mrz
15-05-03, 18:15
Absent fathers linked to teenage pregnancies
11:36 15 May 03
Exclusive from New Scientist Print Edition
Numerous studies show that girls reach puberty younger, become sexually active earlier and are more likely to get pregnant in their teens if their father was absent from the home from when they were young. But the usual explanation - that such families are under more stress - is now being challenged by a long-term study of girls in New Zealand and the US, the Western countries with the highest teen pregnancy rates.
Having no father usually means less household income and a greater chance of other disadvantages, such as domestic violence or a depressed mother. According to the stress hypothesis, this triggers some innate mechanism that ensures that girls pass on their genes sooner when times are tough.
If this is the case, the problem of teenage pregnancies in such families could be tackled by relieving the stress, for instance by providing more support for single mothers. But the latest study shows that even when stress is taken out of the equation, an absent father is still associated with earlier sexual behaviour.
A team led by psychologist Bruce Ellis of the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, followed more than 700 girls from preschool to age 17 or 18, monitoring 10 different aspects of their lives including family income, behavioural problems, exposure to violence and parenting styles.
They confirmed that teenage girls raised without fathers are more likely to suffer from depression, drop out of school and have other behavioural problems.
Factor X
But while these problems were clearly linked to psychosocial stress, it was the presence or absence of a father that had the biggest impact on the girls' early sexual behaviour.
"The study rules out that these teenage girls are at risk for early pregnancy only because absence of the father introduces stressors into the home such as poverty," says Ellis, whose results appear in Child Development (vol 74, p 101).
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Why they are at risk is not clear. "The study certainly suggests that some Factor X triggers early sexual activity in girls who grow up without their fathers, but it is difficult to work out what the mechanism might be," says James Chisholm, an expert on early puberty at the University of Western Australia in Perth.
It is not simply the absence of a father figure. Other work by Ellis's team suggests that girls raised with stepfathers engage in sexual activity even earlier. One possibility is that the girls learn "dating" behaviour earlier by mimicking their mothers.
But Ellis suspects that girls whose father is absent undergo personality changes at an early age that make them more likely to interact with males. Other studies show that girls raised in the absence of their fathers tend to sit closer to and interact more readily with men.
Ellis's results may well be seized upon by advocates of traditional families. But Ellis cautions that the study reveals only associations, not cause and effect. Absent fathers may not be the problem: instead, it could be that some girls inherit the tendency to indulge in risky sexual behaviour.
Rachel Nowak, Melbourne
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993724
11:36 15 May 03
Exclusive from New Scientist Print Edition
Numerous studies show that girls reach puberty younger, become sexually active earlier and are more likely to get pregnant in their teens if their father was absent from the home from when they were young. But the usual explanation - that such families are under more stress - is now being challenged by a long-term study of girls in New Zealand and the US, the Western countries with the highest teen pregnancy rates.
Having no father usually means less household income and a greater chance of other disadvantages, such as domestic violence or a depressed mother. According to the stress hypothesis, this triggers some innate mechanism that ensures that girls pass on their genes sooner when times are tough.
If this is the case, the problem of teenage pregnancies in such families could be tackled by relieving the stress, for instance by providing more support for single mothers. But the latest study shows that even when stress is taken out of the equation, an absent father is still associated with earlier sexual behaviour.
A team led by psychologist Bruce Ellis of the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, followed more than 700 girls from preschool to age 17 or 18, monitoring 10 different aspects of their lives including family income, behavioural problems, exposure to violence and parenting styles.
They confirmed that teenage girls raised without fathers are more likely to suffer from depression, drop out of school and have other behavioural problems.
Factor X
But while these problems were clearly linked to psychosocial stress, it was the presence or absence of a father that had the biggest impact on the girls' early sexual behaviour.
"The study rules out that these teenage girls are at risk for early pregnancy only because absence of the father introduces stressors into the home such as poverty," says Ellis, whose results appear in Child Development (vol 74, p 101).
Related Stories
Wannabe fathers ramp up testosterone
9 October 2002
Single mums raise better broods
17 April 2002
Following in father's footsteps pays dividends
25 March 2002
Why they are at risk is not clear. "The study certainly suggests that some Factor X triggers early sexual activity in girls who grow up without their fathers, but it is difficult to work out what the mechanism might be," says James Chisholm, an expert on early puberty at the University of Western Australia in Perth.
It is not simply the absence of a father figure. Other work by Ellis's team suggests that girls raised with stepfathers engage in sexual activity even earlier. One possibility is that the girls learn "dating" behaviour earlier by mimicking their mothers.
But Ellis suspects that girls whose father is absent undergo personality changes at an early age that make them more likely to interact with males. Other studies show that girls raised in the absence of their fathers tend to sit closer to and interact more readily with men.
Ellis's results may well be seized upon by advocates of traditional families. But Ellis cautions that the study reveals only associations, not cause and effect. Absent fathers may not be the problem: instead, it could be that some girls inherit the tendency to indulge in risky sexual behaviour.
Rachel Nowak, Melbourne
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993724