Father-son bonding: The influence of paternal relationships on college males' sexual behavior and values

The majority of 20- to 24-year-old American males are or have been sexually active (Billy et al., 1993). Several studies (Brewster, Cooksey, Guilkey, & Rindfuss, 1998; DiClemente, Wingood, Crosby, Cobb, Harrington, & Davies, 2001; Pistella & Bonati, 1998; Whitaker, Miller, May, & Levin, 1999; Whitaker & Miller, 2000) have found a correlation between close mother-child relationships during adolescence and adolescents' delayed initiation of sex and increased contraceptive use. However, only a handful of studies (DiIorio, Kelley, & Hockenberry, 1999; Dittus, Jaccard, & Gordon, 1997; Rodgers, 1999) have examined the influence of father-son relationships on adolescent males' contraceptive use, and very little research has examined the relationship between the closeness of father-son relationships and college males' sexual behavior and contraceptive use. To examine how father-son relationships influence college males' sexual behaviors and values, this study surveyed 18- to 28-year-old college males (N=115) regarding their relationships with their fathers, their perceptions of perceived paternal disapproval of premarital sex, and their own sexual behavior and values. Results suggested that while level of satisfaction in paternal relationships does not appear to be significantly related to participants' attitudes towards contraception, it is related to participants' clarity of personal sexual values. Furthermore, perceived paternal disapproval of premarital sex predicted participants feeling negatively toward premarital sex and a later age of first penetrative sex.