Psychology - Fatherless Children Psychological Thesis

However, as male children transition into late childhood and adolescence, they tend to withdraw from their mothers and confide much more in their fathers. In fatherless households, the male child often withdraws from the mother in much the same way, but without the option of shifting emotional connection to the father. As a result, fatherless male adolescents exhibit substantially higher rates of delinquency, alcoholism, illegal activity, and perform worse academically (Gerrig & Zimbardo, 226).

The Importance of Fatherhood for Female Children:

In female children, absentee fathers predispose them either to negative expectations or to unrealistic idealized expectations in their dating relationships with men that ultimately increase the likelihood of disappointment and by virtue of multiple mechanisms that undermine those relationships (Bannon & Southern, 22-3). Typically, females raised without their fathers select emotionally unavailable partners who will allow them to reenact the male abandonment they experienced as children. Alternately, they may become dysfunctionally sexually promiscuous in a subconscious effort to receive male approval and intimacy from men.

Conclusion:

two-parent home environment is essential for the optimal psychological development of children and the consequences of loss of either parent in childhood is associated with significantly increased likelihood of developmental problems in male and female children alike. Male children suffer from the inability to bond their mothers after middle childhood; female children typically experience problems in their relationships with male partners attributable to underlying issues pertaining to their loss of their fathers. In virtually all situations, the attitude of the mother and the character of her relationship with and statements about the father can greatly exacerbate the negative consequences of absentee fatherhood. Ultimately, the absence of the father corresponds to negative consequences in children across a broad range of developmental issues.

Bibliography

Bannon, Jill a. And Southern, Mara L. "Father-absent women: Self-concept and modes of relating to men" Sex Roles, February, 1980. Branden, Nathaniel. The Psychology of Romantic Love. New York: Bantam (1999).

Gerrig, Richard J. And Phillip G. Zimbardo. Psychology and Life. 17th Edition. New York: Allyn & Bacon (2005).

Kasl, Charlotte Davis. Women, Sex, and Addiction. New York: Harper & Row (1998).

Wen, Ming. "Single-Parent Family Structure, Child Development, and Child's Well- being" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Marriott Hotel, Loews Philadelphia Hotel, Philadelphia, PA, Aug 12, 2005.

Zuckerman, Mortimer B. "The Crisis of the Kids: Negative Effects of Single-Parent…