Boys whose fathers are absent are more likely to reach puberty at a later age. However, they are also more likely to become fathers themselves at an earlier age, a new study suggests.
UK researchers used data from an ongoing study involving almost 10,000 people who were born in the late 1950s.
They found that when a boy's father was absent, particularly between the ages of 11 and 16, there was often a delay in the boy's voice breaking, which is one of the major signs of puberty.
Meanwhile, if the father was absent, boys were much more likely to go on to have a child themselves by the age of 23, especially if the father had been absent before the boy reached seven years of age.
"Our research suggests that it's not just the absence of a father that can affect when a boy experiences puberty and becomes a father, but also the timing of that absence," explained researcher, Paula Sheppard, of the London School of Economics and Political Science.
She described it as ‘particularly surprising' that the age a boy hits puberty may be delayed as a result of something that happens during adolescence.
"We've previously assumed that these things are 'locked-in' in early childhood," she noted.
Similar research in girls has found the opposite - those with absent fathers tend to reach puberty earlier. However like boys, they also have children at a younger age.
The researchers suggested that the reason for the delayed puberty in boys may be due to the stress of losing their father.
Meanwhile, those who become young fathers ‘may have inherited non-committal, promiscuous behaviour from their absent fathers'.
"Or it may be that fathers, when they are present, influence their sons to stay in education and so delay starting a family," Ms Sheppard suggested.
Details of these findings are published in the journal, Biology Letters.
Source: Irish Health - http://goo.gl/gKhBx
