The Fall of the Family

Furthering the Conversation on Relationship Absences

In this week’s post, inspired by a comment on the previous post, we will discuss how other parental absences influence a child’s development and whether or not those parental cavities can be effectively filled.

Since last week’s post covered fatherlessness, we’ll discuss its natural conjugate, motherlessness first.

Firstly, it is important to mention that there are far less single father’s than there are single mothers in the US (14.84 million to 6 million) (U.S. Census Bureau, 2020). This is part of why I’ve chosen to address fatherlessness first, as it is the more pressing of the single-parents dynamics.

In general, single-father households perform similarly with respect to children’s general well-being (Vault). That being said, in specific aspects of life, each has strengths and weaknesses. For example, single father households generally have a higher income, and their children perform better academically. On the other hand, single mothers’ children tend to have more accessible healthcare and available resources (Vault).

 

Having explored the impacts of single-parent families, the next piece of the puzzle is addressing non-single parent cases, where the parents are in a same-sex relationship. Obviously, same-sex couples are unable to produce biological offspring as that requires two opposite sex humans. However, there are a growing number of instances where same-sex couples decide to adopt, foster, or had kids with a previous partner prior to their new relationship. Thus, it will be interesting to see what these family dynamics look like in comparison to the previous two discussed, as well as the two-parent traditional case.

Briefly, before discussing the research, I will mention that the presence of lesbian and gay couples have a positive effect in that they are more likely to adopt than heterosexual couples. That being said, this pro is on beneficial if the number of same-sex couples remain in moderate numbers.

Now, when it comes to truly researching the issue, it is very difficult to find agreement among various sources. However, what I have retrieved is that same-sex couples, for the most part, fare similarly to that of heterosexual couples. The caveat to this is that every single article discusses some form of bias or controversy over how the research was conducted, regardless of the what the conclusion actually said. However, there a couple of anecdotes worth mentioning regardless. First, the vast majority of same-sex couples’ children were raised by someone else first, which creates an adjustment for the child as well as the parent. Second, many of those children experienced parental divorce or another issue. So, in summary, there is not a clear-cut answer. As it is becoming more prevalent, I’m sure more concrete research will be conducted. I hope that the bits and pieces I’ve found can at least create a picture frame, even if it lacks the painting contained within it.

With that, we reach the end of this week’s post. For the final post of the semester, I plan on discussing what we can do about the civic issue of single parenthood that is plaguing the United States. See you next time, thanks!

 

Works Cited

1. Census.gov. “Historical Living Arrangements of Children,” November 21, 2023. https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/families/children.html

2. Vault, Tag. “Single Moms Vs. Single Dads (Statistics, Effects on Child) (Analysis).” TagVault.org, 15 Nov. 2023, tagvault.org/blog/single-moms-vs-single-dads.

Fatherlessness – Background and Influence

Welcome back! I hope you have returned with curiosity after a few weeks break since the most recent post. Today, we’ll explore and discuss a more detailed, specific issue within the theme of family in the United States: fatherlessness.

Over the past few centuries, the role of the father in a family has changed, been debated, and experienced various influences, from times of war to societal paradigm shifts. Regardless, the majority opinion that a father figure is important and that the lack of one is detrimental remains unchanged. In fact, in 2017, the Centre for Social Justice found that 75% of the US public agreed that a father’s absence was a serious problem. But why? It may have something to do with the fact that 21% of children live without a father today in contrast to only 8% in 1960 (Edwards).

So many people acknowledge fatherlessness as an issue, but what does the absence of a father truly mean? How does a father’s absence influence family dynamics, and would its growth pose more threat to society?

It is objective that a relationship free of conflict between two parents leads to a better environment for their children during their development. When a father leaves, there is an initial decrease in that well-being, which can be partially mended if the father remains in contact with those children (Edwards). In 2014, an extensive dive exploring the correlation between fatherly absence and long/short term influences on children made several discoveries. It “documented a negative association between living apart from a biological father and multiple domains of offspring well-being, including education, mental health, family relationships, and labor market outcomes” (McLanahan, et. al). In the same paper, the three authors also pointed out that demographics had additional influence on the magnitude with which an absent father impacted these categories. Finally, they discussed how fatherlessness can be intergenerational, causing ripples across a family that can last decades, if not centuries (McLanahan, et. al). If you get the chance, the article is worth reading, simply to gain basic knowledge of this issue but also the complications associated with its research.

 

More traditionally, fathers play the role of instilling discipline within the family, and it has been shown that fatherlessness is linked to more aggressive-oriented children that struggle to handle emotions. There are many studies on this topic I recommend reading on your own time (I linked one for you).

We’ve identified two truths thus far. 1: many see fatherlessness as a major issue, and 2: that it is a major issue and generally spells significant problems for children in the long and short term. The next logical step is to answer the question “how do we resolve this?” This is a dense question with myriad routes in conjuring an answer. Thus, I will leave it for next time, unless you wish for me to discuss another factor within the umbrella that is “the fall of the family.” Let me know! See you next time.

Works Cited

1. Tarrant, Anna, and Michael Ward. “The Myth of the Fatherless Society.” The Conversation, theconversation.com/the-myth-of-the-fatherless-society-73166.

2. Edwards, Blake. “The Effect of Absent on Fathering on Children’s Well-Being.” Psychology Today, The Effects of Absent Fathering on Children’s Well-Being | Psychology Today

3. McLanahan, Sarah, et. al. “The Causal Effect of Father Absence.” 1 July 2014. The Causal Effects of Father Absence – PMC (nih.gov)