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Responsible Fatherhood: The Research

I. Introduction
Children are growing up without fathers in record numbers. Nearly 40% of children do not live with their biological father. Over 40% of all children have not seen their father in the past year. 80% of children in female-headed households do not see their fathers regularly just five years after divorce. Nearly 60% of children will spend some time in their childhood without a father present. These problems are even worse in Tennessee.

Tennessee's divorce rate ranks second highest in the nation and is 50% higher than the national average. Nearly 60% of marriages end in divorce. Half of all divorces involve minor children. And another phenomenon, out of wedlock childbirth, produces another one-third of all children. Over 90% of children from these sources grow up in father absent households. 

These figures are astonishing and raise important questions: What is the impact of father absence? How is a child's development affected when they are raised without a father? What are the obstacles to fathers being actively involved in raising their children? If fathers are important, what can be done to encourage greater father involvement? Do fathers matter?

II. The Impact of Father Absence

Father absent households produce:
· 63% of youth suicides 
· 70% of juveniles in state institutions 
· 71% of teen pregnancies 
· 71% of high school dropouts 
· 80% of rapists motivated with displaced anger 
· 75% of children in chemical abuse centers 
· 85% of youths in prison 
· 85% of children with behavioral problems 

Overwhelmingly, violent criminals are males who grew up without fathers. Sadly, these violent criminals are frequently fathers themselves and the cycle continues with their offspring.

Children living in father absent homes are also more likely to:
· engage in criminal behavior 
· be suspended from school
· be treated for an emotional or behavioral problem
· be victims of child abuse or neglect
· experience poverty
· be on welfare
· become sexually active early
· have academic difficulty 

Children who grow up without a father present, even when adjustments are made for income, are 75% more likely to need professional assistance for emotional problems, twice as likely to repeat a grade of school, and more likely to suffer a wide variety of other disorders including anxiety, peer conflict, and hyperactivity. Children living with a mother and stepfather fared worse on most indicators. 

III. Fathers' Contributions to Child Development

Fathers contribute to the well being and psychological and social development of their children in many ways. Studies confirm that a father's contribution is essential and irreplaceable, as is the mother's. Men and women parent differently. The parenting approaches are different. One approach is not better than the other. Children need interaction from both the mother and father to develop their fullest [potential]. 

Generally, fathers are more physical and mothers are more verbal; fathers encourage risk taking while mothers encourage caution. The rough and tumble play of a father and child teaches self-control rather than aggression. In particular, daughters who have physical play with their fathers are more self-confident and assured.

IV. Obstacles to Father Involvement

The main obstacles to father involvement are the patently mistaken beliefs that a father's presence does not matter and absent fathers do not care about their children. Research overwhelmingly supports the conclusion that fathers care about their children, even if caring is not shown in [maternal] ways, and father presence matters in terms of economic well being, social support, and child development. 

For example, even in unwed parenting, studies show that more often than not single mothers know who the father is, the father wants to help raise his children, and the mother wants the father's help. Over half the parents in these situations are living together when the child is born and more than 80 percent are romantically involved. The difficulty is that unwed fathers generally are not in a good position to support their new families. 

Common obstacles to father involvement include:

V. Encouraging Father Involvement: Successful Strategies

Reestablishing fatherhood represents a significant national trend. From the federal to the state level, public officials have come to realize the importance of father involvement for two distinct benefits: multifaceted improvements in the lives of children and substantial cost savings to the system. 

When states figure out how to increase father involvement, the benefits will be substantial, both in human terms and economic measures. The potential benefits include:

Florida was the first state to address the issue of father absence with a comprehensive approach. Unlike other states that began with a few limited programs, Florida believed the problem was massive enough that it created a commission to deal with the problem.

In 1996, Florida's legislature created the Commission on Responsible Fatherhood. Florida's Commission on Responsible Fatherhood's multiple challenges are to:

Six key principles guide the work of Florida's Commission: 

Florida's children have benefited greatly from the state's commitment to its families and its children. As a consequence of its success, it has become the nation's leader. 

V. Conclusion

Fathers are important to children: economically, socially, scholastically, morally, and spiritually. The bodies of relevant data are conclusive that the problems associated with father absence are monumental and create substantial negative consequences that need to be addressed in order to engender a healthy, productive society. 

ENDNOTES

1 Booth, 1991.

2 Seltzer, J.A. “Children’s Contact with Absent Parents” Journal of Marriage and Family, 1988.

3 Dryfoos, J.G. Adolescents at Risk: Prevalence and Prevention, 1990.

4 National Center for Disease Control. Division of Vital Statistics, 47M17, Table 3.

5 Ibid.

6 Tennessee General Assembly, finding of the Joint Study Committee, 1997.

7 National Fatherhood Initiative, Father Facts.

8 US Bureau of the Census, Household and Family Characteristics: March 1996.

9 US Bureau of the Census, Series P-23, No 173, 1989.

10 US Dept. of Health & Human Services, Bureau of the Census.

11 US Dept. of Justice, Special Report, Sept. 1988.

12 US Dept. of Health & Human Services.

13 National Principals Association Report on the State of High Schools.

14 Criminal Justice & Behavior, Vol. 14, p. 403-26, 1978.

15 Rainbows for all God's Children.

16 Fulton Co. Georgia jail populations, Texas Dept. of Corrections 1992.

17 Center for Disease Control.

18 Cornell, Dewey.  “Characteristics of Adolescents Charged with Homicide” Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 1987: 11-23.  Davidson, Nicholas. “Life Without Father” Policy Review, 1990.

19 Karen Sowers, Professor and Dean of the College of Social Work, University of Tennessee, Knoxville.  “The Role of the Father in Child Development” Fatherhood Symposium, Knoxville, TN, November 19, 1999.

20 National Center for Health Statistics, June 1991. Study of 17,100 children in various family structures.

21 Karen Sowers, Professor and Dean of the College of Social Work, University of Tennessee, Knoxville.  “The Role of the Father in Child Development” Fatherhood Symposium, Knoxville, TN, November 19, 1999.

22 Ibid and Core Learnings from the National Center on Fathers and Families.

23 Sara S. McLanahan, Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs, Princeton University, Center for Research on Child Well-being, Princeton, New Jersey Testimony Before the House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources Hearing on Fatherhood, April 27, 1999.

24 Karen Sowers, Professor and Dean of the College of Social Work, University of Tennessee, Knoxville.  “The Role of the Father in Child Development” Fatherhood Symposium, Knoxville, TN, November 19, 1999.

25 Statutory authority creating the Florida Commission on Responsible Fatherhood can be found in Florida Statutes, Chapter 383 (Maternity and Infancy Hygiene), Section 383.0112 to 383.0114.

26 Florida’s Commission on Responsible Fatherhood, 1999 Annual Report.

Research compiled by Constance C. Herinkova, Esquire May 1, 2000  

The Best Parent is BOTH Parents!

Fathers FOR Virginia is an affiliate of American Coalition for Fathers and Children (ACFC).