Research & Resources

This research examined the effects of fathers’ presence or absence and quality of behavior during childhood/adolescence on daughters’ frequency of substance use during adolescence. Participants were 223 sister pairs from divorced/separated biological families. Sisters’ developmental exposure to socially deviant paternal behavior predicted their frequency of tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis (TAC) use. Older sisters who co-resided with fathers who were more socially deviant reported more frequent TAC use during adolescence. More frequent TAC use predicted more risky sexual behavior for these daughters. No effects were found for younger sisters who spent less time living with their fathers.

The paper, “Effects of Fathers on Adolescent Daughters’ Frequency of Substance Use and Risky Sexual Behavior,” was funded by the National Science Foundation. It was published in the Journal of Research on Adolescence.