The First Man in Her Life: Father Emotional Responsiveness During Adolescence and College Women's Sexual Refusal Behaviors

Abstract

Few empirical studies have examined how fathers influence daughters’ sexual interactions with male peers. We hypothesized that paternal emotional responsiveness would empower daughters to refuse unwanted sex. Female undergraduates (N = 144) and their fathers completed measures of paternal responsiveness during adolescence; daughters also reported their global self-worth, acceptance of male partner dominance, and sexual refusal behaviors. As expected, paternal responsiveness promoted daughters’ refusals of unwanted sex. Paternal responsiveness predicted daughters’ self-worth, partially explaining daughters’ increased sexual assertiveness. Perceived paternal responsiveness also negatively predicted daughters’ acceptance of male dominance. These results suggest that positive paternal relationships promote daughters’ sexual agency.

The authors gratefully acknowledge Alyssa Infantino, Michael Petracca, Jill Rabinowitz, and Julie True for their assistance with data management.