Effects of father-daughter contact on use of pregnancy services by Mexican, Mexican-American, and Anglo adolescents.
This study describes whether frequency and quality of father-daughter contact during adolescent pregnancy differ by ethnicity, whether this contact affects health behavior, and how ethnicity conditions the relationship between contact and behavior. Health behavior is defined as timing of pregnancy test and first prenatal visit. Data were gathered from a sample of 105 Anglo, Mexican-American, and Mexican adolescents interviewed at mid-pregnancy. Almost twice as many Mexicans (64%) as Mexican-Americans never saw their fathers (p less than 0.03). Girls living with their fathers obtained pregnancy tests significantly later (p less than 0.01) than those living independently. This relationship was maintained when ethnicity was held constant (p less than 0.01). When quality of contact was included, the relationship between residency with father and timing of pregnancy test became even stronger (p less than 0.003).
Moss
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Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, California.
D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002140:California; D005006:Ethnicity; D005219:Father-Child Relations; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008427:Maternal Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008800:Mexico / Q000208:ethnology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011258:Pregnancy Tests; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence; D012944:Social Support