1. THE EFFECT OF A FATHER FIGURE/MALE
CAREGIVER ON THE SEXUAL DEBUT OF
AFRICAN AMERICAN ADOLESCENT
FEMALES SEEKING PSYCHIATRIC CARE
Kayla Storrs
University of Oklahoma
Dr. Geri Donenberg
UIC School of Public Health

3. BACKGROUND
 Average age of sexual debut in females in the U.S. is 17
years old
 African American females- 14.4 years
 Teens in psychiatric care tend to engage in more risky
sexual behavior then teens not seeking psychiatric care,
including early sexual activity, multiple sex partners, and
higher rates of unprotected sex

4. FIGURES FROM THE CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION,
2012
Syphilis rate in African
Americans is 7 times that
of whites
46% of people infected
with HIV/AIDS are African
American
Consequences of
Early Sexual
Debut
Chlamydia—Rates by Race/Ethnicity, United
States, 2002–2011
Gonorrhea—Rates by Race/Ethnicity, United
States, 2002–2011

5. BACKGROUND CONT.
 Family structure plays an integral role in sexual
debut, but most studies focus on the maternal
aspect
 African Americans have the highest rate of single parent
households- primarily mother-headed households
 Mothers are perceived as the parent primarily
responsible for providing directed education about
sexuality

6. BACKGROUND CONT.
 Lack of research on the paternal influence has
been said to be attributed to father absence or
fathers being less likely to participate in research
studies, but the few available studies suggest that
greater paternal involvement is associated with less
adolescent sexual behavior.

7. PROPOSALS:
 Based on previous research, we predicted that the
presence of a father figure/male caregiver would be
positively associated with the later sexual debut.

8. METHODS
 Participants
 Participants were recruited from 8 mental health
institution in urban Chicago, IL
 266 mother daughter pairs participated in the study, all
adolescents in the 12-16 year age range
 Participants were self-identified African Americans who
spoke English, understood the survey and assent
process, and lived with their female caregiver for at
least 3 months

9. PROCEDURES
 Participants were administered
 questionnaires
 a computer-assisted self-interview
 a structured diagnostic interview
 a variety of other activities that were unrelated to the
data analysis.
o Specific questions used for this study were taken from
the GT Baseline Family Demographic Interview that
was completed by the female caregivers as well as the
AIDS Risk Behavior Assessment (ARBA) completed by
the adolescent and include:

10. PROCEDURES CONT.
 Questions answered by the mother:
 -Who currently lives in the home with the adolescent?
 -Is there currently a male caregiver living in the home?
 If so, who?
 - Does the adolescent have a male caregiver living outside her home?
 If so, who?
 Questions answered by the adolescent:
 -Have you ever engaged in oral sex?
 -How old were you when you first engaged in oral sex?
 -Have you ever engaged in vaginal sex?
 -How old were you when you first engaged in vaginal sex?
 -Have you ever engaged in anal sex?
 -How old were you when you first engaged in anal sex?

11. DATA ANALYSIS
 A series of frequencies, Chi Square, and
Independent T-Tests were run through IBM SPSS to
determine the possible relationship between the
presence of a father figure/male caregiver and the
age of sexual debut of adolescent participants.

12. RESULTS 1
 Presence of a Father Figure/Male Caregiver (Inside
or outside the home) versus the Absence of a
Father Figure/Male Caregiver
 It was found that there is no significant difference in the
age of sexual debut of participants with a father
figure/male caregiver (living in the home or present
outside of the home) (M = 13.00, SD = 2.42), and the
age of sexual debut of participants with no father
figure/male caregiver (M = 12.47, SD = 3.16).

13. RESULTS 2
 Presence of a Father Figure/Male Caregiver in the
Home versus No Father Figure/Male Caregiver in
the Home
 It was found that there is no significant difference in the
age of sexual debut of the participants with a father
figure/male caregiver living in the home (M =12.53, SD
=3.22) and the participants that either had a father
figure/male caregiver present outside of the home or
had no father figure/male caregiver present (M = 12.92,
SD = 2.47)

14. RESULTS 3
 Presence of a Father Figure/ Male Caregiver in the
Home versus the Presence of a Father Figure/Male
Caregiver outside the Home
 It was found that there is no significant difference in the
age of sexual debut of the participants that were living
with a father figure/male caregiver (M =12.53, SD =
3.22) and participants that had a father figure/male
caregiver present outside of the household (M = 13.38,
SD =1.38).

15. Group Comparison Tests t df p
Presence of a Father Figure/Male
Caregiver (Inside or outside the home)
versus the Absence of a Father
Figure/Male Caregiver
.89 87 .38
Presence of a Father Figure/Male
Caregiver in the Home versus No Father
Figure/Male Caregiver in the Home
-.60 87 .55
Presence of a Father Figure/ Male
Caregiver in the Home versus the
Presence of a Father Figure/Male
Caregiver outside the Home
1.33 55 .19

16. DISCUSSION
Father Figures
Living in the
Home
Present
outside of the
home
Absent
34.8%
36% 29.2%
• Age of first sexual interaction range from 12.08 years to 16.92
years.
• Types of father figures/male caregivers were broken down by
type
• Biological father, stepfather, adoptive father, etc..
Only 89 of the participants had engaged in one of
the three types of sexual activity.

17. DISCUSSION CONT.
 No relationship between the presence of a father
figure (inside or outside of the home) and the age of
sexual debut
 No relationship between the absence of a father
figure/male caregiver and age of sexual debut
 Previous studies have explored the impact the
father daughter relationship on sexual debut

18. FURTHER RESEARCH
 Should look at different aspects of the father
daughter relationships (closeness, communication,
warmth, attachment) in association with sexual
debut
 Should consider the types of father figures/male
caregivers in relation to sexual debut

19. LIMITATIONS
 Only 33.5% of the sample set had engaged in one
of the three type of sexual activity
 Tests should be re-run with the data collected from participants at
the end of the study to evaluate changes
 Our Study did not examine closeness,
communication, attachment, warmth of father
daughter relationships, therefore the study is
significant to presence alone
 Self-reported sexual activity
 Our sample set is specific to African American
adolescent females seeking psychiatric treatment
 Results are not representative of the African American female
population as a whole

20. QUESTIONS??

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