Examined depression in 53 eldest children between 6 and 10 years old who were living in mother-headed one-parent families. Only gender of the child was a significant predictor of depression, with boys reporting significantly greater depressive symptomatology. Contrary to expectation, neither time since separation nor depression in the mother was…

Surveyed 813 adolescents to examine the relationship between father absence and adolescent drug use and sexual activity. Found that while adolescents were more likely to discuss problems with peers than parents, father absence was related to behavior problems, especially for boys. (JAC)

Researchers who employ contextual models of parenting contend that it is not spanking per se, but rather the context in which spanking occurs and the meanings children ascribe to spanking, that predict child outcomes. This study proposed two plausible meanings that children may ascribe to spanking--a legitimate expression of parental authority or…

Chodorow's (1978) psychodynamic theory and Whiting's (1975) social role perspective yield different predictions with regard to the development of children's gendered self-perceptions. Chodorow's theory emphasizes the importance of children's progressive identification with same-sexed parents and gender asymmetry in parenting, whereas Whiting…

The purpose of this study was to examine the potential impact of maternal attributions and self-attributions on the academic achievement of father-absent children in comparison to commonly identified family interaction and demographic variables. Subjects included 33 male and 34 female father-absent sixth graders (mean age of 11.6 years) and their…

A meta-analysis was conducted of 137 studies investigating the effects of father absence due to employment, military service, death, divorce, separation, or desertion on children's cognitive performance as assessed by scores on standardized intelligence, scholastic aptitude, and academic achievement tests and school grades. Aggregation of the…