What's Up With Fatherhood?
The Father Factor—Incarceration
Even after controlling for income, youths in father-absent households still had significantly higher odds of incarceration than those in mother-father families. Youths who never had a father in the household experienced the highest odds.The Father Factor—Crime
• A study of 109 juvenile offenders indicated that family structure significantly predicts delinquency.• A study of 13,986 women in prison showed that more than half grew up without their father. Forty-two percent grew up in a single-mother household and 16% lived with neither parent. (Fathers and Daughters)
• Of the 228 students studied, those from single-parent families reported higher rates of drinking and smoking as well as higher scores on delinquency and aggression tests when compared to boys from two-parent households.
• In a study of INTERPOL crime statistics of 39 countries, it was found that single parenthood ratios were strongly correlated with violent crimes. This was not true 18 years ago.
The Father Factor—Teen Pregnancy
• Being raised by a single mother raises the risk of teen pregnancy, marrying with less than a high school degree, and forming a marriage where both partners have less than a high school degree.• Separation or frequent changes increase a woman’s risk of early menarche, sexual activity and pregnancy. Women whose parents separated between birth and six years old experienced twice the risk of early menstruation, more than four times the risk of early sexual intercourse, and two and a half times higher risk of early pregnancy when compared to women in intact families. The longer a woman lived with both parents, the lower her risk of early reproductive development. Women who experienced three or more changes in her family environment exhibited similar risks but were five times more likely to have an early pregnancy.
• Researchers using a pool from both the U.S. and New Zealand found strong evidence that father absence has an effect on early sexual activity and teenage pregnancy. Teens without fathers were twice as likely to be involved in early sexual activity and seven times more likely to get pregnant as an adolescent.
The Father Factor—Child Abuse
Compared to living with both parents, living in a single-parent home doubles the risk that a child will suffer physical, emotional or educational neglect.An analysis of child abuse cases in a nationally representative sample of 42 counties found that children from single-parent families are more likely to be victims of physical and sexual abuse than children who live with both biological parents. Compared to their peers living with both parents, children in single parent homes had:
• 77% greater risk of being physically abused
• 87% greater risk of being harmed by physical neglect
• 165% greater risk of experiencing notable physical neglect
• 74% greater risk of suffering from emotional neglect
• 80% greater risk of suffering serious injury as a result of abuse
• 120% greater risk of being endangered by some type of child abuse (overall)
The Father Factor—Drug and Alcohol Abuse
• Researchers at Columbia University found that children living in two-parent household with a poor relationship with their father are 68% more likely to smoke, drink, or use drugs compared to all teens in two-parent households. Teens in single mother households are at a 30% higher risk than those in two-parent households.The Father Factor—Education
• Fatherless children are twice as likely to drop out of school.• Father involvement in schools is associated with the higher likelihood of a student getting mostly A’s. This was true for fathers in biological parent families, for stepfathers, and for fathers heading single-parent families.
• Students living in father-absent homes are twice as likely to repeat a grade in school; 10% of children living with both parents have ever repeated a grade, compared to 20% of children in stepfather families and 18% in mother-only families.
• Students in single-parent families or stepfamilies are significantly less likely than students living in intact families to have parents involved in their schools. About half of students living in single-parent families or stepfamilies have parents who are highly involved, while 62% of students living with both their parents have parents who are highly involved in their schools.
• A study of 1,330 children from the PSID showed that fathers who are involved on a personal level with their child schooling increases the likelihood of their child's achievement. When fathers assume a positive role in their child's education, students feel a positive impact.
• Half of all children with highly involved fathers in two-parent families reported getting mostly A's through 12th grade, compared to 35.2% of children of nonresident father families.
(Fatherhood.org)