The effects of father-absence on Norwegian boys and 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).…”

Fathers: Forgotten Contributors to Child Development

“…Much of the evidence we do have on the importance of fathers is derived, not from studies of the interaction of fathers and their offspring, but from the extensive literature on the deleterious effects of father absence (reviewed by Biller 1970Biller , 1971 which points to abnormal development in varied areasincluding sex-role adoption, particularly among boys (Bach, 1946, Biller, 1971bHetherington, 1966;Lynn andSawrey, 1959: Mischel, 1970;Sears et al, 1946), the inhibition of aggression (Bach 1946;Feshbach, 1970: Hetherington, 1966, cognitive styles (Carlsmith, 1964) and academic performance (Bronfenbrenner, 1967;Deutsch, 1960;Deutsch and Brown, 1964;Blanchard and Biller, 1971;Sutton-Smith et al, 1968), moral development (Hoffman, 1970(Hoffman, , 1971, an inability to delay gratification (Mischel, 1958(Mischel, , 1961, as well as an elevated probability of subsequent psychopathology (Crumley and Blumenthal, 1973) and delinquency (Andry, 1960;Burton and Whiting, 1961;Pettigrew, 1964). There is some evidence that father absence is most damaging when the children are younger (Mischel, 1970) which argues for the importance of the father in these years.…”

The Role of the Contemporary Father in Rearing Young Children

“…He found that on the father's return there was difficulty in establishing these relationships; fathers tended to be critical of the child and to over-exert their authority, and children to show difficulties in social contacts with their peers and with adults. Lynn and Sawrey (1959) discussed the effects of father-separation on young children in the families of Norwegian seamen. They found these children to be over-dependent, and the boys manifested anxiety about the masculine role to a greater extent than boys whose fathers were present in the home.…”