Psychological Effects of Fatherlessness

Psychological Effects of Fatherlessness 

A father plays an important role in a child's psychological development.

Every child has a father but not every child has a father consistently in his life. This state of fatherlessness has a psychological effect on young people as they grow up and form their own identities. The aftermath of being raised without a dad can continue into adult development as well. Certainly, having a dad in your life doesn't guarantee emotional wellness, just as not having one doesn't doom you to psychological problems. However, fatherlessness can certainly have noticeable effects.

Behavioral Problems 

Studies show that kids without active relationships with their fathers struggle with acting out behaviorally, such as in defiance and rebellion. These behaviors extend beyond a child's normal challenge against authority. Fatherless children may experience frustrations about their life situations that manifest in disruptive actions. 

Depression/Suicide 

Depression, and subsequently suicide, are unfortunate psychological effects of dealing with life absent of a dad. Kids must learn to cope with the sadness of an absent father. They may be depressed and feel that, not only is the parent directly rejecting them by his absence, but it also because they are unlovable. Statistics show children in this position are also 4.6 times more likely to choose suicide over those with both parents in their life. 

Trouble Socializing With Others 

Due to various behavioral problems, fatherless kids may have a hard time interacting socially with their peers because of their more disruptive actions. Children with these challenges may then separate themselves because they don't fit in as well and this isolation further exacerbates behavioral issues. Specifically, kids may have trouble connecting with others on an emotional level because this was lacking in the relationship with a key parent. 

Tolerance of Abuse 

As she grows up, the fatherless daughter is more likely to tolerate abusive behavior from others. She may develop a feeling that she lacks control of situations in her life and eventually develop a victim mentality. She may also feel she doesn't deserve to be treated well because she felt mistreated by her father. 

Anger 

A common psychological affect of fatherlessness is feeling angry. Typically, at the core of anger is hurt and pain which stems from the rejection felt from their parent. Anger manifests itself in various forms such as verbal outbursts, cutting themselves and even physical violence. 

The Effects of Fatherless Homes on Children 

By Kimberley Elliot, eHow Contributor

Having a loving and involved father can lead to lifelong emotional rewards for a child. Unfortunately, the impact of an absentee father can be as lasting, if far less positive, and starts while the child is still in utero. From an infant's birth weight to an adolescent's sexual behavior, almost every developmental stage in a child's life is affected by his father's absence.

Infancy

• The impact of a missing father is felt before the child is even born. Single moms are more apt to smoke and less apt to seek prenatal care. There is a greater chance of infant mortality with an absent father, and the newborn is at greater risk of having low birth weight. Single mothers are less likely to breastfeed.

Development

• Children without a father present have more developmental delays. They are more likely to be academic underperformers, to be truant and to use drugs. Without a father in their lives, they are more apt to show antisocial behavior and they have greater difficulty maintaining intimate relationships. They will be more likely to suffer from depression and are at greater risk of committing suicide.

Health Risks

• Children who grow up without a father are more likely to smoke and are at greater risk of drug and alcohol abuse. They are more likely to engage premarital sex, and are more vulnerable to sexual and physical abuse. They are five times more likely to be raised in poverty, which has a significant impact on the quality of medical care and nutrition.

  
  

  
  
  

  The Importance of Fathers in the Healthy Development of Children

  Author(s): Office on Child Abuse and Neglect, U.S. Children's Bureau Rosenberg, Jeffrey., Wilcox, W. Bradford.
  Year Published: 2006
  
  
  

  Section I

  
  

  2. Fathers and Their Impact on Children's Well-Being

  
  

  
  

  
  

  A noted sociologist, Dr. David Popenoe, is one of the pioneers of the relatively young field of research into fathers and fatherhood. "Fathers are far more than just 'second adults' in the home," he says. "Involved fathers bring positive benefits to their children that no other person is as likely to bring."6 Fathers have a direct impact on the well-being of their children. It is important for professionals working with fathers—especially in the difficult, emotionally charged arena in which child protective services (CPS) caseworkers operate—to have a working understanding of the literature that addresses this impact. Such knowledge will help make the case for why the most effective CPS case plans will involve fathers.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  This chapter lays out the connection between fathers and child outcomes, including cognitive ability, educational achievement, psychological well-being, and social behavior. The chapter also underscores the impact of the father and mother's relationship on the well-being of their children. While serving as an introduction to the issues, this chapter is not intended as an exhaustive review of the literature. For the reader wishing to learn more, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (http://fatherhood.hhs.gov/index.shtml), the National Fatherhood Initiative (www.fatherhood.org), and the National Center for Fathering (www.fathers.com) are valuable resources.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  2.1 The Impact of the Mother-Father Relationship on Child Outcomes

  
  

  
  

  
  

  One of the most important influences a father can have on his child is indirect—fathers influence their children in large part through the quality of their relationship with the mother of their children. A father who has a good relationship with the mother of their children is more likely to be involved and to spend time with their children and to have children who are psychologically and emotionally healthier. Similarly, a mother who feels affirmed by her children's father and who enjoys the benefits of a happy relationship is more likely to be a better mother. Indeed, the quality of the relationship affects the parenting behavior of both parents. They are more responsive, affectionate, and confident with their infants; more self-controlled in dealing with defiant toddlers; and better confidants for teenagers seeking advice and emotional support.7

  
  

  
  

  
  

  One of the most important benefits of a positive relationship between mother and father, and a benefit directly related to the objectives of the CPS caseworker, is the behavior it models for children. Fathers who treat the mothers of their children with respect and deal with conflict within the relationship in an adult and appropriate manner are more likely to have boys who understand how they are to treat women and who are less likely to act in an aggressive fashion toward females. Girls with involved, respectful fathers see how they should expect men to treat them and are less likely to become involved in violent or unhealthy relationships. In contrast, research has shown that husbands who display anger, show contempt for, or who stonewall their wives (i.e., "the silent treatment") are more likely to have children who are anxious, withdrawn, or antisocial. 8

  
  

  
  

  
  

  2.2 The Impact of Fathers on Cognitive Ability and Educational Achievement

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Children with involved, caring fathers have better educational outcomes. A number of studies suggest that fathers who are involved, nurturing, and playful with their infants have children with higher IQs, as well as better linguistic and cognitive capacities.9 Toddlers with involved fathers go on to start school with higher levels of academic readiness. They are more patient and can handle the stresses and frustrations associated with schooling more readily than children with less involved fathers.10

  
  

  
  

  
  

  The influence of a father's involvement on academic achievement extends into adolescence and young adulthood. Numerous studies find that an active and nurturing style of fathering is associated with better verbal skills, intellectual functioning, and academic achievement among adolescents.11 For instance, a 2001 U.S. Department of Education study found that highly involved biological fathers had children who were 43 percent more likely than other children to earn mostly As and 33 percent less likely than other children to repeat a grade.12

  
  

  
  

  The Link Between Marriage and Fatherhood

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Caring, involved fathers exist outside of marriage. They are more likely, however, to be found in the context of marriage. There are numerous reasons for this, not the least of which being the legal and social norms associated with marriage that connect a father to the family unit. That may also explain, in part, why research consistently shows that the married mother-and-father family is a better environment for raising children than the cohabitating (living together) mother-and-father family.14

  
  

  
  

  
  

  It is interesting to note that, contrary to stereotypes about low-income, unmarried parents, a significant majority—more than 8 in 10—of urban, low-income fathers and mothers are in a romantic relationship when their children are born.15 Most of these couples expect that they will get married. One study found that more than 80 percent expected they would get married or live together. However, only 11 percent of these couples had actually married a year later.16 Why they do not marry is an interesting question open to conjecture. However, as Dr. Wade Horn, Assistant Secretary for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has pointed out, it may be because these couples receive very little encouragement to marry from the health and social services professionals with whom they come in contact.17

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  2.3 The Impact of Fathers on Psychological Well-Being and Social Behavior

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Even from birth, children who have an involved father are more likely to be emotionally secure, be confident to explore their surroundings, and, as they grow older, have better social connections with peers. These children also are less likely to get in trouble at home, school, or in the neighborhood.13 Infants who receive high levels of affection from their fathers (e.g., babies whose fathers respond quickly to their cries and who play together) are more securely attached; that is, they can explore their environment comfortably when a parent is nearby and can readily accept comfort from their parent after a brief separation. A number of studies suggest they also are more sociable and popular with other children throughout early childhood.18

  
  

  
  

  
  

  The way fathers play with their children also has an important impact on a child's emotional and social development. Fathers spend a much higher percentage of their one-on-one interaction with infants and preschoolers in stimulating, playful activity than do mothers. From these interactions, children learn how to regulate their feelings and behavior. Rough-housing with dad, for example, can teach children how to deal with aggressive impulses and physical contact without losing control of their emotions.19 Generally speaking, fathers also tend to promote independence and an orientation to the outside world. Fathers often push achievement while mothers stress nurturing, both of which are important to healthy development. As a result, children who grow up with involved fathers are more comfortable exploring the world around them and more likely to exhibit self-control and pro-social behavior.20

  
  

  
  

  
  

  One study of school-aged children found that children with good relationships with their fathers were less likely to experience depression, to exhibit disruptive behavior, or to lie and were more likely to exhibit pro-social behavior.21 This same study found that boys with involved fathers had fewer school behavior problems and that girls had stronger self-esteem.22 In addition, numerous studies have found that children who live with their fathers are more likely to have good physical and emotional health, to achieve academically, and to avoid drugs, violence, and delinquent behavior.23

  
  

  
  

  
  

  In short, fathers have a powerful and positive impact upon the development and health of children. A caseworker who understands the important contributions fathers make to their children's development and how to effectively involve fathers in the case planning process will find additional and valuable allies in the mission to create a permanent and safe environment for children.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Dispelling the Stereotype of Low-income Fathers

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  It is very important for anybody working with fathers, especially CPS caseworkers, to dispel one common stereotype: the image of low-income urban fathers as disengaged and uninvolved with their children. As Dr. Michael Lamb has stated, "Our research really bashes the stereotype of the low-income father. These fathers care about their kids, but may not show their love in conventional ways and sometimes a lack of a job, poor communication with the mom, or even their own childhood experiences can prevent them from getting involved."24 Too often, professionals may assume that a low-income, urban dad who does not live with his children is uninvolved with, even unconcerned about, his children. This can push a father away from his family, the exact opposite of what a CPS caseworker wants to see happen.

  
  6 Popenoe, D. (1996). Life without father: Compelling new evidence that fatherhood and marriage are indispensable for the good of children and society (p. 163). New York, NY: The Free Press; Stanton, G. T. (2003). How fathers, as male parents, matter for healthy child development [On-line]. Available:http://www.citizenlink.org/FOSI/marriage/A000002226.cfm.
  7 Lamb, M. E. (2002). Infant-father attachments and their impact on child development. In C. S. Tamis-LeMonda & N. Cabrera (Eds.), Handbook of father involvement: Multidisciplinary perspectives (pp. 93-118). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum; Cummings, E. M., & O'Reilly, A. W. (1997). Fathers and family context: Effects of marital quality on child adjustment. In M. E. Lamb (Ed.), The role of fathers in child development (3rd ed., pp. 49-65, 318-325). New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons; Lamb, M. E. (1997). Fathers and child development: An introductory overview and guide. In M. E. Lamb (Ed.),The role of fathers in child development (3rd ed., pp. 1-18, 309-313). New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.
  8 Gable, S., Crnic, K., & Belsky, J. (1994). Coparenting within the family system: Influences on children's development.Family Relations, 43(4), 380-386.
  9 Pruett, K. (2000). Father-need. New York, NY: Broadway Books; Sternberg, K. J. (1997).
  10 Pruett, K. (2000).
  11 Goldstine, H. S. (1982). Fathers' absence and cognitive development of 12-17 year olds. Psychological Reports, 51, 843-848; Nord, C., & West, J. (2001). Fathers' and mothers' involvement in their children's schools by family type and resident status [On-line]. Available: http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2001032.
  12 Nord, C., & West, J. (2001).
  13 Yeung, W. J., Duncan, G. J., & Hill, M. S. (2000). Putting fathers back in the picture: Parental activities and children's adult outcomes. In H. E. Peters, G. W. Peterson, S. K. Steinmetz, & R. D. Day (Eds.), Fatherhood: Research, interventions and policies (pp. 97-113). New York, NY: Hayworth Press; Harris, K. M., & Marmer, J. K. (1996). Poverty, paternal involvement, and adolescent well-being. Journal of Family Issues, 17(5), 614-640; Pleck, J. H. (1997). Paternal involvement: Levels, sources, and consequences. In M. E. Lamb (Ed.), The role of fathers in child development (3rd ed., pp. 66-103). New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.
  14 Palkovitz, R. (2002). Involved fathering and child development: Advancing our understanding of good fathering. In C. S. Tamis-LeMonda & N. Cabrera (Eds), Handbook of father involvement: Multidisciplinary perspectives (pp. 119-140). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum; Wilcox, W. B. (2004) Soft patriarchs, new men: How Christianity shapes husbands and fathers. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press; Hofferth, S., & Anderson, K. (2003). Are all dads equal? Biology versus marriage as a basis for paternal investment. Journal of Marriage and Family, 65(1), 213-232; Clarke, L., Cooksey, E. C., & Verropoulou, G. (1998). Fathers and absent fathers: Sociodemographic similarities in Britain and the United States.Demography, 35(2), 217-228.
  15 McLanahan, S., Garfinkel, I., Reichman, N., Teitler, J., Carlson, M., & Norland Audigier, C. (2003, March). The fragile families and child well-being study. Baseline national report. Princeton, NJ: Center for Research on Child Wellbeing.
  16 Gibson, G., Edin, K., & McLanahan, S. (2003, June). High hopes but even higher expectations: The retreat from marriage among low-income couples. Princeton, NJ: Center for Research on Child Wellbeing.
  17 Horn, W. (2003). Closing the marriage gap [On-line]. Available: http://www.crisismagazine.com/june2003/horn.htm.
  18 Pruett, K. (2000); Lamb, M. E. (2002).
  19 Parke, R.D. (1996); Lamb (2002).
  20 Parke, R.D. (1996).
  21 Mosley, J., & Thompson, E. (1995). Fathering behavior and child outcomes: The role of race and poverty. In W. Marsiglio (Ed.), Fatherhood: Contemporary theory, research, and social policy (pp. 148-165). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
  22 Mosley, J., & Thompson, E. (1995).
  23 Horn, W., & Sylvester, T. (2002); U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). (1996). The relationship between family structure and adolescent substance abuse. Rockville, MD: National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information; Harper, C., & McLanahan, S. S. (1998).Father absence and youth incarceration. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, San Francisco, CA; Brenner, E. (1999). Fathers in prison: A review of the data. Philadelphia, PA: National Center on Fathers and Families.
  24 Marsiglio, W., Day, R. D., Braver, S., Evans, J. V., Lamb, M. E., & Peters, E. (1998). Social fatherhood and paternal involvement: Conceptual, data, and policymaking issues [On-line]. Available:http://fatherhood.hhs.gov/CFSForum/c4.htm.
  
  

  
  

  Shared Parenting Information Group (SPIG) UK http://www.spig.clara.net/

  - promoting responsible shared parenting after separation and divorce -

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  What are fathers for ?

  
  

  Michael Lamb

  
  

  speaking at the IPPR Conference 'Men and their Children' in London, 30th April 1996

  • Introduction

  • Research traditions

  • Father absence

  • Correlational studies

  • Increased involvement

  • Attachment

  • The diverse roles of fathers

  
  

  Introduction

  
  

  Historically fathers have been viewed or presented in a variety of different images to describe the script that they have been seen to be fulfilling. They have variously been presented as:

  • moral overseer

  • breadwinner

  • sex role model

  • nurturant/participant

  
  

  Over time there have been major changes as to which of these gets the most attention, and in Britain we are currently undergoing a renewed wave of interest in the notion of the father as a nurturant participant - somebody who plays an active role in the day to day care and bringing up of children.

  
  

  Research traditions

  By my last count there was something of the order of 4,000 published studies or reports that deal with the effect that fathers might have on their children's development, and clearly it would be impossible in this context to go through each of those studies and present their conclusions. Instead, what I want to try to do is to organise this literature in terms of what I see as four major research traditions which have guided the research, and I think that each tells us something about the ways in which fathers influence their children's development.

  
  

  • father absence - divorce

  • correlational studies

  • increased involvement

  • attachment

  
  

  These begin with the studies around 1940 and were especially prominent through the early 1950's, which were concerned about what happens to children when their fathers are absent. Many fathers were of course absent in the 1940's because they were in service. In the late 1940's and early 1950's the concern shifted not to those whose dads were up at the front, but to those whose dads were killed in action - what effect was that likely to have on their children's development ? And over time the wave of research has come to be concerned increasingly with children whose parents have split or divorced.

  
  

  Father absence

  When the research on father absence began in the 1940's, there was a tremendous concern that the absence of a father would have major effects on boy's sexual adaption. So the primary focus of this research initially was on whether or not boys would be adequately masculine if they were raised without fathers. It took about ten years for people to realise that actually fathers were equally likely to have sons and daughters, and that they might want to consider the fact that father absence would influence girls as well. And so from around 1950 there was an increased interest in the effects on children of both genders.

  
  

  • psychological maladjustment

  • academic / school under-performance

  • antisocial behaviour

  • difficulty establishing and continuing intimate relationships

  On average, children raised without fathers are more likely to show signs of psychological maladjustment, they are more likely to have difficulties at school, difficulty in getting even to underperform, or to drop out of school early, to have less school completed. They are more likely to be represented in the statistics on delinquency and unconventional social behaviour, and they seem to have difficulty establishing and maintaining intimate relationships, particularly heterosexual relationships once they move into adulthood.

  • At least in the United States, and I believe to some extent in the United Kingdom, single parenthood is associated with tremendous economic disadvantage. In the United States, single mothers with children are the most disadvantaged segment of our society, and the economic consequences of father absence play a tremendous role in explaining why some of these disadvantages are seen on the part of children who are raised in single parent families.

  • In addition single parenthood is associated with a substantial degree of emotional isolation, conflict between the two parents, particularly around situations of divorce. And there is a substantial body of evidence suggesting that conflict between parents before, during and after separation, has a toxic effect on children's adjustment. That characteristic too is an important factor to bear in mind, which helps us understand how father absence influences children.

  • Children who grow up with only one parent are raised by a person who lacks somebody to back them up, to give them time away from parenting, to share both the burdens as well as the enjoyable aspects of being with and raising children. And that sense of being overwhelmed as a single parent, translates into difficulties in parenting which too have an effect on children's development.

  • The flip side of this is that children in these situations are deprived of another intimate caring relationship with somebody who is deeply interested in their own development and care. One developmental psychologist has argued that all of our collective knowledge about developmental psychology can be summarised in the notion that 'what each child needs is somebody who passionately cares about them'. And I think that I would only change that to say that 'children feel better when there are two people who passionately care about what happens to them'. And what helps to compound some of the effects of father absence is the fact that children are raised without one of those persons, and with another person who is dealing with a substantial degree of stress - emotional, psychological and economic, at the same time.

  
  

  Correlational studies

  
  

  The correlational studies took place in roughly the same era as the research focused on father absence, and so not surprisingly the initial concerns were very similar. The initial concern was "What happens to boys whose fathers aren't masculine ?". And so that set up a very simple type of facade where you could go and measure fathers' masculinity, and measure boys masculinity, and assess the obvious relationship between those two. Unfortunately the obvious relationship was not found. In fact there was no relationship between the masculinity of fathers and the masculinity of sons, and after a short pause to recap, researchers realised that in their zeal to show how important masculine fathers were, they had lost sight of the fact that there needs to be some reason why a boy would want to be like his father anyway. And in fact, instead of looking only at the father's masculinity, one might want to wonder about the relationship between them. So once the intervening relationship was introduced into the equation, researchers found that there was a relationship between masculinity of fathers and sons, though it was evident only when the relationship between the two of them was warm and close.

  Increased involvement

  The third type of research focused on fathers who were unusually involved in their children's lives. This was a wave of research that was initiated in the mid 1970's by people like Graeme Russell, who followed families in which fathers were either primary care providers or shared care provision with their partners, and then in many cases examined what influence that had on children's development. The first wave of studies came up with what were I think, for the authors of the studies, quite surprising findings that children raised primarily by their fathers seemed to be doing, if anything, better than children who were raised in traditional families. The reason for that is not I think, that fathers do it better than mothers do, but that the studies were studies of families which represent a very unique subset - they represented families in which mother and fathers were able to divide their responsibilities in ways that were in accordance with their individual values and goals. These were all studies of families in which men wanted to stay home, and had jobs which allowed them to organise themselves to flexibly in their ... They were all families in which mothers did not want to stay home full time with their children. They may have wished to achieve the fulfilment that came from pursuing their professional agendas.

  Attachment

  The last series of studies focused on the establishment of attachments between fathers and infants. These studies show - something that at the time was considered to be remarkable - that infants, even in traditional families in which their mothers stayed home with their child, and dads were away at work, that even in those contexts, most babies formed attachment to both of their parents. What these studies have further shown is that those attachment relationships to both parents have a significant impact on children's development, although not surprisingly, the relationship with the party who spends more time with the child, tends to be more influential. Nevertheless, children who have positive and secure attachments to both of their parents seem to do better overall than children whose relationship with one parent is less secure. Likewise, children who have two insecure relationships are most disadvantaged .. And what these studies underscore is that from the very earliest .. the attachment or relationship that he or she establishes are extremely significant and important. What they have also underscored is that the factors that make for secure attachment to mothers are the same as the factors that make for secure attachments to fathers.

  
  

  • parental warmth

  • parental involvement

  • family harmony

  • absence of economic stress

  • absence of family conflict

  
  

  Children on average do better when their parents are warm and involved. You will notice that I use the word here 'parental' rather than 'paternal', because there really is no evidence that warmth is more or less influential as a characteristic of either parent. That is - the same characteristics of the individual are important, regardless of gender.

  
  

  The diverse roles of fathers

  To conclude then, if we go the question I was given as the title of my talk: "What are fathers for ?" We find that fathers have lots of different roles and functions. I've listed them here in alphabetic order, rather than in any order of importance.:

  
  

  • care provider

  • companion

  • economic provider

  • educator

  • lover

  • model

  • mother's support

  • protector

  The point I want to emphasise though, is not so much the specific roles, but the fact that there are a diverse number of roles fathers represent, and to emphasise that all of these are roles that can be, and are often, filled by mothers as well. And to emphasise, as I said at the beginning, that we can't identify a single father's role - one singular in terms of the characteristic of the father that makes him important, nor singular with respect to a culture as diverse as this one.

  
  

  Contents:

  All of these images of fathers are alive today and they represent the different ways in which fathers have and continue to influence their children's development. But an important point is that while there have been changes over time and cultures in the relative importance attributed to each of these roles or images, it's a mistake to think that we will able to find the father or the father's role. Rather we need to be looking for a more inclusive awareness of the diverse roles that fathers have played and continue to play , and the ways in which those may be very different in different parts of our society.

  The four major research traditions are:

  At roughly the same time that studies had focused on father absence, there was another wave of studies that attempted to look at associations between characteristics of fathers, and characteristics of children in an attempt to see whether masculine men, or assertive men, or successful men had particular types of attributes to be found in their children.

  Beginning in the 1970's, two other waves of research became obvious, one of which focused on the ways in which children were influenced when their fathers were unusually involved in their development, and the other which focused on close observational analyses of what happens within families - how do children form relationships with their parents, and what effect does that have on them ?

  Now I want to go through briefly, each of these traditions and summarise what they each told us about the ways in which fathers influence children's development.

  The effect of father absence that we see in the United States, and I would guess in Britain, are highly controversial. I believe that there is now substantial evidence that father absence, on average does affect children's development, and it does affect their development in a variety of domains.

  The effects of father absence are:

  The important question it seems to me is not, whether or not these factors are associated with father absence, but how we go about interpreting them. There has been an effort to interpret these in terms of the absence of the male sex role model, and indeed there are many .. who would argue that the reason why boys show these deficits is because they lack access to a male sex role model. My reading of the literature is a little bit different. I actually see very little evidence that the absence of the male sex role is particularly important in these cases.

  Father absence represents a number of things to a child.:

  What's important then in understanding the effects of father absence, is to recognise that when a father is not present in the home, it is not only the male sex role that's absent, there are all the other aspects of the father's role that are not being fulfilled in the same way. The breadwinning, the companionship, the support for the mother. We need again to recognise that fatherhood is not a uni-dimensional role, but one which has multiple facets, and that when fatherhood is not exercised in the family, the effect on the child can be damaging.

  And as they continued research of this form they came to find that the important thing was actually the warmth or closeness of the relationship, not the masculinity at all. The closer, the warmer the relationship between fathers and their sons, the more likely were their the sons to have the characteristics that the society valued. Interestingly if you look at this research over time, the studies of the 1950's show that boys who were close to their fathers were masculine. As we look at the studies in the 1980's we find that boys who are close to their fathers are more androgenous. That is to say it is the more socially desired role that seems to be associated with paternal warmth, not masculinity per se.

  As the range of interests broadened - broadened not only to include daughters (we should certainly hear them described as the forgotten gender by developmental psychologists in the 1950's and 60's), but also to include a greater range of outcomes, we find an increasing number of studies showing that paternal warmth or closeness is associated with the same characteristics that are listed on the overhead. Children who have close warm relationships with their fathers are better adjusted psychologically, perform better at school, are less likely to be involved in antisocial behaviour, and seem to do better in their relationship with peers, as children, as adolescents, and as adults.

  Now what's important about this wave of research I think, is that it began by trying to focus on a unique aspect of fatherhood, and ended up coming to the conclusion that the same factors that made mothers important to children, also made fathers important to children. There seems much less stance that particular paternal characteristics were important, than they had expected.

  What these studies underscored for us as students of fathers' influence I think was the tremendous importance of recognising that fathers are primarily part of family units because of broader socialising contexts and most of what is important for children's development are factors that have to do with the family - with the social group as a whole. In these particular families, what was important was that they were, if you like, harmonious relationships between the parents and that narrow harmony of quality is what translated into benefits for children. In other words, what we see here is a realisation that instead of looking only at the individual characteristics of mothers and children, we need to look at the relationship they have with others, because it's the quality of those relationships that also undergirds and protects children and provides the example.

  Children form secure relationships with people who are sensitive, warm, caring, involved, regardless of the gender of that person. So if we take the results of these studies as a whole, what I think we find is a number of characteristics that are associated with better adjustment on the part of children.

  Children benefit from:

  In addition these studies show that we need to look beyond the relationship that individual children have with individual parents, to look at the broader social concepts in which they grow up. Most children still grow up in a context where there are two adults, who may or may not be married to one another, who may or may not both be the biological parent. The quality of the relationships between those individuals has a crucial role to play in assuring the adjustment and development of those children. By the same token of course, family conflict is one of the most toxic factors, perhaps the most common correlate of children maladjusted. In the US context, it is also important to emphasise how important the absence of economic stress is - we don't have a social security system that guarantees adequate economic support, and there is clear evidence that poverty and economic stress have adverse effects on children's adjustment.

  Different families in the UK are going to divide up their roles and responsibilities differently, and it's most important I think as a society to ensure that the opportunities are there for parents to make those decisions in ways that best accommodate their own values, needs and goals, rather than to attempt to be prescriptive about what mothers should be doing - and I see that British mothers should be staying home with their babies. We don't want to make the same mistake in telling fathers what they all should be doing. Children need relationships with their parents. What we should be doing is making it possible for parents to fulfil the roles that maximally influence their children's development.

  Michael Lamb speaking at the IPPR Conference 'Men and their Children' in London, 30th April 1996

  Transcript by David Cannon - Shared Parenting Information Group