Father absence and the personality development of the male child.

Abstract

This article indicates that the effects of father absence on the personality development of the male child cannot be considered in isolation from other factors. The timing and length of father absence, sociocultural milieu, relative availability of surrogate models, and individual differences in maternal behavior need to be taken into consideration. The possible influence of father absence on different aspects of sex role, the expression of impulsive and aggressive behavior, cognitive functioning, interpersonal relationships, and the development of psychopathology are explored. Much emphasis is put on the need for further systematic research and many possible avenues of investigation are suggested.More than one-tenth of the children in the United States live in households where no father is present (Clausen, 1966;Pettigrew, 1964;Schlesinger, 1966). The incidence of fatherless families is especially high among the lower class (Miller, 1958) and particularly among lower-class Negro families, approaching 50% in some areas (King, 1945;Moynihan, 1965;Pettigrew, 1964). This article is an attempt to review pertinent data and to stimulate further research concerning the impact of father absence on the personality development of the male child. Sex-Role DevelopmentMany writers have speculated that the primary effects of father absence are manifested in terms of deficits and/or abnormalities in the boy's sex-role development (Biller

Single Mothers and Their Children After Divorce: A Study of Those “Who Makeit”

“…This finding seems contradictory to earlier findings by Rutter (1970), Wolkind and Rutter (1973), Francke (1983aFrancke ( , 1983b and Biller (1970) which show significantly more negative effects of divorce on boys. Whitehead (1979), questioning the link between parental discord and maladjustment in male children, concludes that both girls and boys are as likely to be negatively affected by separation and divorce although the effects take the form of antisocial behavior in boys and withdrawal in girls.…”

Father Absence and Reproductive Strategy: An Evolutionary Perspective

“…In comparison with control boys reared with fathers present during early childhood, father-absent adolescents are more likely t o show many but not necessarily all of the following characteristics in a variety of societies: rejection of authority, particularly when it is imposed by adult females; exaggerated masculinity (often regarded by psychologists as "overcompensation" for insecure masculine sex-role identification); rqjection and denigration of feminity; greater interpersonal aggressiveness; increased risk of arrest and incarceration; and a relatively exploitative attitude toward females, with sexual contact appearing important as conquest and as a means of validating masculinity (Rohrer and Edmonson 1960;Miller 1958;LeVine and LeVine 1966;Anderson 1968;Cohen 1955;Glaser 1965;Wylie and Delgado 1959;Nye 1957;Lynn and Sawrey 1959;Kelly and Baer 1969;Biller 1970Biller and Bahm 1971). A further consistent finding is that father-absent boys show increased verbal ability and reduced spatial or quantitative ability on standardized tests of cognitive performance. Studies of cognitive abilities in males form the great bulk of the father-absence literature, since the phenomenon has important consequences for educational inequality among American social classes and ethinic groups (Moynihan 1965;Pettigrew 1964).…”

Paternal Involvement in Child- Rearing Activities: The Perspective of Adolescents in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

“…It needs to be stressed here that because boys seem more affected by father absence than girls (e.g. Biller, 1981), Paternal tasks or activities sampled from these domains were framed in terms of masculine gender socialization of boys. 4.…”