The importance of father-daughter relationships is even manifested through biology. A1999 study conducted by Vanderbilt University followed 173 girls and their families from the time the girls were in pre-kindergarten until they were in the seventh grade and found that “girls who enter puberty later generally had fathers who were active participants in care-giving; had fathers who were supportive to the girls’ mothers; and had positive relationships with their mothers.” It was the fathers’ involvement, rather than the mothers’ that was principal factor in the age of development.
