[Image] [Image] Father Facts Wade F. Horn, Ph.D. National Fatherhood Initiative ------------------------------------------------------------ Emotional and Behavioral Problems "Controlling for factors such as low income, children growing up in[single-parent] households are at a greater risk for experiencing a variety of behavioral and educational problems, including extremes of hyperactivity and withdrawal; lack of attentiveness in the classroom; difficulty in deferring gratification; impaired academic achievement; school misbehavior; absenteeism; dropping out; involvement in socially alienated peer groups, and the so-called Ōteenage syndromeÕ of behaviors that tend to hang together, smoking, drinking, early and frequent sexual experience, and in the more extreme cases, drugs, suicide, vandalism, violence, and criminal acts." Psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner, 1990 "The economic consequences of a parentÕs absence are often accompanied by psychological consequences, which include higher than average levels of youth suicide, low intellectual and education performance, and higher than average rates of mental illness, violence and drug use." Social scientists William Galston and Elaine Kamarck, 1993. "Father hunger" often afflicts boys age one and two whose fathers are suddenly and permanently absent. Sleep disturbances, such as trouble falling asleep, nightmares, and night terrors frequently begin within one to three months after the father leaves home. Alfred A. Messer, "BoysÕ Father Hunger: The Missing Father Syndrome," Medical Aspects of Human Sexuality 23 (January 1989): 44-47. Fatherlessness and Psychiatric Problems A study of 648 children in New York indicated that children who lived with their single mother were more likely to develop disruptive and anxiety disorders than children who lived with both biological parents. Boys living with their single mother were more likely to be depressed than boys who lived with both biological parents. Source: Stephanie Kasen, Patricia Cohen, Judith S. Brook, and Claudia Hartmark, "A Multiple-Risk Interaction Model: Effects of Temperament and Divorce on Psychiatric Disorders in Children," Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 24 (1996): 121-150. Children in single-parent families are two to three times as likely as children in two-parent families to have emotional and behavioral problems. Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey, Hyattsville, MD, 1988. Children whose parents separate are significantly more likely to experience conduct and mood disorders. This effect is especially strong for children whose parents separated when they were five years old or younger. Source: David M. Fergusson, John Horwood and Michael T. Lynsky, "Parental Separation, Adolescent Psychopathology, and Problem Behaviors," Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 33 (1994): 1122-1131. [Image] A study using a national sample of 482 adolescents showed that boys and girls whose fathers recently left them exhibited more behavior problems (internalizing) than their counterparts who lived with both biological parents. When a stepfather enters the home, the children exhibit more behavior problems compared to their peers who live with both biological parents, and the impact is stronger for boys than for girls. Source: Frank L. Mott, Lori Kowaleski-Jones, and Elizabeth G. Menaghen, "Paternal Absence and Child Behavior: Does a ChildÕs Gender Make a Difference?" Journal of Marriage and the Family, 59 (February 1997): 103-118. In a study of high school students in rural Kansas, students whose parents had divorced were found to be more depressed and aggressive than students from intact homes. Source: Michael Workman and John Beer, "Depression, Suicide Ideation, and Aggression Among High School Students Whose Parents Are Divorced and Use Alcohol at Home," Psychological Reports 70 (1992): 505-511. In a longitudinal study of 1,197 fourth-grade students, researchers observed "greater levels of aggression in boys from mother-only households than from boys in mother-father households." Source: N. Vaden-Kiernan, N. Ialongo, J. Pearson and S. Kellam, "Household Family Structure and ChildrenÕs Aggressive Behavior: A Longitudinal Study of Urban Elementary School Children," Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 23, no. 5 (1995): 553-568. Compared to peers living with both biological parents, sons and daughters of divorced or separated parents exhibited significantly more conduct problems. Daughters of divorced or separated mothers evidenced significantly higher rates of internalizing problems, such as anxiety and depression. Source: Denise B. Kandel, Emily Rosenbaum and Kevin Chen, "Impact of Maternal Drug Use and Life Experiences on Preadolescent Children Born to Teenage Mothers," Journal of Marriage and the Family 56 (1994): 325-340. A study using a nationally representative sample of 6,287 children ages 4-11 years old indicated that children in single parent homes are more likely to experience emotional problems and use mental health services than children who live with both biological parents. Source: Ronald J. Angel and Jacqueline L. Angel, "Physical Comorbidity and Medical Care Use in Children with Emotional Problems," Public Health Reports 111, (1996): 140-145. A study using data from a nationally representative sample of households found that adolescents in stepfamilies and divorced mother households had higher levels of mother-adolescent disagreements, lower levels of interaction, and lower levels of overall socio-emotional well-being compared to adolescents who lived with both biological parents. Source: David H. Demo and Alan C. Acock, "Family Structure, Family Process, and Adolescent Well-Being," Journal of Research on Adolescence 6 (1996): 457-488. Even controlling for variations across groups in parent education, race and other child and family factors, eighteen to twenty-two year olds from disrupted families were twice as likely to: * have poor relationships with their mothers and fathers * show high levels of emotional distress or problem behavior * have received psychological help. Source: Nicholas Zill, Donna Morrison and Mary Jo Coiro, "Long-Term Effects of Parental Divorce on Parent-Child Relationships, Adjustment, and Achievement in Young Adulthood," Journal of Family Psychology 7 (1993): 91-103. Children reared by a divorced or never-married mother are less cooperative and score lower on tests of intelligence than children reared in intact families. Statistical analysis of the behavior and intelligence of these children revealed "significant detrimental effects" of living in a female-headed household. Growing up in a female-headed household remained a statistical predictor of behavior problems even after adjusting for differences in family income. Source: Greg L. Duncan, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn and Pamela Kato Klebanov, "Economic Deprivation and Early Childhood Development," Child Development 65 (1994): 296-318. In a study using a nationally representative sample of 2,600 children aged 4 to 16, 17.4% of children whose parents had divorced or never married scored above the 90th percentile on a standard psychological test indicating problems with adapting, compared to only 9.2% of children who were living with both married, biological parents. Source: Thomas M. Achenbach, Catherine Howell, Herbert Quay, and C. Keith Conners, National Survey of Problems and Competencies among Four to Sixteen Year Olds: ParentsÕ Reports for Normative and Clinical Samples, Society for Research in Child Development, 225 (1991). Eighty percent of adolescents in psychiatric hospitals come from broken homes. Source: Jean Bethke Elshtain, "Family Matters: The Plight of AmericaÕs Children," The Christian Century (July 1993): 14-21. In 1988, a study of preschool children admitted to New Orleans hospitals as psychiatric patients over a 34-month period found that nearly 80 percent came from fatherless homes. Source: Jack Block, et. al., "Parental Functioning and the Home Environment in Families of Divorce," Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 27 (1988): 207-213. "Children from mother-only families have less of an ability to delay gratification and poorer impulse control (that is, control over anger and sexual gratification). These children also have a weaker sense of conscience or sense of right and wrong." Source: E.M. Hetherington and B. Martin, "Family Interaction," in H.C. Quay and J.S. Werry (eds.), Psychopathological Disorders of Childhood (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1979): 247-302. Peer Problems and Father Absence A study on 40 middle school boys from a midwest suburb found that those who lived without their father showed a poorer sense of masculinity and had poorer interpersonal relationships than boys who lived with their biological fathers. Source: Lee A. Beaty, "Effects of Paternal Absence on Male AdolescentÕs Peer Relations and Self-Image," Adolescence 30 (1995): 873-880. School children from divorced families are absent more, are more anxious, hostile and withdrawn, and are less popular with their peers than those from intact families. Source: One-Parent Families and Their Children: The SchoolÕs Most Significant Minority, conducted by The Consortium for the Study of School Needs of Children from One-Parent Families, cosponsored by the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the Institute for Development of Educational Activities, a division of the Charles F. Kettering Foundation, Arlington, VA, 1980. Boys who grow up in father-absent homes are more likely than those in father-present homes to have trouble establishing appropriate sex roles and gender identity. Source: P.L. Adams, J.R. Milner and N.A. Schrepf, Fatherless Children, New York: Wiley Press, 1984. In an analysis of almost 270 fifth and sixth graders, children who were rejected by their peers were more likely than children generally accepted by their peers to have experienced a parental divorce. Source: Angela K. Baker, Kimberly J. Barthelemy and Lawrence A. Kurdek, "The Relation Between Fifth and Sixth GradersÕ Peer-Related Classroom Social Status and Their Perceptions of Family and Neighborhood Factors," Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 14 (1993): 547-556. A study on 60 college students found that students from divorced homes trusted their dating partners less than their peers who came from intact homes. Source: Stacy Glaser Johnston and Amanda McCombs Thomas, "Divorce Versus Intact Parental Marriage and Perceived Risk and Dyadic Trust in Present Heterosexual Relationships," Psychological Reports, 78 (1996): 387-390. Suicide and Father Absence Three out of four teenage suicides occur in households where a parent has been absent. Source: Jean Bethke Elshtain, "Family Matters: The Plight of AmericaÕs Children," The Christian Century (July 1993): 14-21. A family structure index - a composite index based on the annual rate of children involved in divorce and the percentage of families with children present that are female-headed - is a strong predictor of suicide among young adult and adolescent white males. Source: Patricia L. McCall and Kenneth C. Land, "Trends in White Male Adolescent, Young-Adult, and Elderly Suicide: Are There Common Underlying Structural Factors" Social Science Research 23 (1994): 57-81. In a study of 146 adolescent friends of 26 adolescent suicide victims, teens living in single-parent families are not only more likely to commit suicide but also more likely to suffer from psychological disorders, when compared to teens living in intact families." Source: David A. Brent, et. al., "Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in Peers of Adolescent Suicide Victims: Predisposing Factors and Phenomenology," Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 34 (1995): 209-215. Drug, Alcohol, and Tobacco Abuse and Father Absence A study on 22,000 children ages 12 to 17 indicated that those who live with single parents or in stepfamilies are 50% to 150% more likely to use illegal drugs, alcohol, or tobacco compared to children who live with both biological or adoptive parents. The adolescent girls in the study who live in mother only families were found to be 1.9 times as likely to use alcohol, 1.8 times as likely to use cigarettes, and 2 times as likely to use any illicit drug, compared to girls who live with both biological parents. Source: Robert A. Johnson, John P. Haffman, and Dean R. Gerstein, "The Relationship between Family Structure and Adolescent Substance Use," National Opinion Research Center for the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC. 1996. A longitudinal study on 60 middle and upper middle class divorced families found that over half of the children became seriously involved with drugs and alcohol as teenagers. Source: Judith Wallerstein, from keynote address given at Second International Congress on Rights of Children, San Francisco, June 6, 1997. Children reared in single-parent households are 2-3 times more likely to smoke cigarettes than children living with both parents. Source: Gilbert J. Bolvin, et. al., "Predictors of Cigarette Smoking Among Inner-City Minority Youth," Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics 15 (1994): 67-73; see also Francisco Bolumar, et. al., "Smoking and Drinking Habits Before and During Pregnancy in Spanish Women," Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health (1994): 36-40. Children who live apart from their fathers are 4.3 times more likely to smoke cigarettes as teenagers than children growing up with their fathers in the home. Source: Warren R. Stanton, Tian P.S. Oci and Phil A. Silva, "Sociodemographic Characteristics of Adolescent Smokers," The International Journal of the Addictions 7 (1994): 913-925. "...the absence of the father from the home affects significantly the behavior of adolescents and results in greater use of alcohol and marijuana." Source: Deane Scott Beman, "Risk Factors Leading to Adolescent Substance Abuse," Adolescence 30 (1995): 201-206. Children growing up in single-parent households are at a significantly increased risk for drug abuse as teenagers. Source: Rhonda E. Denton and Charlene M. Kampfe, "The Relationship Between Family Variables and Adolescent Substance Abuse: A Literature Review," Adolescence 114 (1994): 475-495. Parental divorce can create a home environment that leaves adolescents especially prone to marijuana use. Source: John P. Hoffman, "Investigating the Age Effects of Family Structure on Adolescent Marijuana Use," Journal of Youth and Adolescence 23 (1994): 215-232. Teenagers living in single-parent households are more likely to abuse alcohol and at an earlier age compared to children reared in two-parent households. Source: Terry E. Duncan, Susan C. Duncan and Hyman Hops, "The Effects of Family Cohesiveness and Peer Encouragement on the Development of Adolescent Alcohol Use: A Cohort-Sequential Approach to the Analysis of Longitudinal Data," Journal of Studies on Alcohol 55 (1994): 588-599; see also R.E. Emery, Marriage, Divorce, and ChildrenÕs Adjustment (Beverly Hills: Sage, 1988). Fatherless children are at a dramatically greater risk of drug and alcohol abuse. Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center for Health Statistics, Survey on Child Health, Washington, DC, 1993. [Previous | Table of Contents | Next ] (c) 1998, National Fatherhood Initiative. All rights reserved. Father Facts 3 is available in softcover from the National Fatherhood Initiative. NFI Resource Catalog Price: US $8.00. National Fatherhood Initiative 101 Lake Forest Boulevard, Suite 360 Gaithersburg, MD 20877 phone: (301) 948-0599 fax: (301) 948-4325 email: info@fatherhood.org web: www.fatherhood.org [-] Printer-Friendly Version [-] See Related Resources ------------------------------------------------------------ copyright (c) 1995-2002 Leadership U. All rights reserved. This site is part of the Telling the Truth Project. Updated: 4 May 2002