FATHER ABSENCE AND AGGRESSION IN BOYS Introduct

"A child without a father is like a house without a roof." --A Buddhist saying

It is estimated that every night approximately 24 million American children go to sleep in father-absent homes (Saindon, 1998). Moreover, research indicates that children raised in single-parent, father-absent households are at-risk for several negative adjustment outcomes including suicide, homelessnes, runaway behavior, drug use and high school failure (Papalia and Olds, 1995).

The purpose of this paper is to examine for the influence of father absence on the development of aggression in male offspring. To this end, the paper first examines the literature supporting the negative influence of father absence on aggression. This review is followed by an examination of differing etiological models connecting father absence to the development of aggression.

The third section of the paper examines interventions that can be taken to remediate aggressive tendencies in children living in father absent homes. The paper ends with a series of conclusions about father absence and aggression in boys formulated on the basis of the examined literature.

Empirical Research Supporting Aggressive Tendencies in Children

There is a good deal of research supporting the notion that boys (but not necessarily girls) living in father absent homes are at increased risk for developing aggressive tendencies. For example, in so

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explain boys' aggressive behavior has to do with economic stress. In this regard, Haccoun and Ledingham (1979) investigated for relationships between economic stress on the family and child and parental adjustment in a sample of 199 girls and boys in grades one, four, and seven. These associations were examined separately for families in which both parents were present and in which mothers only were at home. Findings of the study revealed that economic stress was associated with boys' adjustment more than with girls' adjustment. In particular, boys showed more evidence of behavioral and social disturbances when they came from mother-only homes; however, boys from economically-distressed intact families also showed more stress and poorer adjustment than did girls in similar circumstances. According to Haccoun and Ledingham (1979), this increased stress is due to the fact that boys often view the male role as having a financial aspect; and when finances are tight, there is a tendency for boys to somehow view this as conferring lower personal status. There is anger associated with this feeling and it manifests itself in aggressive tendencies. Broude (1990) asserts that the problem is authority-related. Specifically, she stat
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Approximate Word count = 2591
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)