What is the "No dad in home" effect on girls?

[Solaris]

As it is the case that a woman learns how to relate to men by how she relates to her father, then what is happening to the huge amount of girls who have no daddy in the home?

 

[skunkfeather]

I think we'd have to do a statistics study to find all the true impacts, but I'd have to imagine the relationships are impacted in many ways.

Still, it would be hard to study, with all of the variables in life and individual homes.

 

[CCGirl]

There have been some studies, girls tend to have sex earlier, make poor relationship decisions, and have little knowledge of what constitutes a healthy marital relationship, without a father in their lives.

An interesting study just came out showing that girls without a father in their lives enter puberty much sooner, up to 2 years earlier than girls with a father in their lives.

 

[moonkitty]

I have several female friends who were not raised with fathers who have happy marriages. I was raised with my dad, but we never got along and yet I still have a happy marriage. I think future relationships are not entirely based on a person’s relationship to their parents or lack of.

 

[Vylo]

They aren't doomed or anything, it is just a factor, an influence.

 

[justanobserver]

I need to think of what to sy to this. I have a 24 yr old daughter that grew up with me being gone a lot in her life due to divorce and my career (US military) at the time.

I hope a Mod will move this to an appropiate section and not close it.

 

[skunkfeather]

This should be in sociology or a similar forum.

Many studies have concluded that children fair worse in single family homes.

I agree that it needs to be moved, but I have to wonder - what would the difference be in blended, extended etc... families, and not just in single parent homes?

Wouldnt all of those variables impact it also?

 

[Autumnleaf]

I think it usually messes up their idea of how relationships should be. Since they have not learned from their father they learn from one of the first men to show them attention. The quality of this guy is usually lacking so she can get used or abused and learns that is how it is to be. So she repeats this pattern until she doesn't anymore.

 

[MethodMan]

Welcome to Ethics and Morality.

I have moved this here with permission from Adiya via PM

 

[Bombila]

I think it usually messes up their idea of how relationships should be. Since they have not learned from their father they learn from one of the first men to show them attention. The quality of this guy is usually lacking so she can get used or abused and learns that is how it is to be. So she repeats this pattern until she doesn't anymore.

Not all fathers are of 'good quality'. I think you are referring to the idea of 'family script', where it is proposed as likely that people grow up to repeat the patterns of relationships they saw as children. Since children of single parents (some of whom are fathers) often have close relationships with grandparents and other relatives, there are other examples of men/women available to them.

After WWII, many thousands of children grew up fatherless. Have studies been done regarding these children, who are now anywhere from sixty to seventy or more years old? Did they marry worse than their two parent sisters?

To CCGirl: Can you find that study? I can't imagine how lacking a father would cause early puberty, unless the generally less financially sound situation of single mothers leads to more use of cheap foods which contain estrogen mimicing chemicals.

 

[CCGirl]

This is all I could find so far:

Link


Altoona, Pa. -- Chemical cues from fathers may be delaying the onset of sexual maturity in daughters, as part of an evolutionary strategy to prevent inbreeding, according to researchers at Penn State.

"Biological fathers send out inhibitory chemical signals to their daughters," said Robert Matchock, assistant professor of psychology at Penn State Altoona. "In the absence of these signals, girls tend to sexually mature earlier."

The effect of chemical cues on sexual maturity is common in the animal world, Matchock explained. If the biological father is removed from rodent families, the daughters tend to mature faster, he said.

"Recently, experts elsewhere discovered a little-known pheromone receptor gene in the human olfactory system, linking the role of pheromones on menarche, or the first occurrence of menstruation," said Matchock, whose findings are published in the recent issue of the American Journal of Human Biology.

 

[chaz345]

I have several female friends who were not raised with fathers who have happy marriages. I was raised with my dad, but we never got along and yet I still have a happy marriage. I think future relationships are not entirely based on a person’s relationship to their parents or lack of.

That some individuals experience a lack of a father and end up with no bad effects is meaningless to the point. There will always be exceptions to any generalization. But in comparing groups, that a higher number of women(and for that matter men too) that grew up without a father will have relational problems, and many other problems too,is pretty much established fact.

 

[quatona]

As it is the case that a woman learns how to relate to men by how she relates to her father, then what is happening to the huge amount of girls who have no daddy in the home?

Depending on the father another girl - that we compare her to - has and the sort of relation that this father offers a model for, the girl without father is either missing something great or can consider herself lucky. Or anything in between.

 

[Ramona]

As it is the case that a woman learns how to relate to men by how she relates to her father, then what is happening to the huge amount of girls who have no daddy in the home?

My father was abusive in just about every way conceivable to me until he signed over his parental rights when I was eight. For the next ten years I lived with my mother and her partner of nearly 14 years, who adopted me when I was nine.

His restraining order expired on my eighteenth birthday (nearly two years ago), and thankfully he has made no attempt to contact me.

All things considered, I, personally, am managing remarkably well.

 

[feral]

I think it can definitely have an affect on a girl when her father is absent from her life. There simply isn't that bond and I think that does lead a girl to look for male attention elsewhere, although I'm not sure what other effects it has. In my case, I've always had my father in my life and my parents have remained married, but he was for all intents and purposes absent from my life for two years during my early teens. He was pursuing a four year degree over a two year period, taking 21+ credits every semester and living on campus in addition to full time employment -- all of this in another city a few hours away from our home at the time. I saw him for a weekend every 3-4 months and I notice when I look back at it, that was a time when I started to be extremely clingy for male attention, very flirtatious and basically much more people pleasing (without discretion). It could have been a lot of things but I think my dad's absence contributed to that.

 

[Solaris]

Interesting thoughts especaily about the delayed onset of puberty.
I wonder what went on while I was away, but i dont really want to know.

 

[Bombila]

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/112657475/ABSTRACT?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

This is all I could find so far:

Link


Altoona, Pa. -- Chemical cues from fathers may be delaying the onset of sexual maturity in daughters, as part of an evolutionary strategy to prevent inbreeding, according to researchers at Penn State.

"Biological fathers send out inhibitory chemical signals to their daughters," said Robert Matchock, assistant professor of psychology at Penn State Altoona. "In the absence of these signals, girls tend to sexually mature earlier."

The effect of chemical cues on sexual maturity is common in the animal world, Matchock explained. If the biological father is removed from rodent families, the daughters tend to mature faster, he said.

"Recently, experts elsewhere discovered a little-known pheromone receptor gene in the human olfactory system, linking the role of pheromones on menarche, or the first occurrence of menstruation," said Matchock, whose findings are published in the recent issue of the American Journal of Human Biology.

Thank you, CCG. With that info I was able to find an abstract of the actual paper, which reveals there is more to it than fathers, and the pheromone theory is not well understood:

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/112657475/ABSTRACT?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

Original Research Article
Family composition and menarcheal age: Anti-inbreeding strategies
Robert L. Matchock 1 *, Elizabeth J. Susman 2
1Department of Psychology, Altoona Campus, Pennsylvania State University, Altoona,
Abstract
Family composition (e.g., the absence of a father) is associated with pubertal timing in women, although the socioendocrinology of the human primate is poorly understood. To better understand social influences on sexual maturation, retrospective data were collected on menarcheal age and family composition from a sample of approximately 1,938 participants from a college population. Absence of a biological father, the presence of half- and step-brothers, and living in an urban environment were associated with earlier menarche. The presence of sisters in the household while growing up, especially older sisters, was associated with delayed menarche. Menarcheal age was not affected by number of brothers in the household, nor was there an effect of birth order. Body weight and race were also associated with menarche. The present findings advance the literature as they are suggestive of putative human pheromones that modulate sexual maturation to promote gene survival and prevent inbreeding, as occurs in rodents and nonhuman primates. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 18:481-491, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

 

[CCGirl]

Awesome! Thanks for digging that up.



Truthfully, I heard it on CBC radio, so I didnt dig too far into the story, just kinda grabbed a reliable link!! I find this quite interesting.

 

[justanobserver]

I wouldnt have ever gave any thought to a chemical connection. I would have assumed the psycological/emotional effect by a dad that was not there for most or all her formative years.

 

[CCGirl]

I wouldnt have ever gave any thought to a chemical connection. I would have assumed the psycological/emotional effect by a dad that was not there for most or all her formative years.

I always thought so too, and that, IMO, is still valid as having a healthy role model and developing healthy relationships. (Generally)

However, I know many women who are single mums, 90% wihout bio dad in the picture. Some girls have step fathers. Almost all of the girls started menstruating earlier than the norm, my 3 nieces (from previous marriage) all started menstruating at the age of 9 and 10. The others were all under 11. That is far below the average in "western cultures". Just a personal observation.