Previous researchers have assessed how father absence influences both socioeconomic and reproductive development, but have not analyzed these relationships jointly or used theoretical support for explaining why father absence affects socioeconomic and reproductive development, especially for African American girls. Guided by the family economic stress model and psychosocial acceleration theory, this study investigates how and why these relationships exist for 532 African American females. Structural equation modeling revealed that longer duration of father absence predicted lowered educational attainment in early adulthood via lower income, increased economic pressure, accelerated reproductive development, and lowered educational expectations. We include recommendations for the use of these perspectives to better understand the interplay between family socioeconomic processes and reproductive maturation in African American females.