Dinamika self-esteem pada perempuan dewasa awal yang mengalami fatherless

The fatherless phenomenon refers to a condition in which individuals grow up without the physical or emotional presence of a father figure, which may affect psychological development into early adulthood. One psychological aspect that is particularly vulnerable to such conditions is self-esteem. This study aims to describe the dynamics of self-esteem among early adult women who experience fatherlessness, including how individuals evaluate themselves, their experiences of self-esteem based on the aspects of competence, significance, power, and virtue, experiences of fatherlessness from childhood that shape self-esteem, as well as strategies used to build and maintain self-esteem. This study employed a qualitative approach with a phenomenological method. The participants consisted of four early adult women aged 20–25 years who had experienced fatherlessness since childhood. The findings indicate that early adult women who experience fatherlessness demonstrate ambivalent self-esteem dynamics. On the one hand, participants exhibited independence, emotional regulation, and the ability to make autonomous decisions as manifestations of adaptive self-esteem. On the other hand, unmet needs for affection, feelings of envy toward intact family relationships, and a tendency to deny these emotional needs were also identified. This condition reflects an internal conflict between the need for affection and the demand to remain emotionally strong, which can be understood as a form of defensive self-esteem. Strategies used by participants to maintain self-esteem include emotional independence, limiting self-disclosure, and seeking support from non-family environments.