Exploring Sexual Socialization Among Black Father-Daughter Relationships.

Abstract

Documented disproportional rates of teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections and single-mother headed households in the Black community demand new perspectives to address existing health disparities. Studies of the Black father’s roles in the sexual socialization of their daughters are missing from the literature. The purpose of this study was to explore, through a descriptive qualitative approach, sexual socialization in the context of Black father-daughter relationships. Sexual socialization was conceptualized as a combination of communication about boys and sex, spending time together, and commitment to building relationships. Specific aims were to: (a) describe the Black father-daughter relationship from a dyadic perspective; (b) explore fathers’ and daughters’ perceptions of how being Black influenced their relationship; (c) describe what Black fathers and daughters perceive as the fathers’ influence on the sexual socialization of the daughters; and (d) describe how environmental factors influence Black fathers’ ability to participate actively in their daughters’ lives. The retrospective qualitative descriptive study included a purposive convenience sample of 15 Black fathers and daughters (6 father-daughter dyads and 3 individuals, including resident and non-resident fathers and a broad range of income levels). Content data analysis revealed three major categories of the main topics: (a) perceptions of relationships and sexual socialization: “Little one on one time together and keeping it real”; (b) influences on relationships and sexual socialization: “Learning from my mistakes”; and (c) barriers to relationships and sexual socialization: “Mothers interfered”. The results revealed that: (a) fathers were caring, concerned and committed to having good relationships with their daughters; (b) daughters loved their fathers and wanted more time together; (c) fathers and daughters identified strengths and challenges in their relationships; and (d) although stereotypes of Black fathers were identified, fathers and daughters did not view race as a direct cause of specific challenges in their relationships. Implications for future research include conducting a similar study with a diverse sample. The results of this study can inform the development of family-centered educational programs to improve opportunities and abilities of fathers to parent their daughters around sexual socialization.