The Father Factor

The importance of fathers to their children cannot be over emphasized on Father’s Day or any other day! Studies show that, beyond the obvious, having a caring father in a child’s life has dramatic effects on poverty, a child’s health, incarceration, crime, education, child abuse, teen pregnancy, sexuality, drug abuse and obesity. Family Services Center works to reduce these risks through education and support of the families in our community.

The Father Factor statistics compiled by the National Fatherhood Initiative bring together many studies on the effects of absent fathers on the child and society. The following are highlights of the information:

Poverty: Children in father-absent homes are five times more likely to be poor. In 2002, 7.8% of children in married-couple families were living in poverty, compared to 38.4 % of children in female-householder families.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Children’s Living Arrangements and Characteristics: March 2002, P200-547, Table C8. Washington D.C.: GPO, 2003.

Child health: Infant mortality rates are 1.8 times higher for infants of unmarried mothers than for married mothers.
Source: Matthews, T.J., Sally C. Curtin, and Marian F. MacDorman. Infant Mortality Statistics from the 1998 Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set. National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 48, No. 12. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics, 2000.

Incarceration: A 2002 Department of Justice survey of 7,000 inmates revealed that 39% of jail inmates lived in mother-only households. Approximately 46% of jail inmates in 2002 had a previously incarcerated family member. One-fifth experienced a father in prison or jail.
Source: James, Doris J. Profile of Jail Inmates, 2002. (NCJ 201932). Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, July 2004.

Crime: Adolescents, particularly boys, in single-parent families were at higher risk of status, property and person delinquencies. Moreover, students attending schools with a high proportion of children of single parents are also at risk.
Source: Anderson, Amy L. “Individual and contextual influences on delinquency: the role of the single-parent family.” Journal of Criminal Justice 30 (November 2002): 575-587.

Education: Being raised by a single mother raises the risk of teen pregnancy, marrying with less than a high school degree, and forming a marriage where both partners have less than a high school degree.
Source: Teachman, Jay D. “The Childhood Living Arrangements of Children and the Characteristics of Their Marriages.” Journal of Family Issues 25 (January 2004): 86-111.

Child abuse: The overall rate of child abuse and neglect in single-parent households is 27.3 children per 1,000, whereas the rate of overall maltreatment in two-parent households is 15.5 per 1,000.
Source: America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being. Table SPECIAL1. Washington, D.C.: Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, 1997.

Teen pregnancy and sexual activity: Researchers using a pool from both the U.S. and New Zealand found strong evidence that father absence has an effect on early sexual activity and teenage pregnancy. Teens without fathers were twice as likely to be involved in early sexual activity and seven times more likely to get pregnant as an adolescent.
Source: Ellis, Bruce J., John E. Bates, Kenneth A. Dodge, David M. Ferguson, L. John Horwood, Gregory S. Pettit, and Lianne Woodward. “Does Father Absence Place Daughters at Special Risk for Early Sexual Activity and Teenage Pregnancy.” Child Development 74 (May/June 2003): 801-821.

Drug abuse: Researchers at Columbia University found that children living in two-parent household with a poor relationship with their father are 68% more likely to smoke, drink, or use drugs compared to all teens in two-parent households. Teens in single mother households are at a 30% higher risk than those in two-parent households.
Source: “Survey Links Teen Drug Use, Relationship With Father.” Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly 6 September 1999: 5.

Obesity: The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth found that obese children are more likely to live in father-absent homes than are non-obese children.
Source: National Longitudinal Survey of Youth

Family Services Center values the dedicated fathers in our community for the sacrifices and hard work that they do every day. The importance of fathers in the lives of their children is often understated or ignored. We are especially proud of the fathers who took the extra step to get more education on parenting through the services offered at the center.

Family Services Center offers parenting seminars year round for parents with children of all ages. Orientations are held at 10 a.m. the 1^st and 3^rd Tuesday and at 6 p.m. on the 2^nd and 4^th Tuesday of each month.

More details of The Father Factor are online at http://www.fatherhood.org/Page.aspx?pid=403 . For information on Parenting Seminars call Family Services Center 325-646-5939 or email: williams@familysc.net .

Family Services Center is funded by a grant from Texas Families: Together & Safe – TDFPS, United Way and private donors.

For more information contact:  Gina Jameson, Family Services Center, Inc., 901 Avenue B, Brownwood, TX 76801 (325) 646-5939.