A number of studies have shown that girls living with non-natal fathers are at higher risk for sexual abuse than girls living with natal fathers. Using all 198 cases of father-daughter sexual abuse contained in the National Society for Prevention of Cruelty's 1983-1985 registers of child abuse, Gordon and Creighton compared natal fathers, stepfathers, and father substitutes. Non-natal fathers were disproportionately represented among paternal abusers; however, natal fathers were more likely to subject their victims to intercourse. A number of differences were found between stepfathers and father substitutes. Stepfathers resembled natal fathers more than they resembled father substitutes on a majority of the variables for which significant differences were observed, which suggests that such comparisons might fruitfully be pursued in future research. The relatively low level of shared child care manifested by natal fathers and father substitutes also suggests that commitment to the father role may be a neglected variable in studies of paternal sexual abuse.