Father absence, parental care, and female reproductive development
Introduction
In Western industrial populations, father absence is a risk factor for undesirable developmental outcomes: early sexual activity, teen pregnancy, and unstable marriages later in life (e.g., Bumpass et al., 1991, Ellis et al., 2003, Glenn & Kramer, 1987, Hogan & Kitagawa, 1985, Keith & Finlay, 1988, Kiernan & Hobcraft, 1997, Kinnaird & Gerrard, 1986, McLanahan & Bumpass, 1988, Newcomer and Udry, 1987). The mechanisms by which fathers affect offspring are unknown: Fathers may serve as a cue for canalization of reproductive strategies Draper & Harpending, 1982, Ellis, 2002 or they may alter patterns of parental care influencing development Barber, 2000, Ellis et al., 2003. Father absence may affect development through shared genes (e.g., Comings, Muhleman, Johnson, MacMurray, 2002), exposure to unrelated males (Ellis, 2002), and modeling of mothers' sexual behavior (Amato, 1999). Stress related to divorce and economic uncertainty may confound effects of father absence (Chisholm, 1999, pp. 161–168).
This study examines father absence, timing of parental separation and changes in caretaking environment, and their associations with female reproductive development in the United States. Multivariate analyses control for indicators of stressful environments, phenotypic correlations with mothers' reproductive strategy, and direct effects of fathers and stepfathers. Results suggest that quality of direct parental care during early childhood predicts differences in female reproductive development.
Human parental investment (PI) is complex, involving different types of resources. There is a tradeoff between investment in direct childcare and indirect investment (Quinlan, Quinlan, & Flinn, 2003). Some parents choose to emphasize investment in education, status symbols, etc. at a cost to direct care. Children may have different developmental responses to various facets of PI. Development may be insensitive to indirect PI because during human evolution there were few avenues for indirect investment (Kaplan & Lancaster, 2000). If human parenting behavior evolved to foster offspring social competency (Geary & Flinn, 2001), then children may be attuned to variations in direct care. Socioeconomics, hence, may have weak influence on development, except when parental economic activities affect patterns of direct care: when, for example, parents must work two jobs to make ends meet.
Here, two variables indicate limited direct parental care: (1) pair-bond dissolution, and (2) changes in caretaking arrangements. If all else is equal, two parents provide more direct care than a single parent. Behavioral studies found that children with two parents spent more time at home and with their mother than did father-absent children (Quinlan & Flinn, 2003), and girls in two-parent households were better supervised than were father-absent girls (Flinn, 1988a). Other studies found reduced parental supervision in single-mother households Dornbusch et al., 1985, Newcomer and Udry, 1987, and many studies document shorter duration of breastfeeding among father-absent children Bar-Yam & Darby, 1997, Kiehl et al., 1996, Pande et al., 1997, Quinlan et al., 2003, Vega Lopez & Gonzalez Perez, 1993. Other changes in caretaking arrangements suggest inconsistency in direct care. After controlling for potential confounds, pair-bond dissolution and changes in caretaking arrangements serve as proxies of direct parental care.
Life history strategies reflect two basic “decisions” (see Stearns, 1992): whether to reproduce now or later, and the amount of resources to invest in each offspring. “Choosing” a strategy depends on the costs and benefits of alternatives. Where fitness hinges on accumulation of resources and skills, delaying reproduction is appropriate (Geary & Bjorklund, 2000). Long delays, however, can reduce fitness through a shortened reproductive span, discounted reproduction, and mortality exposure.
Draper and Harpending (1982, 1988) suggest that humans evolved psychological mechanisms that use father presence during childhood as a cue for developing life history strategies. Father presence denotes an environment requiring two parents for child survival and cultural success and cues development of a parenting effort strategy (delayed maturation, stable relationships, low fertility). Conversely, father absence indicates that two parents are not necessary and cues a mating effort strategy (early maturation, short term partners, high fertility). The model posits a sensitive period: Family life from birth to 5–7 years shapes children's expectations of adult reproductive options (Belsky, Steinberg, & Draper, 1991, p. 651). Developmental canalization is adaptive if conditions in childhood persist into adulthood.
Modifications of Draper and Harpending's (1982, 1988) model suggest that attachment mediates between early experience and adult behavior (Belsky et al., 1991). Father absence causes less responsive care, because mothers' time and attention are divided between making a living and caring for children. Unresponsiveness results in insecure attachment and an insecure “model” of social relationships. Insecure adults tend toward mating effort strategies. Conversely, secure attachment leads to a secure model of relationships and a parenting effort strategy. Attachment style is associated with conjugal behavior (e.g., Feeney, 2002, Gallo & Smith, 2001, Hill et al., 1994). Hence, parental separation early in life may predict conjugal instability and number of sex partners.
These evolutionary ideas suggest a “rule of thumb” for reproductive development. Quality of direct parental care received during childhood determines whether development continues or not and indicates appropriate adult strategies. If PI is forthcoming, then offspring should delay reproduction. High levels of PI indicate an environment in which offspring success is sensitive to parental care, and a long developmental period should improve offspring competency. If PI is not forthcoming, then offspring should accelerate reproductive development. Low levels of PI may indicate that success is not dependent on parental care, because “care-independent” risks are high (see Borgerhoff Mulder, 1992, Chisholm, 1999). If PI is not forthcoming, then delaying reproduction may not be beneficial and may reduce fitness. Therefore, limited PI should predict accelerated maturation.
The biological stress response may link direct parental care to reproductive development Belsky et al., 1991, Chisholm, 1999. Unresponsive parenting is positively associated with children's stress (cortisol) Gunnar, 2000, Gunnar & Donzella, 2002, and children of single mothers tend to have elevated cortisol levels (Flinn, Quinlan, Turner, Decker, & England, 1996). Stressful family environments are associated with accelerated reproductive development Ellis & Garber, 2000, Ellis et al., 1999, Hulanicka, 1999, Moffitt et al., 1992, and parental “affectionate-positivity” and time fathers spent in childcare are associated with delayed puberty in girls (Ellis et al., 1999). In sum, the stress response may have “organizational” effects that adjust life history strategies in reaction to early experience (Worthman, 1999, pp. 87–88). [The stress response is also associated with attachment style (Spangler & Schieche, 1998).] Timing of parental separation may influence the strength of effects on development, because organizational influences are strongest in early childhood. Girls whose parents divorce or separate between birth and 6 years should be at higher risk of early menarche, first sexual intercourse, and first pregnancy. If, however, modeling of mother's mating behavior is the mechanism linking father absence to development (e.g., Amato, 1999), then separation during early or middle childhood (even adolescence) should have equal effects on girls reproductive development, and under the “modeling hypothesis” parental separation should not affect menarche.
A biosocial hypothesis, contrary to the parental investment model, suggests that father absence/presence may influence girls' reproductive development regardless of intermediate effects on quality of parental care. Mechanisms for this direct effect are not clear: Pheromones of unrelated adult males may accelerate maturation or paternal pheromones may delay puberty to avoid father–daughter incest (Ellis, 2002). If fathers directly influence development, regardless of their effect on parental care, or if exposure to unrelated males accelerates development, then girls living with their father postseparation should show similar development to girls in intact families, and girls living with stepfathers should be at risk of early menarche, first sex, and first pregnancy.
Section snippets
Data
The National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) is a study of reproduction in a sample of 10,847 U.S. women aged 15–44 years conducted between 1973 and 1995 (Amba, Chandra, Mosher, Peterson, & Piccinino, 1997). Analyses are for the 1995 survey. The NSFG is not ideal for identifying causal mechanisms; however, multivariate analyses and tests of multiple hypotheses are suggestive.
The survey design includes “over-sampling” of some subpopulations. Assuming simple random sampling (SRS), the design
Results
Ninety percent of the women in the sample were born into a two-parent family. More than 74% stayed with two parents from birth through 18 years; about 12% of women's parents divorce/separated between birth and 6 years; 8% separated between 6 and 12 years and 6% between 12 and 18 years. Of the women whose parents separated or divorced, 76% lived with their mother postseparation; 11% lived with their father; about 9% lived with grandparents without parents; and about 3% lived with other
Discussion
Parental separation in early childhood and changes in caretaking situation are associated with timing of menarche, first sexual intercourse, first pregnancy, and duration of first marriage. Significant associations remain after adjustment for covariates, suggesting that predictors are not confounded with other indicators of disadvantaged environments. These results are similar to a recent prospective study of the effects of timing of father absence on teen pregnancy and early sexual activity
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