Dad in distress (4)
I believe the answer is:
pain
'distress' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'dad in' is the wordplay.
'dad' becomes 'pa' (both can mean one's father).
'pa'+'in'='PAIN'
(Other definitions for pain that I've seen before include "Suffering of body or mind" , "Mental distress" , "Annoying person" , "great discomfort" , "Physical discomfort" .)