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Statistics of a Fatherless America

Check the famous fatherless at the bottom of this article!

Sexual activity. In a study of 700 adolescents,

researchers found that "compared to families with two

natural parents living in the home, adolescents from single-

parent families have been found to engage in greater and

earlier sexual activity."

Source: Carol W. Metzler, et al. "The Social Context for Risky Sexual

Behavior Among Adolescents," Journal of Behavioral Medicine 17

(1994).

A myriad of maladies. Fatherless children are at a dramatically

greater risk of drug and alcohol abuse, mental illness, suicide, poor

educational performance, teen pregnancy, and criminality.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National

Center for Health Statistics, Survey on Child Health , Washington,

DC, 1993.

Drinking problems. Teenagers living in single-parent households

are more likely to abuse alcohol and at an earlier age compared to

children reared in two-parent households

Source: Terry E. Duncan, Susan C. Duncan and Hyman Hops, "The

Effects of Family Cohesiveness and Peer Encouragement on

the Development of Adolescent Alcohol Use: A Cohort-

Sequential Approach to the Analysis of Longitudinal Data,"

Journal of Studies on Alcohol 55 (1994).

Drug Use: "...the absence of the father in the home affects

significantly the behavior of adolescents and results in the greater

use of alcohol and marijuana."

Source: Deane Scott Berman, "Risk Factors Leading to Adolescent

Substance Abuse," Adolescence 30 (1995)

Sexual abuse. A study of 156 victims of child sexual abuse found

that the majority of the children came from disrupted or single-parent

homes; only 31 percent of the children lived with both biological

parents. Although stepfamilies make up only about 10 percent of all

families, 27 percent of the abused children lived with either a

stepfather or the mother's boyfriend.

Source: Beverly Gomes-Schwartz, Jonathan Horowitz, and Albert P.

Cardarelli, "Child Sexual Abuse Victims and Their Treatment," U.S.

Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency

Prevention.

Child Abuse. Researchers in Michigan determined that "49 percent of

all child abuse cases are committed by single mothers."

Source: Joan Ditson and Sharon Shay, "A Study of Child Abuse in

Lansing, Michigan," Child Abuse and Neglect, 8 (1984).

Deadly predictions. A family structure index -- a composite index

based on the annual rate of children involved in divorce and the

percentage of families with children present that are female-headed

-- is a strong predictor of suicide among young adult and adolescent

white males.

Source: Patricia L. McCall and Kenneth C. Land, "Trends in White

Male Adolescent, Young-Adult and Elderly Suicide: Are There Common

Underlying Structural Factors?" Social Science Research 23, 1994.

High risk. Fatherless children are at dramatically greater risk of

suicide.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National

Center for Health Statistics, Survey on Child Health, Washington,

DC, 1993.

Suicidal Tendencies. In a study of 146 adolescent friends of 26

adolescent suicide victims, teens living in single-parent families are

not only more likely to commit suicide but also more likely to suffer

from psychological disorders, when compared to teens living in intact

families.

Source: David A. Brent, et al. "Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in

Peers of Adolescent Suicide Victims: Predisposing Factors and

Phenomenology." Journal of the American Academy of Child and

Adolescent Psychiatry 34, 1995.

Confused identities. Boys who grow up in father-absent homes are

more likely that those in father-present homes to have trouble

establishing appropriate sex roles and gender identity.

Source: P.L. Adams, J.R. Milner, and N.A. Schrepf, Fatherless

Children, New York, Wiley Press, 1984.

Psychiatric Problems. In 1988, a study of preschool children

admitted to New Orleans hospitals as psychiatric patients over a 34-

month period found that nearly 80 percent came from fatherless

homes.

Source: Jack Block, et al. "Parental Functioning and the Home

Environment in Families of Divorce," Journal of the American

Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 27 (1988)

Emotional distress. Children living with a never-married mother are

more likely to have been treated for emotional problems.

Source: L. Remez, "Children Who Don't Live with Both Parents Face

Behavioral Problems," Family Planning Perspectives

(January/February 1992).

Uncooperative kids. Children reared by a divorced or never-married

mother are less cooperative and score lower on tests of intelligence

than children reared in intact families. Statistical analysis of the

behavior and intelligence of these children revealed "significant

detrimental effects" of living in a female-headed household. Growing

up in a female-headed household remained a statistical predictor of

behavior problems even after adjusting for differences in family

income.

Source: Greg L. Duncan, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn and Pamela Kato

Klebanov, "Economic Deprivation and Early Childhood Development,"

Child Development 65 (1994).

Unstable families, unstable lives. Compared to peers in two-

parent homes, black children in single-parent households are more

likely to engage in troublesome behavior, and perform poorly in

school.

Source: Tom Luster and Hariette Pipes McAdoo, "Factors Related to

the Achievement and Adjustment of Young African-American

Children." Child Development 65 (1994): 1080-1094

Beyond class lines. Even controlling for variations across groups in

parent education, race and other child and family factors, 18- to 22-

year-olds from disrupted families were twice as likely to have poor

relationships with their mothers and fathers, to show high levels of

emotional distress or problem behavior, [and] to have received

psychological help.

Source: Nicholas Zill, Donna Morrison, and Mary Jo Coiro, "Long

Term Effects of Parental Divorce on Parent-Child Relationships,

Adjustment and Achievement in Young Adulthood." Journal of Family

Psychology 7 (1993).

Fatherly influence. Children with fathers at home tend to do better

in school, are less prone to depression and are more successful in

relationships. Children from one-parent families achieve less and get

into trouble more than children from two parent families.

Source: One Parent Families and Their Children: The School's Most

Significant Minority, conducted by The Consortium for the Study of

School Needs of Children from One Parent Families, co sponsored by

the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the

Institute for Development of Educational Activities, a division of the

Charles F. Kettering Foundation, Arlington, VA., 1980

Divorce disorders. Children whose parents separate are significantly

more likely to engage in early sexual activity, abuse drugs, and

experience conduct and mood disorders. This effect is especially

strong for children whose parents separated when they were five

years old or younger.

Source: David M. Fergusson, John Horwood and Michael T. Lynsky,

"Parental Separation, Adolescent Psychopathology, and Problem

Behaviors," Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent

Psychiatry 33 (1944).

Troubled marriages, troubled kids. Compared to peers living with

both biological parents, sons and daughters of divorced or separated

parents exhibited significantly more conduct problems. Daughters of

divorced or separated mothers evidenced significantly higher rates of

internalizing problems, such as anxiety or depression.

Source: Denise B. Kandel, Emily Rosenbaum and Kevin Chen,

"Impact of Maternal Drug Use and Life Experiences on Preadolescent

Children Born to Teenage Mothers," Journal of Marriage and the

Family 56 (1994).

Hungry for love. "Father hunger" often afflicts boys age one and two

whose fathers are suddenly and permanently absent. Sleep

disturbances, such as trouble falling asleep, nightmares, and night

terrors frequently begin within one to three months after the father

leaves home.

Source: Alfred A. Messer, "Boys Father Hunger: The Missing Father

Syndrome," Medical Aspects of Human Sexuality, January 1989.

Disturbing news: Children of never-married mothers are more than

twice as likely to have been treated for an emotional or behavioral

problem.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National

Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey ,

Hyattsille, MD, 1988

Poor and in trouble: A 1988 Department of Health and Human

Services study found that at every income level except the very

highest (over $50,000 a year), children living with never-married

mothers were more likely than their counterparts in two-parent

families to have been expelled or suspended from school, to display

emotional problems, and to engage in antisocial behavior.

Source: James Q. Wilson, "In Loco Parentis: Helping Children When

Families Fail Them," The Brookings Review , Fall 1993.

Fatherless aggression: In a longitudinal study of 1,197 fourth-

grade students, researchers observed "greater levels of aggression in

boys from mother-only households than from boys in mother-father

households."

Source: N. Vaden-Kierman, N. Ialongo, J. Pearson, and S. Kellam,

"Household Family Structure and Children's Aggressive Behavior: A

Longitudinal Study of Urban Elementary School Children," Journal of

Abnormal Child Psychology 23, no. 5 (1995).

Act now, pay later: "Children from mother-only families have less of

an ability to delay gratification and poorer impulse control (that is,

control over anger and sexual gratification.) These children also have

a weaker sense of conscience or sense of right and wrong."

Source: E.M. Hetherington and B. Martin, "Family Interaction" in H.C.

Quay and J.S. Werry (eds.), Psychopathological Disorders of

Childhood. (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1979)

Crazy victims: Eighty percent of adolescents in psychiatric hospitals

come from broken homes.

Source: J.B. Elshtain, "Family Matters...", Christian Century, July

1993.

Duh to dead: "The economic consequences of a [father's] absence

are often accompanied by psychological consequences, which include

higher-than-average levels of youth suicide, low intellectual and

education performance, and higher-than-average rates of mental

illness, violence and drug use."

Source: William Galston, Elaine Kamarck. Progressive Policy

Institute. 1993

Expelled: Nationally, 15.3 percent of children living with a never-

married mother and 10.7 percent of children living with a divorced

mother have been expelled or suspended from school, compared to

only 4.4 percent of children living with both biological parents.

Source: Debra Dawson, "Family Structure...", Journal of Marriage

and Family, No. 53. 1991.

Violent rejection: Kids who exhibited violent behavior at school

were 11 times as likely not to live with their fathers and six times as

likely to have parents who were not married. Boys from families with

absent fathers are at higher risk for violent behavior than boys from

intact families.

Source: J.L. Sheline (et al.), "Risk Factors...", American Journal of

Public Health, No. 84. 1994.

That crowd: Children without fathers or with stepfathers were less

likely to have friends who think it's important to behave properly in

school. They also exhibit more problems with behavior and in

achieving goals.

Source: Nicholas Zill, C. W. Nord, "Running in Place," Child Trends,

Inc. 1994.

Likeliest to succeed: Kids who live with both biological parents at

age 14 are significantly more likely to graduate from high school than

those kids who live with a single parent, a parent and step-parent, or

neither parent.

Source: G.D. Sandefur (et al.), "The Effects of Parental Marital

Status...", Social Forces , September 1992.

Worse to bad: Children in single-parent families tend to score lower

on standardized tests and to receive lower grades in school. Children

in single-parent families are nearly twice as likely to drop out of

school as children from two-parent families.

Source: J.B. Stedman (et al.), "Dropping Out," Congressional

Research Service Report No 88-417. 1988.

College odds: Children from disrupted families are 20 percent more

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