The Correlation Between Paternal Investment and Daughters' Sexual Debut
Abstract
In the context of today’s society, there is a potential connection between investment of father and daughters’ first time experiencing penetrative sex, so we propose an experiment, questioning how the paternal investment predicts the age of sexual debut in daughters. Two surveys are designed for mother to report paternal investment, dividing fathers into always present, partially absent, always absent, and for daughter to report their first time experiencing penetrative sex. Since sexual behaviors are the main approach of reproduction, which evolutionary psychology pays lots of attention on due to its connection to human evolution and natural selection, we decide to use evolutionary psychological perspectives to explain and discuss our results. As this experiment proposal will not yield data, positive correlated and negative correlated results are discussed separately, using different theory to explain the findings.
References
- Liu, G., Hariri, S., Bradley, H., Gottlieb, S. L., Leichliter, J. S., & Markowitz, L. E. (2015). Trends and patterns of sexual behaviors among adolescents and adults aged 14 to 59 years, United States. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 42(1), 20–26. https://doi.org/10.1097/olq.0000000000000231
- James, J., Ellis, B. J., Schlomer, G. L., & Garber, J. (2012). Sex-specific pathways to early puberty, sexual debut, and sexual risk taking: Tests of an integrated evolutionary–developmental model. Developmental Psychology, 48(3), 687–702. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026427
- Simpson, J. A., & Gangestad, S. W. (1992). Sociosexuality and romantic partner choice. Journal of personality, 60(1), 31-51.
- Belsky, J., Steinberg, L., & Draper, P. (1991). Childhood experience, interpersonal development, and reproductive strategy: An evolutionary theory of socialization. Child development, 62(4), 647-670.
- Barber, N. (1998). Sex differences in disposition towards kin, security of adult attachment, and sociosexuality as a function of parental divorce. Evolution and Human Behavior, 19(2), 125-132.
- Lee, K. S., Brittain, H., & Vaillancourt, T. (2018). Predicting dating behavior from aggression and self‐perceived social status in adolescence. Aggressive behavior, 44(4), 372-381.
- Corpuz R, Kotov DA, Donovan RL. Earlier sexual debut predicts higher (not lower) levels of father care measured across 12 weeks: an experience sampling study. Front Psychol. 2023 Jun 22;14:1199735. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1199735. PMID: 37425144; PMCID: PMC10323429.
- Harden, K. P. (2014). Genetic influences on adolescent sexual behavior: Why genes matter for environmentally oriented researchers. Psychological Bulletin, 140(2), 434–465. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0033564
- Lindberg, L. D., Firestein, L., & Beavin, C. (2021). Trends in US adolescent sexual behavior and contraceptive use, 2006-2019. Contraception: X, 3, 100064.
- Chen, X. K., Wen, S. W., Fleming, N., Demissie, K., Rhoads, G. G., & Walker, M. (2007). Teenage pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes: a large population based retrospective cohort study. International journal of epidemiology, 36(2), 368-373.
- Olausson, P. O., Haglund, B., Weitoft, G. R., & Cnattingius, S. (2001). Teenage childbearing and long-term socioeconomic consequences: a case study in Sweden. Family planning perspectives, 70-74.
- Olausson, P. O., Cnattingius, S., & Haglund, B. (1999). Teenage pregnancies and risk of late fetal death and infant mortality. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 106(2), 116-121.
- Bissell, M. (2000). Socio-economic outcomes of teen pregnancy and parenthood: A review of the literature. Canadian journal of human sexuality, 9(3), 191-204.
- Keown, L. J., Woodward, L. J., & Field, J. (2001). Language development of pre‐school children born to teenage mothers. Infant and Child Development: An International Journal of Research and Practice, 10(3), 129-145.
- Ganchimeg, T., Ota, E., Morisaki, N., Laopaiboon, M., Lumbiganon, P., Zhang, J., ... & WHO Multicountry Survey on Maternal Newborn Health Research Network. (2014). Pregnancy and childbirth outcomes among adolescent mothers: a World Health Organization multicountry study. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 121, 40-48.
- Scelza, B.A., Prall, S.P., Blumenfield, T. et al. Patterns of paternal investment predict cross-cultural variation in jealous response. Nat Hum Behav 4, 20–26 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-019-0654-y
- SHENK, M. K., & SCELZA, B. A. (2012). Paternal investment and status related child outcomes: timing of father's death affects offspring success. Journal of Biosocial Science, 44, pp 549569 doi:10.1017/S0021932012000053