News Summary

• Having a daughter can transform fathers in ways that strengthen their romantic relationships.
• Fathers of daughters reported receiving more support from their partners.
• Findings are consistent with paternal investment theory.
• The findings are “specific to modern Western cultures, so we can't assume they'll apply everywhere”, says Krystal Duarte, a postdoctoral Researcher from the Center for Women in Business at Rutgers University.
• “The biggest takeaway is that parenthood is a two-way relationship.
• We often think about how parents shape their children, but our findings suggest children can also shape their parents,” says Duarte.