Father absence

Despite limited agreement among researchers regarding the exact significance of fathering,{{Cite journal |last1=Sear |first1=Rebecca |last2=Mace |first2=Ruth |author-link2=Ruth Mace |year=2008 |title=Who keeps children alive? A review of the effects of kin on child survival |url=http://dro.dur.ac.uk/7614/1/7614.pdf |journal=Evolution and Human Behavior |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=1–18 |doi=10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2007.10.001 |bibcode=2008EHumB..29....1S |issn=1090-5138 |oclc=5902459343 |s2cid=15472783}} fathers are traditionally deemed a provider of protection and support for the child's development.{{Cite journal |last1=Draper |first1=Patricia |last2=Harpending |first2=Henry |author-link2=Henry Harpending |date=1982-01-01 |title=Father Absence and Reproductive Strategy: An Evolutionary Perspective |url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1037&context=anthropologyfacpub |journal=Journal of Anthropological Research |volume=38 |issue=3 |pages=255–273 |doi=10.1086/jar.38.3.3629848 |issn=0091-7710 |jstor=3629848 |oclc=5546692515 |s2cid=46682009|url-access=subscription }} Through a number of pathways, father absence may influence child behavior, especially in early and middle childhood.{{Cite journal |last1=Panico |first1=Lidia |last2=Bartley |first2=Mel |last3=Kelly |first3=Yvonne |last4=McMunn |first4=Anne |last5=Sacker |first5=Amanda |date=2010-01-01 |title=Changes in family structure in early childhood in the Millennium Cohort Study |journal=Population Trends |volume=142 |issue=1 |pages=75–89 |doi=10.1057/pt.2010.32 |issn=0307-4463 |oclc=704742284 |pmid=21187854 |doi-access=free}}{{Cite journal |last1=Pearce |first1=Anna |last2=Lewis |first2=Hannah |last3=Law |first3=Catherine |date=2012-08-09 |title=The role of poverty in explaining health variations in 7-year-old children from different family structures: findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study |url=http://jech.bmj.com/content/early/2012/08/08/jech-2012-200970 |journal=Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health |language=en |volume=67 |issue=2 |pages=jech–2012–200970 |doi=10.1136/jech-2012-200970 |issn=1470-2738 |oclc=5856044497 |pmid=22879638 |s2cid=206991164|url-access=subscription }} Father absence often results in a decline in household income, and ineffective parenting arising from continued conflicts between parents and psychological distress in the aftermath of the separation.

Research has shown that children who have experienced parental separation in early life often face developmental and behavioural difficulties through their childhood.{{Cite journal |date=2001 |title=America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being 2001 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/e319862004-001 |doi=10.1037/e319862004-001 |access-date=2021-12-17 |website=United States Department of Health and Human Services|url-access=subscription }} For example, the separation of parents/guardians impacts children's relationship with their parents, their education, their health, and their well being. Many of the studies that have shown the negative effects of a father's absence on children have not taken into account other factors that potentially contribute such as the child's characteristics and relationship with the parents before the separation, the child's gender, and the family environment before the separation.

In regard to the effects of father absence, a recent British study assessed child problem behaviour in over 15,000 families using the clinical cut-offs of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), controlling for household factors such as resources, parental mental health and inter-parental relationship.{{Cite journal |last1=Fomby |first1=Paula |last2=Osborne |first2=Cynthia |author-link2=Cynthia Osborne |date=2010-11-01 |title=The influence of union instability and union quality on children's aggressive behavior |journal=Social Science Research |volume=39 |issue=6 |pages=912–924 |doi=10.1016/j.ssresearch.2010.02.006 |issn=0049-089X |oclc=5901458134 |pmc=3302180 |pmid=22423167}}{{Cite journal |last1=Goldberg |first1=Julia S. |last2=Carlson |first2=Marcia J. |date=2014-08-01 |title=Parents' Relationship Quality and Children's Behavior in Stable Married and Cohabiting Families |journal=Journal of Marriage and Family |language=en |volume=76 |issue=4 |pages=762–777 |doi=10.1111/jomf.12120 |issn=1741-3737 |oclc=8512538061 |pmc=4128411 |pmid=25125703}} The study found that father absence at a given age, similar to poverty and parental psychological distress, predicted a high probability of the child scoring above the cut-off score for total difficulties two years later. Likewise, the father's absence predicted several specific difficulties including borderline personality disorder, severe hyperactivity, and abnormal emotional problems. Reciprocally, a child's severe externalizing and social during their preschool years were also associated with a greater probability of the father being absent two years later. The authors concluded that the father's absence seemed to be more of a cause than a consequence of the child's problem behavior.

Through direct interaction, fathers' involvement in children's development has a positive influence on their social, behavioral, and psychological outcomes. In general, the engagement of a fatherly figure reduces the frequency of behavioral problems and delinquency in sons and psychological problems in daughters, all the while facilitating children's cognitive development.{{Cite journal |last1=Sarkadi |first1=Anna |last2=Kristiansson |first2=Robert |last3=Oberklaid |first3=Frank |last4=Bremberg |first4=Sven |date=2008-02-01 |title=Fathers' involvement and children's developmental outcomes: a systematic review of longitudinal studies |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18052995/ |journal=Acta Paediatrica |volume=97 |issue=2 |pages=153–158 |doi=10.1111/j.1651-2227.2007.00572.x |issn=0803-5253 |oclc=263991910 |pmid=18052995 |s2cid=12229841}}{{Cite journal |last1=East |first1=Leah |last2=Jackson |first2=Debra |last3=O'Brien |first3=Louise |date=2006-12-01 |title=Father absence and adolescent development: a review of the literature |journal=Journal of Child Health Care |language=en |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=283–295 |doi=10.1177/1367493506067869 |issn=1367-4935 |oclc=110080119 |pmid=17101621 |doi-access=free}}

Evolutionary life-history theory postulates that women may invest more in their offspring than men due to a slower rate of reproduction in females.Trivers, R. (1972). [http://www1.appstate.edu/~kms/classes/psy2664/Documents/trivers.pdf Parental investment and sexual selection] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304025739/http://www1.appstate.edu/~kms/classes/psy2664/Documents/trivers.pdf |date=2016-03-04 }}. In B. Campbell (Ed.), Sexual selection and the descent of man (pp. 136-179). London: Heinemann. Some theorists add that the assured maternal relatedness to one's offspring may also make women invest more than men.{{Cite journal |last=Alexander |first=Richard D. |author-link=Richard D. Alexander |date=1974-01-01 |title=The Evolution of Social Behavior |url=https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev.es.05.110174.001545 |journal=Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=325–383 |doi=10.1146/annurev.es.05.110174.001545 |bibcode=1974AnRES...5..325A |issn=0066-4162|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite journal |last1=Anderson |first1=Kermyt G. |last2=Kaplan |first2=Hillard |last3=Lancaster |first3=Jane B. |year=2007 |title=Confidence of paternity, divorce, and investment in children by Albuquerque men |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1090513806000705 |journal=Evolution and Human Behavior |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=1–10 |doi=10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2006.06.004 |bibcode=2007EHumB..28....1A |issn=1090-5138 |oclc=5900403537|url-access=subscription }} This is because some men may have variable paternity confidence that the child is his offspring.

The psychodynamic approach posits that behavior is motivated by basic needs and drives and is sometimes shaped by unconscious childhood experiences. The psychodynamic approach suggests that for a child to develop a "normal" gender identity, they will have to be raised in a conventional family where there is a father and a mother. Freud believed that being parented by a single mother could confuse the child's identity or lead them to become homosexual.{{Cite book |last=Kenneth |first=Lewes |url=https://archive.org/details/psychoanalyticth00lewe |title=The psychoanalytic theory of male homosexuality |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=1988 |isbn=978-0671623913 |location=New York |oclc=18350887 |url-access=registration}} Father absence may hinder the son's acquisition of the traditional masculine role, as he is not able to model his own behavior and attitude on his fathers'. Along similar lines, sons with absent fathers could have confused gender identities – if the son was separated from his father by age four, he would be less assertive, less involved in sport, less masculine than other boys and more dependent on his peers.{{Cite journal |last1=Hetherington |first1=E. Mavis |author-link=E. Mavis Hetherington |last2=Deur |first2=Jan L. |date=1971-01-01 |title=The Effects of Father Absence on Child Development |journal=Young Children |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=233–248 |jstor=42643357}} Nevertheless, findings of certain empirical studies on psychosexual gender identification have been deemed contradictory and inconclusive.{{Cite journal |last1=Golombok |first1=Susan |author-link=Susan Golombok |last2=Rust |first2=Jennifer |date=1986-12-01 |title=The Warnock Report and single women: what about the Children? |journal=Journal of Medical Ethics |volume=12 |issue=4 |pages=182–186 |doi=10.1136/jme.12.4.182 |issn=0306-6800 |pmc=1375380 |pmid=3806629}} A number of studies have highlighted such negative consequences of the two-parent heterosexual household on children. Contrarily, others have pointed out that being reared in lesbian and single-parent households where the father was absent did not affect the psychosexual development of children, despite higher aggressiveness and submissiveness and lower assertiveness.{{Cite journal |last1=Golombok |first1=Susan |author-link=Susan Golombok |last2=Spencer |first2=Ann |last3=Rutter |first3=Michael |author-link3=Michael Rutter |date=1983-10-01 |title=Children in Lesbian and Single-Parent Households: Psychosexual and Psychiatric Appraisal |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6630329/ |journal=Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry |language=en |volume=24 |issue=4 |pages=551–572 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7610.1983.tb00132.x |issn=1469-7610 |oclc=115487925 |pmid=6630329}}

Genes and hormones may account for the tendency of fathers to be absent. Certain DNA patterns have been shown to affect an individual's degree of fidelity and investment in their offspring. In particular, a study in prairie voles indicates that the gene AVPR1A affects the activity of vasopressin receptors in brain regions and thus predicts less cheating on their partners.{{Cite journal |last1=Okhovat |first1=Mariam |last2=Berrio |first2=Alejandro |last3=Wallace |first3=Gerard |last4=Ophir |first4=Alexander G. |last5=Phelps |first5=Steven M. |date=2015-12-11 |title=Sexual fidelity trade-offs promote regulatory variation in the prairie vole brain |journal=Science |language=en |volume=350 |issue=6266 |pages=1371–1374 |bibcode=2015Sci...350.1371O |doi=10.1126/science.aac5791 |issn=0036-8075 |oclc=5982016598 |pmid=26659055 |doi-access=free}} Similar to oxytocin, the hormone vasopressin can facilitate trust, empathy and social bonding. Injection of vasopressin in polygamous montane voles significantly increased their likelihood of becoming monogamous. This may, in turn, decrease their likelihood of being an absent father.

A meta-analysis{{Cite journal |last1=Klahr |first1=Ashlea M. |last2=Burt |first2=Sybil Alexandra |author-link2=S. Alexandra Burt |year=2014 |title=Elucidating the etiology of individual differences in parenting: A meta-analysis of behavioral genetic research. |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24016230/ |journal=Psychological Bulletin |volume=140 |issue=2 |pages=544–586 |doi=10.1037/a0034205 |issn=0033-2909 |oclc=5538168735 |pmid=24016230}} based on 56 twin and adoption studies totaling over 200,000 families has revealed that genetic makeup significantly affects the individual's parenting behavior. Genes in the father's reliability predict up to 40% of his positive or negative emotions toward his children. In this sense, genes contribute to a father's liking or repulsion for his children, the latter of which may result in the father's absence. However, genes are not the sole predictors of whether a father will like or dislike his child.

There is mixed empirical evidence on the relative impact of a father's absence on the development of male and female offspring. A recent study in rural Ethiopia, where a father's absence could mean a significant decrease in household income, revealed a considerable difference between the well-being of male and female offspring.{{Cite journal |last=Gibson |first=Mhairi A. |date=2008-07-22 |title=Does Investment in the Sexes Differ When Fathers Are Absent? |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26181617/ |journal=Human Nature |language=en |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=263–276 |doi=10.1007/s12110-008-9044-2 |issn=1045-6767 |oclc=5660289599 |pmid=26181617 |s2cid=39350851}} In particular, the author found that a male infant's risk of dying per month was doubled if the biological father was absent – a 30% greater risk than that for females. For female infants, father absence (as opposed to presence) was associated with a lower risk of dying, as well as higher nutritional status. That is to say, father absence was only a statistical predictor of infant death only for male infants. Such a sex difference has been observed despite a strong cultural preference for sons in the area. On the other hand, in developed countries such as the United Kingdom, where father absence may not inflict as much harm on the family's income, the effects of father absence are not noticeably different between the sexes of their offspring. This suggests that other factors, such as household income and cultural norms, are significant in the well-being and development of a child.

When a young man matures without his biological male role model, this can result in violent reactions to stress and emotions, resistance and hate towards authority, aggression, early rates of sexual encounters, transferences of the mother's negative talk about the father, and pressured ideologies to become the breadwinner.{{Cite book |last=Evans |first=Cornelius |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4mjTy92cxSoC&pg=PA17 |title=Anger in the Bosom of Our Children: The Effects of Fatherlessness on Anger in Middle School Children |date=December 2003 |publisher=iUniverse |isbn=978-0-595-30328-1 |language=en |oclc=55619484}}

Commonly agreed across authors within the literature on Fatherhood is the idea that "[a] girl's relationship with her father serves as the model for all her relationships with men in her life, romantic and otherwise".{{Cite book |last=Thomas |first=Pamela |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PlbVUF_hPSsC&pg=PR9 |title=Fatherless Daughters: Turning the Pain of Loss Into the Power of Forgiveness |date=2009-08-18 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-0-7432-0557-3 |edition=1st Simon & Schuster hardcover |language=en |oclc=1149057066}} Many studies conducted produce the same result: that the absence of a father in a daughter's life can lead to increased promiscuity and sexualized activity. Ellis conducted one such study et al., "Does Father Absence Place Daughters at Special Risk for Early Sexual Activity and Teenage Pregnancy?" Ellis provides a greater focus on the timing of the father's absence in their daughter's life but still the results of promiscuity prove contingent on the father being present.{{Cite journal |last1=Ellis |first1=Bruce John |author-link=Bruce J. Ellis |last2=Bates |first2=John E. |last3=Dodge |first3=Kenneth A. |author-link3=Kenneth A. Dodge |last4=Fergusson |first4=David Murray |author-link4=David Fergusson (psychologist) |last5=Horwood |first5=L. John |last6=Pettit |first6=Gregory S. |last7=Woodward |first7=Lianne |date=2003 |title=Does Father Absence Place Daughters at Special Risk for Early Sexual Activity and Teenage Pregnancy? |journal=Child Development |volume=74 |issue=3 |pages=801–821 |doi=10.1111/1467-8624.00569 |issn=0009-3920 |oclc=111123415 |pmc=2764264 |pmid=12795391}} From here, researchers have identified a commonality of 5 factors that work to explain how fatherlessness affects development in women, psychologically.

• "Un-Factor," which is the development of the ideas of being "unworthy," "unlovable," and similar concepts in young women. When young women begin to believe these ideas, it creates a self-fulfilled prophecy where they only accept and attract love from men who affirm their feelings of being unlovable, unworthy, or other "un-factor" ideas.
• "Triple Fears Factor," also known as abandoned child syndrome, is where the three commonly identified fears (fear of rejection, fear of abandonment, and fear of commitment) express themselves. Each fear can be initially identifiable in the early stages of life without a father. The fatherless woman can adopt these fears due to the difficulty, trauma, or other pain created by the absence of her father. Furthermore, an absent father can leave a woman feeling abandoned, "not good enough," bereaved, and uncertain about what it means to be committed and received versus disloyal or rejected. Being rejected can create contradictory emotions due to the familiarity and predictability of the situation versus the feelings of betrayal and the fear of being abandoned.{{Cite book |last=Erickson, Beth. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1097983214 |title=Longing for Dad: Father Loss and Its Impact. |date=2010 |publisher=Health Communications, Incorporated |isbn=978-0-7573-9716-5 |oclc=1097983214}} Generally, "what these people will do is to play it safe to protect themselves; they will not put themselves in situations that are going to be intimate. They will be highly social, sexual, intellectual, but not intimate."{{Cite thesis |title=Where's My Daddy? Effects of Fatherlessness on Women's Relational Communication |url=https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses/3767 |publisher=San Jose State University |date=2010-01-01 |place=San Jose, CA, USA |degree=Master of Arts |doi=10.31979/etd.xy86-vnm6 |first=LaToya Marie |last=Jackson |oclc=648202312|doi-access=free }}
• "Sexual Healing Factor," which is most commonly identified across women of multiple age ranges and cultures for sexual expression, tends to serve as the primary indication of fatherlessness in a woman. The Sexual Healing Factor in girls and women is attributed primarily to control. This sexual behavior exists on a spectrum, ranging from hypersexuality to complete avoidance of intimacy and asexuality. In both extremes, the girl is able to maintain a sense of control, deciding exactly what sex will look like for themselves.
• "Over Factor," is more explicitly defined as overeating or overachieving to compensate for the absent father. The intensity of these behaviors can reach levels comparable to obsession and/or addiction.
• "RAD Factor," is most commonly expressed as rage, anger, and depression (RAD). These emotions can express themselves as a drive for previous factors (such as fueling overachievement or hypersexuality) and create increased impulsivity or criminal behavior, among other factors.

Based on the 2018 U.S. Census Bureau:{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=America's Families and Living Arrangements: 2018 |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2018/demo/families/cps-2018.html |access-date=2020-01-01 |website=The United States Census Bureau |language=EN-US}} out of 11 million single parent households, 80% of them are fatherless, breaking down to 1 in every 4 children born; totaling to a percentage of 81.5%. Out of that 81.5% who were raised by single mothers, 34% were poor,{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Household Income: HINC-04 |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/cps-hinc/hinc-04.html |access-date=2020-01-01 |website=The United States Census Bureau |language=EN-US}} 26.8% were jobless the entire year, and 30.3% had food insecurity; {{frac|2|3}} of these families were white,{{Cite web|url=https://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/107-children-in-single-parent-families-by|title=Children in single-parent families by race {{!}} KIDS COUNT Data Center|website=datacenter.kidscount.org|language=en|access-date=2020-01-01}} {{frac|1|3}} were black, and {{frac|1|3}} were Hispanic-defined. It did not take into account the 53% of American-Indian and Alaskan-Native as well as the 17% Asian-American and Pacific-Islander children recorded within these single-parent homes.

In 2005, the United States Department of Health and Human Services reported that the average experience of the American teenager includes living in the absence of their father.{{Cite journal|title=In Brief|date=2005|doi = 10.1037/e477152006-013}} This leads to multiple negative impacts on youth in which 85% are reported to have behavioral issues (Center for Disease Control);{{Cite web|url=http://www.operation-redemption.org/statistics/|title=Go here to find statistics about children at risk without a father|website=www.operation-redemption.org|language=en|access-date=2020-01-01}} 71% of high school dropouts and teen moms come from fatherless homes, which is 9 times the national average (National Principals Association Report); 85% of all children who show behaviour disorders come from fatherless homes, which is 20 times the national average (Center for Disease Control); 85% of youth in prison come from fatherless homes, which is 20 times the national average; (Fulton County, Georgia, Texas Department of Correction), and 63% of youth suicides are of children who come from fatherless homes, which is 5 times the national average (US Department of Health/Census).

Early pubertal timing, or precocious puberty, is associated with negative outcomes in both genders. Early maturing girls have been found to be at risk for teenage pregnancy,{{Cite journal |last1=Udry |first1=J. Richard |author-link=J. Richard Udry |last2=Cliquet |first2=R. L. |date=1982-02-01 |title=A cross-cultural examination of the relationship between ages at menarche, marriage, and first birth |journal=Demography |language=en |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=53–63 |doi=10.2307/2061128 |issn=0070-3370 |jstor=2061128 |pmid=7067870 |doi-access=free}} drinking{{Cite journal |last1=Mezzich |first1=Ada Castillo |last2=Tarter |first2=Ralph E. |last3=Giancola |first3=Peter R. |last4=Kirisci |first4=Levent |last5=Parks |first5=Sydney E. |last6=Lu |first6=Sandy |year=1997 |title=Substance use and risky sexual behavior in female adolescents |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9088788/ |journal=Drug and Alcohol Dependence |volume=44 |issue=2–3 |pages=157–166 |doi=10.1016/s0376-8716(96)01333-6 |issn=0376-8716 |oclc=4932735379 |pmid=9088788}} and weight problems,{{Cite journal |last=Ness |first=Roberta |date=1991-01-01 |title=Adiposity and age of menarche in Hispanic women |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28520315/ |journal=American Journal of Human Biology |language=en |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=41–47 |doi=10.1002/ajhb.1310030108 |issn=1520-6300 |oclc=5152220355 |pmid=28520315 |s2cid=205300364}}{{Cite journal |last1=Wellens |first1=Rita |last2=Malina |first2=Robert M. |last3=Roche |first3=Alex F. |last4=Chumlea |first4=William Cameron |last5=Guo |first5=Shumei |last6=Siervogel |first6=Roger M. |date=1992-01-01 |title=Body size and fatness in young adults in relation to age at menarche |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28524629/ |journal=American Journal of Human Biology |language=en |volume=4 |issue=6 |pages=783–787 |doi=10.1002/ajhb.1310040610 |issn=1520-6300 |oclc=7040651171 |pmid=28524629 |s2cid=2543779}} and giving birth to low birth weight infants.{{Cite journal |last1=Scholl |first1=Theresa |last2=Hediger |first2=Mary |last3=Vasilenko |first3=Peter |last4=Ances |first4=Isadore |last5=Smith |first5=Woolcott |last6=Salmon |first6=Ruth |date=1989-01-01 |title=Effects of early maturation on fetal growth |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2782851/ |journal=Annals of Human Biology |volume=16 |issue=4 |pages=335–345 |doi=10.1080/03014468900000462 |issn=0301-4460 |pmid=2782851}} Early maturing boys are at risk for sexual promiscuity and delinquency{{Cite journal |last1=Cota-Robles |first1=Sonia |last2=Neiss |first2=Michelle |last3=Rowe |first3=David C. |author-link3=David C. Rowe |date=2002-07-01 |title=The Role of Puberty in Violent and Nonviolent Delinquency among Anglo American, Mexican American, and African American Boys |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/07458402017004003 |journal=Journal of Adolescent Research |language=en |volume=17 |issue=4 |pages=364–376 |doi=10.1177/07458402017004003 |issn=0743-5584 |oclc=425483135 |s2cid=143599637|url-access=subscription }} and testicular{{Cite journal |last1=Weir |first1=Hannah K. |last2=Kreiger |first2=Nancy |author-link2=Nancy Krieger |last3=Marrett |first3=Loraine D. |date=1998-05-01 |title=Age at Puberty and Risk of Testicular Germ Cell Cancer (Ontario, Canada) |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9684705/ |journal=Cancer Causes & Control |language=en |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=253–258 |doi=10.1023/A:1008864902104 |issn=0957-5243 |oclc=364204193 |pmid=9684705 |s2cid=30394354}} and prostate cancer.{{Cite journal |last1=Giles |first1=Graham G. |last2=Severi |first2=Gianluca |last3=English |first3=Dallas R. |last4=McCredie |first4=Margaret R.E. |last5=MacInnis |first5=Robert |last6=Boyle |first6=Peter |last7=Hopper |first7=John L. |date=2003-01-10 |title=Early growth, adult body size and prostate cancer risk. |journal=International Journal of Cancer |language=en |volume=103 |issue=2 |pages=241–245 |doi=10.1002/ijc.10810 |issn=1097-0215 |oclc=5153307503 |pmid=12455039 |quote=In attempting to explain how divorce will affect children, it is necessary for research to first examine and categorize children in groups which will make it easy to carry out the study. This is because children will be affected differently by divorce depending on the age factor. It becomes even wise for a researcher to adopt the following groups: pre-schoolers (nine years and below), adolescents (9-13 years), and youths/young adults (14-25 years). The research will become more attainable if carried out using learning institutions which will include pre-schools, secondary schools, and colleges. Therefore, a city within a state is selected where the research will be conducted and a preschool, one secondary school, and one college are selected within the city where respondents (children) are found. Objectives become necessary for the study. This will allow researchers to focus on certain areas and completely address the matter at hand without leaving gaps in the area of research. In addressing the topic, 'The effect on children of an absent parent following divorce,' the following research objectives can be used |doi-access=free}} Individual difference in pubertal timing may be influenced by weight, physical activity, and genetics.{{Cite book|title=Normal and aberrant growth. In Williams Textbook of Endocrinology (8th edition). Edited by Wilson, J. D. & Foster, D. W.|author1=Underwood, L. E. |author2=Van Wyk, J. J. |publisher=Saunders|year=1992|isbn=9780721695143|location=Philadelphia|pages=1079–1138}}

Menarche, a central event of female puberty, is associated with the father's absence.{{Cite journal |last=Hetherington |first=E. Mavis |author-link=E. Mavis Hetherington |year=1972 |title=Effects of father absence on personality development in adolescent daughters. |url=http://doi.apa.org/getdoi.cfm?doi=10.1037/h0033339 |journal=Developmental Psychology |language=en-US |volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=313–326 |doi=10.1037/h0033339 |issn=1939-0599 |oclc=4642890299|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite journal |last1=Kim |first1=Kenneth |last2=Smith |first2=Peter K. |author-link2=Peter K. Smith |date=1998-12-01 |title=Retrospective Survey of Parental Marital Relations and Child Reproductive Development |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1080/016502598384144 |journal=International Journal of Behavioral Development |language=en |volume=22 |issue=4 |pages=729–751 |doi=10.1080/016502598384144 |issn=0165-0254 |oclc=438004323 |s2cid=146369129|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite journal |last1=Ellis |first1=Bruce Joel |author-link=Bruce J. Ellis |last2=Garber |first2=Judy |author-link2=Judy Garber |date=2000-03-01 |title=Psychosocial Antecedents of Variation in Girls' Pubertal Timing: Maternal Depression, Stepfather Presence, and Marital and Family Stress |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10834479/ |journal=Child Development |language=en |volume=71 |issue=2 |pages=485–501 |doi=10.1111/1467-8624.00159 |issn=1467-8624 |oclc=425053763 |pmid=10834479}}{{Cite journal |last=Hoier |first=Sabine |date=2003-09-01 |title=Father absence and age at menarche |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26190208/ |journal=Human Nature |language=en |volume=14 |issue=3 |pages=209–233 |doi=10.1007/s12110-003-1004-2 |issn=1045-6767 |pmid=26190208 |s2cid=25164821}}{{Cite journal |last=Quinlan |first=Robert J. |year=2003 |title=Father absence, parental care, and female reproductive development |url=https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fs1090-5138%2803%2900039-4 |journal=Evolution and Human Behavior |volume=24 |issue=6 |pages=376–390 |doi=10.1016/s1090-5138(03)00039-4 |bibcode=2003EHumB..24..376Q |issn=1090-5138 |oclc=4933528027|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite journal |last1=Romans |first1=Sarah E. |author-link=Sarah Romans |last2=Martin |first2=Julia M. |last3=Gendall |first3=Kelly |last4=Herbison |first4=G. Peter |date=2003-07-01 |title=Age of menarche: the role of some psychosocial factors |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12877408/ |journal=Psychological Medicine |volume=33 |issue=5 |pages=933–939 |doi=10.1017/S0033291703007530 |issn=1469-8978 |oclc=111732005 |pmid=12877408 |s2cid=8045209}} According to the evolutionary explanation, an unstable home environment (e.g. father absence) discourages a long-term mating life history, leading girls to adopt a short-term reproductive strategy, such as early menarche.{{Cite journal |last1=Belsky |first1=Jay |author-link=Jay Belsky |last2=Steinberg |first2=Laurence |author-link2=Laurence Steinberg |last3=Draper |first3=Patricia |date=1991-01-01 |title=Childhood Experience, Interpersonal Development, and Reproductive Strategy: An Evolutionary Theory of Socialization |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1935336/ |journal=Child Development |volume=62 |issue=4 |pages=647–670 |doi=10.2307/1131166 |issn=0009-3920 |jstor=1131166 |oclc=4648038023 |pmid=1935336}} This is because they perceive resources they have as scarce and, possibly, their lifespan to be shorter, under the influence of father absence. Early menarche can increase the chance of fertility, while other short-term reproductive strategies can diversify the genes inherited in offspring. These could lift up a higher success rate of rearing children to adolescence. Moreover, the stress of father absence prompts girls to develop a variety of internalizing disorders, such as bulimia and depression, which may lower the person's metabolism leading to excessive weight gain which precipitates early menarche.{{Cite journal |last=Kaplowitz |first=Paul B. |date=2008-02-01 |title=Link Between Body Fat and the Timing of Puberty |journal=Pediatrics |language=en |volume=121 |issue=Supplement 3 |pages=S208–S217 |doi=10.1542/peds.2007-1813F |issn=0031-4005 |oclc=264020388 |pmid=18245513 |doi-access=free}} A study shows that there are fewer monitored meals in the father-absent household.{{Cite journal |last1=Videon |first1=Tami M |last2=Manning |first2=Carolyn K |date=May 2003 |title=Influences on adolescent eating patterns: the importance of family meals |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12729986/ |journal=Journal of Adolescent Health |volume=32 |issue=5 |pages=365–373 |doi=10.1016/s1054-139x(02)00711-5 |issn=1054-139X |oclc=4934080966 |pmid=12729986}}

Having meals in the family is arguably more beneficial to children than eating alone (i.e. solitary eating), as the former lowers the chance of obesity. It has been disputed whether the environmental stress of a father's absence stimulates weight gain, and thus accelerates early puberty.{{Cite journal |last1=Moffitt |first1=Terrie Edith |author-link=Terrie E. Moffitt |last2=Caspi |first2=Avshalom |author-link2=Avshalom Caspi |last3=Belsky |first3=Jay |author-link3=Jay Belsky |last4=Silva |first4=Phil A. |date=1992-01-01 |title=Childhood Experience and the Onset of Menarche: A Test of a Sociobiological Model |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1551329 |journal=Child Development |volume=63 |issue=1 |pages=47–58 |doi=10.2307/1130900 |issn=0009-3920 |jstor=1130900 |oclc=425209683 |pmid=1551329}}{{Cite journal |last=Bogaert |first=Anthony Francis |author-link=Anthony Bogaert |date=2008-07-01 |title=Menarche and Father Absence in a National Probability Sample |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17761007/ |journal=Journal of Biosocial Science |volume=40 |issue=4 |pages=623–636 |doi=10.1017/S0021932007002386 |issn=1469-7599 |oclc=264389070 |pmid=17761007 |s2cid=21793606}} Likewise, the stress arising from the absence of mother has been shown to have little influence on the child's body weight. Since mother absence does not predict weight gain in children, it seems that the increase in the child's body weight observed is due to the isolated genetic influence of an absent father, rather than the global environmental stress caused by the absence of either parent.{{Cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Wei |last2=Zhao |first2=Lan Juan |last3=Liu |first3=Yao Z. |last4=Recker |first4=Robert R. |last5=Deng |first5=Hong-Wen |date=2006-03-28 |title=Genetic and environmental correlations between obesity phenotypes and age at menarche |journal=International Journal of Obesity |language=en |volume=30 |issue=11 |pages=1595–1600 |doi=10.1038/sj.ijo.0803322 |issn=0307-0565 |oclc=8255060846 |pmid=16568135 |doi-access=free}} This is possible because in ancestral times the survival rate of children with mother being absent was extremely low. A specialized mechanism to deal with a mother's absence has never been developed.

In addition, recent findings seem to regard genes, rather than the environment, as the mechanism underlying the positive correlation between high body mass index and earlier first menarche onset.{{Cite book|title=Family composition, stress, and the timing of human menarche. In Socioendocrinology of primate reproduction. Edited by Toni E. Ziegler and Fred B. Bercovitch.|last=Surbey, M. K|publisher=Wiley-Liss.|year=1990|isbn=9780471567578|location=New York|pages=11–32}}{{Cite journal |last1=Mendle |first1=Jane |last2=Turkheimer |first2=Eric |author-link2=Eric Turkheimer |last3=D'Onofrio |first3=Brian M. |author-link3=Brian D'Onofrio |last4=Lynch |first4=Stacy K. |last5=Emery |first5=Robert Edgar |author-link5=Robert E. Emery |last6=Slutske |first6=Wendy Sue |author-link6=Wendy Slutske |last7=Martin |first7=Nicholas Gordon |author-link7=Nicholas G. Martin |year=2006 |title=Family structure and age at menarche: A children-of-twins approach. |journal=Developmental Psychology |volume=42 |issue=3 |pages=533–542 |doi=10.1037/0012-1649.42.3.533 |issn=0012-1649 |oclc=109636858 |pmc=2964498 |pmid=16756443}} Androgen receptor gene may predispose a father to impulsive and externalising behaviours (e.g. family abandonment) and his offspring to early puberty. The essentialness of androgen receptors to female fertility and ovary development has been proven by rodent studies.

Father absence in a household can result in children (of both sexes) having earlier average ages of first sexual intercourse than those raised in father-present households. There is also the effect of increased rates of teenage pregnancy. Some evolutionary theories propose that early childhood is vital for encoding information that shapes future reproductive strategies{{Cite journal |last1=Belsky |first1=Jay |author-link=Jay Belsky |last2=Steinberg |first2=Laurence D. |author-link2=Laurence Steinberg |last3=Houts |first3=Renate M. |last4=Friedman |first4=Sarah L. |last5=DeHart |first5=Ganie |last6=Cauffman |first6=Elizabeth |last7=Roisman |first7=Glenn I. |last8=Halpern-Felsher |first8=Bonnie L. |last9=Susman |first9=Elisabeth |date=2007-08-01 |title=Family rearing antecedents of pubertal timing |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17650140/ |journal=Child Development |volume=78 |issue=4 |pages=1302–1321 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01067.x |issn=0009-3920 |oclc=166318326 |pmid=17650140}} in regulating physical and motivational pathways of sexual behavior. Conflicting and stressful parental relationships can lead children to believe that resources are limited, people are untrustworthy, and relationships are opportunistic. As they replicate their parents' mating-oriented reproductive behavior, they tend to have multiple sexual partners and broken relationships. Children implicitly and explicitly model their sexual attitudes and behaviors on their parents, and see engagement in non-marital sex as normative. Father's absence can be a byproduct of initial social and economic strain within the household, as violence, lack of educational opportunities, and cumulative life exposure to poverty can increase the likelihood of early sexual endeavors and pregnancy. The timing of first intercourse can be heritable; shorter alleles of the X-linked androgen receptor (AR) gene has been associated with aggression, impulsivity, a high number of sexual partners, divorce in males, and earlier ages of physical maturation in females.

A study in Ethiopia in 2008 found that despite being poorer overall, widowed and divorced women are on average 2.4 kg heavier than women whose children's fathers are present. Widowed and divorced mothers as well as their daughters are reported to have substantially improved nutritional status which could be explained by them having greater access to the mother's relatives (matrilateral kin). Furthermore, proximity to a mother's relatives can dramatically improve female children's height for age, an indicator of good nutrition.{{Cite journal |last1=Gibson |first1=Mhairi A. |last2=Mace |first2=Ruth |author-link2=Ruth Mace |year=2005 |title=Helpful grandmothers in rural Ethiopia: A study of the effect of kin on child survival and growth |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1090513805000206 |journal=Evolution and Human Behavior |volume=26 |issue=6 |pages=469–482 |doi=10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2005.03.004 |bibcode=2005EHumB..26..469G |issn=1090-5138 |oclc=4933529343|url-access=subscription }} Women who return to their village of birth following marital dissolution are seen to benefit from extra matrilateral kin support.{{Cite journal |last=Mulder |first=Monique Borgerhoff |author-link=Monique Borgerhoff Mulder |date=1998-06-01 |title=Brothers and sisters: How sibling interactions affect optimal parental allocations |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26197443/ |journal=Human Nature |language=en |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=119–161 |doi=10.1007/s12110-998-1001-6 |issn=1045-6767 |oclc=5652748913 |pmid=26197443 |s2cid=31585950}}

In light of certain research, father absence can be disadvantageous; certain evidence suggests stepfather presence does not reduce these disadvantages but in fact, has a worsening effect on such issues.{{cite book |last1=Daly |first1=Martin |url=https://archive.org/details/truthaboutcinder00mart |title=The truth about cinderella : a Darwinian view of parental love |last2=Wilson |first2=Margo |date=1999 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0300080292 |location=New Haven, Conn. |oclc=41419567 |author-link=Martin Daly (professor) |author-link2=Margo Wilson |url-access=registration}} For example, the Cinderella effect, which refers to the observation that stepchildren are at a dramatically increased risk of physical abuse and homicide than children living with their biological parents.{{cite journal |last1=Flinn |first1=Mark V. |author-link=Mark Flinn |date=November 1988 |title=Step- and genetic parent/offspring relationships in a Caribbean village |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/016230958890026X |journal=Ethology and Sociobiology |volume=9 |issue=6 |pages=335–369 |doi=10.1016/0162-3095(88)90026-x |issn=0162-3095 |oclc=4929107042|url-access=subscription }}{{cite journal |last1=Tooley |first1=Greg A. |last2=Karakis |first2=Marie |last3=Stokes |first3=Mark |last4=Ozanne-Smith |first4=Joan |date=May 2006 |title=Generalising the Cinderella Effect to unintentional childhood fatalities |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1090513805000929 |journal=Evolution and Human Behavior |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=224–230 |doi=10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2005.10.001 |bibcode=2006EHumB..27..224T |issn=1090-5138 |oclc=4933529792|url-access=subscription }} Although researchers have found a negative relationship between stepmothers and food expenditure, this effect is not observed with stepfathers and their stepchildren.{{cite journal |last1=Case |first1=Anne |author-link=Anne Case |last2=Lin |first2=I-Fen |last3=McLanahan |first3=Sara |author-link3=Sara McLanahan |date=May 1999 |title=Household Resource Allocation in Stepfamilies: Darwin Reflects on the Plight of Cinderella |url=https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.89.2.234 |journal=American Economic Review |volume=89 |issue=2 |pages=234–238 |doi=10.1257/aer.89.2.234 |issn=0002-8282 |oclc=5549643641|url-access=subscription }} Ellis and Garber (2000) and Ellis (2004) suggest that stepfather presence is a better predictor of age of menarche than father absence, as it indicates lower quality paternal investment. According to their findings, girls raised in families with stepfathers exhibit a significantly earlier age of menarche than girls raised without stepfathers.

Relative to other groups, children with a constantly absent biological father but a stepfather present reported more frequent incidences of sexual intercourse, as well as an earlier onset of sexual behavior. The mean age of children with their biological father absent or partially absent is approximately 15.{{cite journal |last1=Hilton |first1=N. Zoe |last2=Harris |first2=Grant T. |last3=Rice |first3=Marnie E. |date=2015 |title=The step-father effect in child abuse: Comparing discriminative parental solicitude and antisociality. |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258109928 |journal=Psychology of Violence |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=8–15 |doi=10.1037/a0035189 |oclc=7065812105}} A higher percentage of children with a constantly absent biological father reported having sexual intercourse than those in the partially absent group. Those with a stepfather present and those with a biological father always absent have the earliest first-time experiences of sexual intercourse at on average 15.11 years old, whereas children without a stepfather or their biological father partially absent at the age of 15.38 experience their first encounter of sexual intercourse.{{Cite journal |last=Ellis |first=Bruce Joel |author-link=Bruce J. Ellis |date=2004-11-01 |title=Timing of pubertal maturation in girls: an integrated life history approach |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15535743/ |journal=Psychological Bulletin |volume=130 |issue=6 |pages=920–958 |doi=10.1037/0033-2909.130.6.920 |issn=0033-2909 |pmid=15535743 |s2cid=10606673}} The effect of having a partially absent biological father with a stepfather absence and the effect of both stepfather or biological father's absence is the same. This study indicated that the presence of a stepfather is not compensating for the disadvantages of a biological father being absent. In some situations, it can cause an even bigger negative effect on children.{{Cite journal |last1=Mendle |first1=Jane |last2=Harden |first2=Kathryn Paige |author-link2=Kathryn Paige Harden |last3=Turkheimer |first3=Eric |author-link3=Eric Turkheimer |last4=Van Hulle |first4=Carol A. |last5=D'Onofrio |first5=Brian M. |author-link5=Brian D'Onofrio |last6=Brooks-Gunn |first6=Jeanne |author-link6=Jeanne Brooks-Gunn |last7=Rodgers |first7=Joseph Lee |author-link7=Joseph Lee Rodgers |last8=Emery |first8=Robert Edgar |author-link8=Robert E. Emery |last9=Lahey |first9=Benjamin Bernard |author-link9=Benjamin Lahey |date=2009-10-01 |title=Associations between father absence and age of first sexual intercourse |journal=Child Development |volume=80 |issue=5 |pages=1463–1480 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01345.x |issn=1467-8624 |oclc=437423383 |pmc=2939716 |pmid=19765012}}

Choice of effective treatment can be greatly varied and thus can be affected by many factors such as age, one's ability to understand and deal with emotionally heavy material, family member involvement, and the family and child's priorities and needs.{{Cite journal |last=Wineburgh |first=Alan L. |date=2000-08-01 |title=Treatment of Children with Absent Fathers |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1007593906296 |journal=Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal |language=en |volume=17 |issue=4 |pages=255–273 |doi=10.1023/A:1007593906296 |issn=0738-0151 |oclc=361179210 |s2cid=142581959|url-access=subscription }} In treating some of the negative effects that young girls may have, transference to a male therapist could help facilitate the opportunity to fill any emotional void created through father absence.{{Cite journal |last=Tyson |first=Phyllis |date=1980-01-01 |title=The gender of the analyst: in relation to transference and countertransference manifestations in latency children |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00797308.1980.11823116 |journal=The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child |volume=35 |pages=321–338 |doi=10.1080/00797308.1980.11823116 |issn=0079-7308 |oclc=114977888 |pmid=7433586|url-access=subscription }} On the other hand, simply through the existence of a connection with a consistent and empathetic adult can provide some paternal function, regardless of gender.{{Cite journal |last=Strauss |first=David |date=2013-01-01 |title=Will you leave me too?: The impact of father absence on the treatment of a 10-year-old girl |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25860418/ |journal=Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=119–130 |doi=10.2989/17280583.2013.790823 |issn=1728-0591 |pmid=25860418 |s2cid=23080922}}

• Deadbeat parent
• Child neglect
• Father complex

{{reflist|30em}}

Category:Human sexuality

Category:Sexuality and society

Category:Sexual orientation and psychology

Category:Family

Category:Fatherhood

Category:Gender

Category:Human reproduction

Category:Kinship and descent

Category:Sociology

Category:Patriarchy