at different stages of their lives. This research focused on studying the effect of father absence on the quality of romantic relationships among young adults studying Family Counseling at the University of Cuenca. The study was a quantitative, descriptive, and cross- sectional investigation. A total of 69 students were selected using non-probability convenience sampling. Instruments were used to collect data on father absence and the quality of romantic relationships. The results showed that 42% of the participants experienced significant father absence, while 66.7% had stable romantic relationships. There was a tendency toward more relational difficulties among participants with greater father absence, but most students managed to establish good emotional relationships, and father absence is not a determining factor in the quality of emotional relationships in early adulthood. We conclude that father absence is a factor in relationships, but one that is influenced by many family and personal factors. The findings are relevant to Family Counseling because we need to strengthen family bonds and provide tools for stable emotional relationships.