Title
The father-daughter dance: The relationship between father-daughter relationship quality and daughters' stress response
Abstract
The goal of the study was to determine whether father-daughter relationship quality is related to activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis (salivary cortisol) and autonomic nervous system (salivary alpha-amylase, sAA) in late adolescence-emerging adulthood during peer interactions. In the first study, reported father-daughter relationships characterized by rejection, chaos, and coercion had lower morning cortisol levels and were temperamentally more sensitive to emotional changes. In the second study, young women who reported father-daughter relationships characterized by warmth, autonomy, support, and structure had lower pre-task cortisol levels, and had attenuated cortisol responses to problem discussion with a friend. In contrast, those who reported father-daughter relationships characterized by rejection, chaos, and coercion had higher pre-task cortisol levels, had elevated cortisol in response to problem discussion with a friend, and were more likely to self-disclose about psychosocial stressors. No differences were observed between reported father-daughter relationship quality and sAA levels or task-related reactivity. The findings suggest that father-daughter interactions potentially influence both social cognition and HPA reactivity to developmentally salient stressors in young women.
Department(s)
Psychology
Document Type
Article
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026588
Keywords
paternal investment; stress; peer relations; friendships
Publication Date
2012
Recommended Citation
Byrd-Craven, Jennifer, Brandon J. Auer, Douglas A. Granger, and Amber R. Massey. "The father–daughter dance: The relationship between father–daughter relationship quality and daughters' stress response." Journal of Family psychology 26, no. 1 (2012): 87.
