ERIC Number: EJ1145552
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Jul
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0012-1649
EISSN: N/A
Impact of Fathers on Parental Monitoring of Daughters and Their Affiliation with Sexually Promiscuous Peers: A Genetically and Environmentally Controlled Sibling Study
DelPriore, Danielle J.; Schlomer, Gabriel L.; Ellis, Bruce J.
Developmental Psychology, v53 n7 p1330-1343 Jul 2017
Girls who receive higher quality fathering engage in less risky sexual behavior (RSB) than their peers. Previous research identifies higher levels of parental monitoring/knowledge and reduced affiliation with deviant peers as potential mediators of this observed fathering effect. Although paternal investment theory posits a causal effect of fathers on daughters' RSB, and on the intervening processes that mediate this effect, these relations could arise from genetic or environmental confounds. To address this limitation, we employed the genetically- and environmentally controlled differential sibling-exposure design (N = 101 sister pairs; ages 18-36), which retrospectively examines the effects of differential sibling exposure to family disruption/father absence and quality of fathering. Consistent with a causal explanation, differences between older and younger sisters in the effects of fathering quality on parental monitoring and peer RSB were greatest in biologically disrupted families when there was a large age gap between the sisters (thus maximizing differential exposure to fathers), with greater exposure within families to higher quality fathering increasing parental monitoring and reducing affiliation with sexually promiscuous peers. No such differences were found between older and younger sisters in families with little or no differential exposure to fathers (e.g., biologically intact families) or in response to differences in mothering quality. Taken together, these findings suggest that higher quality fathering may decrease daughters' engagement in RSB by increasing the amount of parental monitoring that they receive and decreasing their affiliation with peers who promote RSB.
Descriptors: Females, Fathers, Parenting Styles, Daughters, Sexuality, Peer Relationship, Genetics, Environmental Influences, Siblings, Parent Influence, Age Differences, Family Violence, Measures (Individuals), Surveys, Health Behavior, At Risk Persons, Correlation, Statistical Analysis
American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF); Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (USDA)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Conflict Tactics Scale
Grant or Contract Numbers: BCS1322573; ARZT136838H07182