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The Impact of Fathers' Absence on African American Adolescents' Gender Role Development

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Abstract

Gender role development was assessed in 52 father-absent and 54 father-present African American adolescents. Father-present boys, especially those from lower-income backgrounds, had higher perceptions of their masculinity than did father-absent boys. Lower income father-absent girls perceived themselves to be higher in masculinity than did all other girls. Consequently, father-present adolescents tended to have more traditional gender role orientations than did those in father-absent homes. It is argued that mothers' and fathers' different socializing strategies balance out in two-parent homes. However, in father-absent homes, mothers' tendency to rely on and pressure their daughters fosters relatively more masculine girls, whereas a lack of father socialization fosters less masculine boys. Implications for theory and future research are also discussed.

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Mandara, J., Murray, C.B. & Joyner, T.N. The Impact of Fathers' Absence on African American Adolescents' Gender Role Development. Sex Roles 53, 207–220 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-005-5679-1

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