The Role of Fathers in Reducing Prevalence of Dating Violence and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among a National Sample of Black Adolescents

Background: Little research has focused on the role of fathers and/or father figures on dating violence and sexual risk among adolescents. This study used structural equation modeling (SEM) to explore the impact of father-figures’ involvement (contact and closeness) on reducing both dating violence and sexual risk among a national sample of Black American adolescents as well as the possible mediating effect of dating violence on the relationship between father figure involvement and sexual risk behaviors. Father involvement was indicated through both an instrumental means (record of activities engaged in between father-figure and respondent) and through a respondent-reported perception of relational closeness.

Methods: This study used data from Wave II of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Sexually active Black adolescents between the ages of 13-21 with a romantic partner in the previous 18 months were selected (N=422).

Results: Black adolescents indicate that perceived closeness with father figures resulted in both a reduction in dating violence (std path coefficient = -.18, p<.05) and an increase in contraception use (std. path coefficient = .28, p < .01).  The path coefficient between dating violence and contraception was also significant (-.26 p < .001), indicating that as dating violence increases, contraception use decreases. Given the theoretical causal pathways, a mediation analysis was performed on the indirect effect of father figure closeness as mediated through dating violence; there was found to be a trending indirect effect (-.018, p < .08). However, when the model was evaluated for analysis using a grouping SEM technique, enough variance difference by gender in the error terms in the manifest variables within the latent constructs was found to violate the assumption of group invariance. The sample was then split by gender with separate SEM analyses run for males and females.

Conclusion: Much of the research on dating violence victimization and risky sexual behavior among Black adolescents has focused on how mothers and contextual influences such as neighborhoods, peers and schools contribute to these risky outcomes. Given the study’s findings, researchers, practitioners, and policy makers should consider the importance of the father-child relationship in reducing problem behaviors among Black adolescents. In particular, emphasis should be given to the quality of the father-child relationship rather than general father involvement in reducing dating violence victimization and risky sexual behavior among sexually experienced Black adolescents.