ABSTRACT
Fathers have a powerful and long-lasting impact on their daughters from birth through adulthood. Daughters who have close, communicative, supportive relationships with their fathers throughout childhood have better outcomes than father-absent or poorly fathered daughters. The early childhood advantages include better language skills, more mature social behavior, longer attention spans, and healthier sleep patterns. These daughters are more successful academically, have higher rates of high school and college graduation, and are more apt to pursue careers typically dominated by men. They are also less likely to have stress-related illnesses, abuse of drugs or alcohol, become pregnant as teenagers, or make risky sexual decisions. As teenagers and young women, they are less likely to become clinically depressed or to develop anxiety or eating disorders. These daughters also have less troubled romantic relationships, leading to happier marriages and fewer divorces.
