National Center for Fathering

The Importance of Fathers

Fathers are critical. Unfortunately, for many years the father's role has been downplayed or ignored. 39% of children now live apart from their biological father. Trends in out-of-wedlock childbearing indicate this figure will increase in the near future, not decrease.

Much of current research has documented the importance of fathering by examining the negative effects of father absence. Major compilations of such research show children from fatherless homes are more likely to:

• be absent from school
• perform less well on standardized tests and school assignments
• drop out of school
• be sexually active
• be susceptible to peer pressures
• be depressed and/or show aggressive behavior (especially girls)
• be susceptible to disease.

As adults, the chances are greater that those raised without a father will:

• suffer from poverty
• receive welfare
• marry early
• have children out of wedlock
• divorce
• commit delinquent acts
• engage in drug and alcohol use. (Blankenhorn, 1995; McLanahan & Booth, 1989)

Certainly thousands of mother-only households will escape the above effects, but still psychologist Samuel Osherson sums up the overall situation well: 'The psychological and physical absence of fathers is one of the great underestimated tragedies of our times.' At the same time research is showing the negative effects associated with father absence, new studies are showing the specific benefits of father involvement in children's lives. This information will help contribute to a fathering renewal.

A 1990 study found children with highly involved fathers are:

• more confident and less anxious when placed in unfamiliar settings
• better able to deal with frustration
• better able to adapt to changing circumstances and breaks from their routine
• better able to gain a sense of independence and an identity outside the mother/child relationship. (Cantor, 1991)

Other research demonstrates specific benefits of involved fathers as well. For instance, a 1990 study found that the greatest predictor of whether a child would grow into an adult demonstrating 'empathetic concern' was whether his/her father was involved in child care. (Koestner et al, 1990)

Fathers who spend time with their children as adolescents 'promote educational and economic achievement,' and fathers who maintain a close and stable emotional bond with their adolescents protect them from engaging in delinquent behavior. (Harris et al, 1996)

Indeed, research confirms what we know intuitively: One of the single most important tasks of a manís life is learning to father.

References

Canfield, Ken (1996). The Heart of a Father. Chicago: Northfield Publishing. (The definitive guide to being a father today, with three parts: examining one's own fathering heritage; looking at four key dimensions of fathering -- Involvement, Consistency, Awareness and Nurturance; and preparing for the fathering life course.)

Cantor, Carla (1991). 'The father factor.' Working Mother. June: 39-43.

Harris, Kathleen M.; Furstenberg, Frank, Jr.; and Marmer, Jeremy (1996). 'Paternal involvement with adolescents in intact families: the influence of fathers over the life course.' Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, August 16-20, 1996. New York, New York.

Koestner, E.M. and Fairweather, P.D. (1990). 'The family of origin of empathetic concern: a 26-year longitudinal study.' Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 58(4):709-717.

McLanahan, Sara and Booth, K. (1989). 'Mother-only families: problems, prospects and politics.' Journal of Marriage and Family. 51:557-580. (The classic article by a single mother who set out to show single motherhood didn't affect children negatively, only to confront the evidence.)

Father Equipping Resources