Fatherhood: The Numbers

Fatherhood: The Numbers

Rise of Father Absence

§  According to a U.S, Census Bureau report, over 25 million children live apart from their biological fathers. That is 1 out of every 3 (34.5%) children in America. Nearly 2 in 3 (65%) African American children live in fatherless homes. Nearly 4 in 10 (36%) Hispanic children, and nearly 3 in 10 (27%) white children live in fatherless homes.[i]

§  From 1960 to 1995, the proportion of children living in single-parent homes have tripled, increasing from 9 percent to 27 percent, and the proportion of children living with married parents declined.[ii]

§  Between 1960 and 2006, the number of children living in single-mother families grew from 8 percent to 23.3 percent.[iii]

§  34 percent of children currently live apart from their biological father.[iv]

§  Today, half of all children[v], and 80 percent of African American children, can expect to live at least part of their childhood living apart from their fathers. (Report of Final Natality)

§  Currently, there is: 11,268,000 total custodial mothers and 2,907,000 total custodial fathers residing in the United States.[vi]

One of the main causes for the rise in fathers being absent from the household is due to the increase of divorce rates.  Divorce rates have obviously increased over the years and some would argue that this is due to a specific change in law – No-Fault Divorce.

No Fault Divorce Law

§  "No-fault" divorce originated in the United States in 1970 in California.

§  No-fault divorce is a divorce in which the termination of a marriage requires no showing of wrong-doing by either party or any evidence of a breach in the marital contract.  Laws providing for no-fault divorce also limit the potential legal defenses of a spouse who would prefer to remain married.

§  Requirements for divorce prior to the enactment of no-fault divorce

Prior to the creation of no-fault divorce, a divorce could be obtained only through a showing of fault by either the husband or wife.  Not loving one another was a sufficient; it meant that one spouse had to plead that the other had committed adultery, abandonment, felony, or other similarly culpable acts. However, the other spouse could plead a variety of defenses, like recrimination (an accusation of "so did you"). A judge could find that the respondent had not committed the alleged act or the judge could accept the defense of recrimination and find both spouses at fault for the dysfunctional nature of their marriage. Either way, the judge could refuse to dissolve the marriage, although it was also possible for the judge to grant one or both parties a divorce.

Effects on Children[vii]

§  In an analysis of nearly 100 studies on parent-child relationships, a father’s love -- measured by children's perceptions of paternal acceptance/rejection, affection/indifference – was as important as a mother’s love in predicting the social, emotional, and cognitive development and functioning of children and young adults.

§  Children with involved, loving fathers are significantly more likely to do well in school, have healthy self-esteem, exhibit empathy and pro-social behavior, and avoid high-risk behaviors such as drug use, truancy, and criminal activity compared to children who have uninvolved fathers.

§  Children who live without  their biological fathers are, on average, at least two to three times more likely to be poor, use drugs, experience educational, health, emotional and behavioral problems, be victims of child abuse, and engage in criminal behavior than their peers who live with their married, biological (or adoptive) parents.

§  Fathers who live with their children are more likely to have a close, enduring relationship with their children than those who do not. The best predictor of father presence is marital status. Compared to children born within marriage, children born to cohabiting parents are three times as likely to experience father absence, and children born to unmarried, non-cohabiting parents are four times as likely to live in a father-absent home.

Unfortunate Realities: Percentages within Fatherless Homes [viii]

1)     63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes 
--U.S. D.H.H.S., Bureau of the Census

2)     85% of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes 
--Center for Disease Control

3)     80% of rapists motivated with displaced anger come from fatherless homes 
--Criminal Justice and Behavior, Vol. 14, p. 403-26

4)     71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes 
--National Principals Association Report on the State of High Schools

5)     70% of juveniles in state operated institutions come from fatherless homes 
--U.S. Dept. of Justice, Special Report Sept., 1988

6)     85% of all youths sitting in prisons grew up in a fatherless home 
--Fulton County Georgia jail populations & Texas Dept. of Corrections, 1992

In summary, tragic facts about fatherless homes[ix]:

• Children in fatherless homes are 5 times more likely to commit suicide 
• Children in fatherless homes are 32 times more likely to run away 
• Children in fatherless homes are 20 times more likely to have behavioral disorders 
• Children in fatherless homes are 14 times more likely to commit rape 
• Children in fatherless homes are 9 times more likely to drop out of school
• Children in fatherless homes are 10 times more likely to abuse chemical substances
• Children in fatherless homes are 9 times more likely to end up in a state operated institution 
• Childrenin fatherless homes are 20 times more likely to end up in prison 

Research concludes that not having a father in the household is directly correlated to children suffering from poverty, abuse, obesity, incarceration, and teen pregnancy.

Absent Fathers effect on Poverty?

§  Children in father-absent homes are five times more likely to be poor.

§  In 2002, 7.8 percent of children in married-couple families were living in poverty, compared to 38.4 percent of children in mother-only household families.[x]

§  During the year before their babies were born, 43% of unmarried mothers received welfare or food stamps, 21% received some type of housing subsidy, and 9% received another type of government transfer (unemployment insurance etc.). For women who have another child, the proportion who receives welfare or food stamps rises to 54%.[xi]

§  A child with a nonresident father is 54 percent more likely to be poorer than his or her father.[xii]

Fathers effect on Child Abuse? [xiii]

§  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.

§  The overall rate of child abuse and neglect in single-parent households is 27.3 children per 1,000, whereas the rate of overall maltreatment in two-parent households is 15.5 per 1,000. 

§  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: 
      - a 77% greater risk of being physically abused
      - an 87% greater risk of being harmed by physical neglect
      - a 165% greater risk of experiencing notable physical neglect
      - a 74% greater risk of suffering from emotional neglect
      - an 80% greater risk of suffering serious injury as a result of abuse
      - overall, a 120% greater risk of being endangered by some type of child abuse. 

Fathers Absence Causes Increased Drug 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.[xiv]

§  In a study of 6,500 children, those children who lacked closeness with their father developed higher levels of friendships with children who smoke, drink, and smoke marijuana. This lack of closeness was also connected with a child’s use of alcohol, cigarettes, and hard drugs and was connected to family structure. Intact families ranked higher on father closeness than single-parent families.[xv]

§  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.

Fathers effect on Incarceration?

• Even after controlling for income, youths in fatherless households still had significantly higher rates of incarceration than those in mother-father families. Youths who never had a father in the household experienced the highest odds.[xvi]
• A 2002 Department of Justice survey of 7,000 inmates revealed that 39% of jail inmates lived in mother-only households. Approximately forty-six percent of jail inmates in 2002 had a previously incarcerated family member. One-fifth experienced a father in prison or jail.[xvii]
  
  
• A study of 109 juvenile offenders conducted by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice along with Florida State University Professors  indicated that family structure significantly predicts delinquency.[xviii]
• More than half the women in prison grew up without their father. Forty-two percent grew up in a single-mother household and sixteen percent lived with neither parent. (Fathers and Daughters)[xix]
   

Fathers effect on Teen Pregnancy?

§  Being raised by a single mother increased the risk of teen pregnancy, marrying with less than a high school education, and forming a marriage where both partners have less than a high school diploma.[xx]
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 two-parent 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.[xxi]

§  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.

There are also benefits of being a involved father.  Fathers positively impact their children as early as 3 months after being born.  However, this impact can be made even if the father does not live in the household just by them making an effort to be an involved father.

Fathers Matter!!!

§  Babies as young as three months old can tell the difference between their mother and father. They can tell by the way each speaks to them, holds them, and by their different smells.

§  Research has shown that children whose fathers are involved in rearing them score higher on cognitive tests (they seem smarter) than those with relatively uninvolved fathers.

§  Improved cognitive abilities are associated with higher educational achievement. In fact, fathers who are involved in their children's schools and academic achievement, regardless of their own educational level, are increasing the chances their child will graduate from high school, perhaps go to vocational school, or even to college.

§  Research has also found that fathers who are more involved with their children tend to raise children who experience more success in their career. Career success can lead to greater income and greater financial stability.

§  Involved fathers children experience lower rates of teen violence, delinquency, and other problems with the law.

§  Father involvement enhances positive child characteristics such as empathy, self-esteem, self-control, psychological well-being, social competence, and life skills.

Children who grow up with non-resident fathers that do stay very involved in their life:[xxii]

§  Tend to get higher grades than those without involved fathers.

§  Seem to have better social skills. They can make friends more easily and handle difficult social situations better.

§  Tend to have fewer behavioral problems. In fact, even when not living with their children and their children's mother, fathers who were actively involved with their children kept them from getting involved in problem behaviors as teens.

§  Have fewer mental health problems as adults (especially true for daughters).