<p>This is a large subject area, but I will outline a strong starting point for you to do more research where needed.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00797308.1980.11823111" rel="nofollow noreferrer">James M. Herzog's (1980)</a> term <em>Father Hunger</em>, sometimes referred to as a syndrome, and sometimes referred to as the <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father_complex" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Father Complex</a></em> may have its roots in many theories developed over the years.</p>

<p>Those who subscribe to Psychodynamic theories, the roots of <em>Father Hunger</em> could be from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Freud</a> and his <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oedipus_complex" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Oedipus Complex</a>, or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Jung" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Carl Jung</a> and his <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electra_complex" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Electra Complex</a>.  Both of these are in Freud's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychosexual_development" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Psychosexual Theory of Development</a> during the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phallic_stage" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Phalic Stage</a> of development, (around the age of 3 to 6 years), which also equates to Erik Erikson's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erikson%27s_stages_of_psychosocial_development" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Psychosocial Theory of Development</a> stage of Initiative vs. Guilt (Sigelman &amp; Rider, 2012: p38).</p>

<p>The <em>Father Complex</em> Wikipedia article, which has plenty of source links, states that</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The father complex also stood at the conceptual core of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totem_and_Taboo" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Totem and Taboo (1912-3)</a>. Even after the break with Jung, when "complex" became a term to be handled with care among Freudians, the father complex remained important in Freud's theorizing in the twenties; — for example, it appeared prominently in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Future_of_an_Illusion" rel="nofollow noreferrer">The Future of an Illusion (1927)</a>. Others in Freud's circle wrote freely of the complex's ambivalent nature. However, by 1946, and Otto Fenichel's compendious summary of the first psychoanalytic half-century, [in The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis (1946)] the father complex tended to be subsumed under the broader scope of the Oedipus complex as a whole.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Alongside the shift from a Freudian emphasis on the role of the father to <a href="http://www.melanie-klein-trust.org.uk/klein" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Melanie Klein</a>'s beliefs surrounding <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Object_relations_theory" rel="nofollow noreferrer">object relations theory</a> stressing upon the mother, what psychoanalysis tended to single out was the search for the father, and the negative effects of the switched-off father.  <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father_complex" rel="nofollow noreferrer">In postmodernism</a>, the father complex surrounds the loss of paternal authority — the absence of the father.  The father could be absent due to death, marriage separation, divorce or simple withdrawal by the father.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Father hunger is the result of receiving too little quality fathering as a child or young adult. Some argue that even grown men and women need fathers or father surrogates and that the absence of such role modeling and support is associated with less fulfillment in life. In general, father hunger results from too little intimacy between child and father. (<a href="http://www.personalconsult.com/books/lostfathering1.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Schaller, 1995</a>)</p>
</blockquote>

<p>There is a mixture of psychosexual development theory and postmodernist theory within an article stating that</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The tween years find daughters writhing into a sea of hormones as puberty overtakes their bodies. They become extremely emotional. Girls edging into womanhood want to know how to act. They question “Am I attractive?” “Am I loveable?”</p>
  
  <p>Fathers are looked to for answers to these developmental questions. Young adolescent girls bring an intensity to dads as they want to talk about these things. Girls long to understand the opposite sex and how they rate. And girls do all this in a style that is over the top – from giggling to screeching, from restless to rebellious. Uncomfortable with emotions to begin with, fathers resist daughters who feel overwhelming to them.</p>
  
  <p>Add burgeoning sexuality to the mix. As girls physically morph into curvaceous women, fathers often withdraw because the change makes them uncomfortable, unsure if those old hugs or kisses are inappropriate somehow. (Sagarese, 2014)</p>
</blockquote>

<hr>

<h2>References</h2>

<p>Herzog, J. M. (1980). <em>Sleep disturbance and father hunger in 18-to-28-month-old boys: The Erlkönig Syndrome</em>. In: Solnit, et al., eds. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 35(1): pp 223-230<br>PMID: <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7433580" rel="nofollow noreferrer">7433580</a> DOI: <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00797308.1980.11823111" rel="nofollow noreferrer">10.1080/00797308.1980.11823111</a><br>URL: <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00797308.1980.11823111" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00797308.1980.11823111</a></p>

<p>Sagarese, M., (2014) <em>Dads, Daughters and Food</em> [Online]<br>Available at: <a href="http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2014-05-16/features/sfp-dads-daughters-food_1_father-and-daughter-dads-yo-yo-dieting" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2014-05-16/features/sfp-dads-daughters-food_1_father-and-daughter-dads-yo-yo-dieting</a></p>

<p>Schaller, J. L., (1995). <em>The Search for Lost Fathering: Rebuilding Your Father Relationship</em><br>Grand Rapids, MI: Fleming H Revell Co. ISBN-13: 978-0800755522<br><strong>Chapters 1, 3 &amp; 8 free to read on the <a href="http://www.personalconsult.com/books/lostfathering1.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">author's website</a></strong></p>

<p>Sigelman, C. K. &amp; Rider, E. A., (2012). <em>Life-Span Human Development.</em> 7th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-03-29T13:36:58.210Z
2017-04-19T20:16:54.683Z
2017-04-19T20:16:54.683Z
Chris Rogers
<p>I found the father-hunger syndrome. Does anyone knows if there is another, maybe more official term for that? </p>

<p>Any sources that someone could use for the particular syndrome?</p>

<cognitive-psychology><developmental-psychology>
Father hunger syndrome
Xxxo
# Father hunger syndrome

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-03-28)

I found the father-hunger syndrome. Does anyone knows if there is another, maybe more official term for that?

Any sources that someone could use for the particular syndrome?

**Tags:** cognitive-psychology, developmental-psychology


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2017-03-29. Score: 6 | Accepted answer

This is a large subject area, but I will outline a strong starting point for you to do more research where needed.

[James M. Herzog's (1980)](http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00797308.1980.11823111) term *Father Hunger*, sometimes referred to as a syndrome, and sometimes referred to as the *[Father Complex](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father_complex)* may have its roots in many theories developed over the years.

Those who subscribe to Psychodynamic theories, the roots of *Father Hunger* could be from [Freud](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud) and his [Oedipus Complex](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oedipus_complex), or [Carl Jung](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Jung) and his [Electra Complex](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electra_complex). Both of these are in Freud's [Psychosexual Theory of Development](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychosexual_development) during the [Phalic Stage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phallic_stage) of development, (around the age of 3 to 6 years), which also equates to Erik Erikson's [Psychosocial Theory of Development](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erikson%27s_stages_of_psychosocial_development) stage of Initiative vs. Guilt (Sigelman & Rider, 2012: p38).

The *Father Complex* Wikipedia article, which has plenty of source links, states that

> The father complex also stood at the conceptual core of [Totem and Taboo (1912-3)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totem_and_Taboo). Even after the break with Jung, when "complex" became a term to be handled with care among Freudians, the father complex remained important in Freud's theorizing in the twenties; — for example, it appeared prominently in [The Future of an Illusion (1927)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Future_of_an_Illusion). Others in Freud's circle wrote freely of the complex's ambivalent nature. However, by 1946, and Otto Fenichel's compendious summary of the first psychoanalytic half-century, [in The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis (1946)] the father complex tended to be subsumed under the broader scope of the Oedipus complex as a whole.

Alongside the shift from a Freudian emphasis on the role of the father to [Melanie Klein](http://www.melanie-klein-trust.org.uk/klein)'s beliefs surrounding [object relations theory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Object_relations_theory) stressing upon the mother, what psychoanalysis tended to single out was the search for the father, and the negative effects of the switched-off father. [In postmodernism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father_complex), the father complex surrounds the loss of paternal authority — the absence of the father. The father could be absent due to death, marriage separation, divorce or simple withdrawal by the father.

> Father hunger is the result of receiving too little quality fathering as a child or young adult. Some argue that even grown men and women need fathers or father surrogates and that the absence of such role modeling and support is associated with less fulfillment in life. In general, father hunger results from too little intimacy between child and father. ([Schaller, 1995](http://www.personalconsult.com/books/lostfathering1.html))

There is a mixture of psychosexual development theory and postmodernist theory within an article stating that

> The tween years find daughters writhing into a sea of hormones as puberty overtakes their bodies. They become extremely emotional. Girls edging into womanhood want to know how to act. They question “Am I attractive?” “Am I loveable?”
>
> Fathers are looked to for answers to these developmental questions. Young adolescent girls bring an intensity to dads as they want to talk about these things. Girls long to understand the opposite sex and how they rate. And girls do all this in a style that is over the top – from giggling to screeching, from restless to rebellious. Uncomfortable with emotions to begin with, fathers resist daughters who feel overwhelming to them.
>
> Add burgeoning sexuality to the mix. As girls physically morph into curvaceous women, fathers often withdraw because the change makes them uncomfortable, unsure if those old hugs or kisses are inappropriate somehow. (Sagarese, 2014)

---

## References

Herzog, J. M. (1980). *Sleep disturbance and father hunger in 18-to-28-month-old boys: The Erlkönig Syndrome*. In: Solnit, et al., eds. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 35(1): pp 223-230  
PMID: [7433580](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7433580) DOI: [10.1080/00797308.1980.11823111](http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00797308.1980.11823111)  
URL: <http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00797308.1980.11823111>

Sagarese, M., (2014) *Dads, Daughters and Food* [Online]  
Available at: <http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2014-05-16/features/sfp-dads-daughters-food_1_father-and-daughter-dads-yo-yo-dieting>

Schaller, J. L., (1995). *The Search for Lost Fathering: Rebuilding Your Father Relationship*  
Grand Rapids, MI: Fleming H Revell Co. ISBN-13: 978-0800755522  
**Chapters 1, 3 & 8 free to read on the [author's website](http://www.personalconsult.com/books/lostfathering1.html)**

Sigelman, C. K. & Rider, E. A., (2012). *Life-Span Human Development.* 7th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.


---

