The Effects of Paternal Disengagement on Women's Self-perceived Mate Value

Abstract

Previous research has highlighted the link between low-quality paternal investment and risky sexual activities, permissive sexual attitudes, and disinterest in long-term relationships amongst daughters. However, the specific effects of paternal disengagement on daughters' self-perceived mate value (an instrumental variable in mating decisions and relationship outcomes) remain unexplored. Here, I aim to address this research gap by examining whether cues of paternal disengagement (vs. paternal engagement) would prompt women to report lower self-perceived mate value. Results from 101 female college students who participated in a Zoom study revealed no significant effect of paternal disengagement on women's self-perceived mate value. Results were trending where women primed with reminders of paternal disengagement reported slightly higher mate value scores than women from the paternal engagement condition. Additional exploratory analyses revealed that women in the paternal disengagement condition reported less father involvement, which, in turn, was associated with more permissive sexual attitudes and greater perceived vulnerability to both emotional isolation and financial threats. Overall, these findings suggest that activating cues of paternal disengagement might shift women's perception of their father's investment as low-quality, resulting in more interest in unrestricted sexual commitment and more interest in seeking compensatory male investment for protection against isolation and financial threats.