The role of the on-going social father in America has received increased attention in the last quarter century. In some quarters, the U.S. father has been viewed as supernumerary or optional. In other quarters, the U.S. father has been perceived to be essential to the optimum development of his children. Still other factions have been intermediate…

Girls growing up in homes without their biological fathers tend to go through puberty earlier than their peers. Whereas evolutionary theories of socialization propose that this relation is causal, it could arise from environmental or genetic confounds. To distinguish between these competing explanations, the authors used a genetically and…

Describes the plight of divorced mothers. (IRT)

Over 400 students, grades 3-8, who had experienced father loss through divorce and whose mothers had not remarried demonstrated significantly lower self-concepts than those who were from intact families. Students whose mothers had remarried had slightly lower self-concepts than those from intact families. (Author/CP)

Describes supportive services in the form of concurrent groups for mothers and children experiencing the long-term negative effects of divorce. The Single Parent Project sought to provide mothers and children an environment within which they could experience a cohesive feeling of support and sharing, and the opportunity to learn new communication…

Presents theory to explain why fathers remove themselves from children's lives after divorce. Bases theory on potential for change in salience of man's identity as father postdivorce. Propositions and hypotheses are derived from symbolic interaction and identity theories. Defines and interrelates concepts of identity, saliency, commitment, and…

Investigates the effects of father absence and perceived maternal behaviors on the moral behavior, judgment, and affect of preadolescent boys. Also tests for differences between sons of divorcees and widows and between boys who were at different ages at the onset of father absence. (CW)

American undergraduate students (n = 644) completed the Rather Internality-Externality Scale and provided information on their family background. Subjects were grouped according to father absence, cause of this absence, and their age at the time this event occurred. Results indicated locus of control varied markedly as a function of these…

Presents the view that the family is in trouble and discusses three symptoms of that trouble: no-fault divorce, fatherless families, and childlessness. Considers the role of individualism in causing symptoms and offers recommendations for changes in child support laws and parent responsibility. (NB)

This paper explores what divorced, noncustodial fathers may be considered responsible for in society and the possible consequences such accountability may have for educators. The resistance that noncustodial fathers may find to their involvement with their childrens education at their children's schools in highlighted. The author concludes by…

Examines relationships between children's self-concepts and their evaluations of parents in families where father loss had occurred either through divorce or death. Subjects were 120 fifth- through eighth-grade children. (Author/MP)

Describes experience of helping two sets of divorcing parents retain meaningful contact between young children and non-resident fathers. Argues that failure to consider past parenting practices, to grant children party status and give them independent representation, and to offer child-centered services to help parents practice shared parenting…

Notes that children whose parents divorce will experience a decline in the quality of their relationship with the noncustodial parent and that many children from divorced families will spend a significant amount of time without an adult male present. Calls for research to examine effects of weakened child-father bond. (NB)

Examined income and food and housing expenditures for the last married year for couples and then five years after marital dissolution in female (N=5,000) respondents to the University of Michigan Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Results showed that incomes and expenditures for food, but not for housing, dropped after marital dissolution. (LLL)