Objective

A substantial body of research has investigated the effects of early family environments on sexual maturity and behavior, focusing mostly on effects on females. The purpose of the current study was to test the assumption that physiological maturation and casual sexual behavior are similarly influenced by early environmental stressors such as father absence (FA). Specifically, the current study investigated whether FA affects males’ and females’ casual sexual behavior and pubertal timing in the same way.

Methods

Young adults (89 females, 46 males) were asked to report the ages at which they lived with their biological father, their casual sexual behavior, and the age at which they experienced a major pubertal marker (menarche for females, first nocturnal emission for males).

Results

FA by itself did not predict casual sexual behavior, although it did predict pubertal timing such that FA was associated with earlier pubertal timing. Interaction effects, however, indicate the effect of FA on behavior and maturation was sex-specific. For females, FA was associated with more casual sexual behavior; whereas, for males, FA was associated with less casual sexual behavior. With regard to maturation, FA was associated with earlier pubertal timing for males but did not have much an effect on females’ pubertal timing.

Conclusions

Findings from the current study suggest the effects of FA on pubertal timing and casual sexual behavior are not specific to females. Furthermore, these findings suggest that sexual maturation and behavior may not be influenced in the same way by early environmental stressors.

中文翻译：

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行为与成熟之间的差异：父亲不在场的发育影响

客观的

大量研究调查了早期家庭环境对性成熟和性行为的影响，主要集中在对女性的影响上。本研究的目的是检验以下假设：生理成熟和随意性行为同样受到早期环境压力（如父亲缺席）的影响。具体而言，本研究调查了FA是否以相同的方式影响男性和女性的随意性行为和青春期。

方法

要求年轻人（89位女性，46位男性）报告与亲生父亲同住的年龄，偶然的性行为以及经历主要青春期标志的年龄（女性初潮，男性首次夜间出精） ）。

结果

FA本身并不能预测偶然的性行为，尽管它确实可以预测青春期时机，从而使FA与更早的青春期时机相关。然而，相互作用的影响表明FA对行为和成熟的影响是性别特异性的。对于女性而言，FA与更多的随意性行为有关。而对于男性，FA与较少的随意性行为有关。关于成熟，FA与男性的青春期提前有关，但对女性的青春期没有太大影响。

结论

从当前研究中发现，FA对青春期时机和随意性行为的影响并非仅针对女性。此外，这些发现表明，早期的环境压力可能不会以相同的方式影响性成熟和行为。