leave when they are in their preschool years (Stevenson, 1985);
(3) who lose their fathers through divorce rather than death (Santrock & Wohlford, 1970);
(4) who live in low income families (Boone, 1979);
(5) who are last-borns (Boone, 1979); and
(6) who have fathers that do not frequently visit the child (Wallerstein, 1987).
Why are boys living in father-absent homes more likely to have problems with aggression than boys living in intact nuclear families? Several explanative models have been developed.
For example, Wallerstein (1987) suggested that boys living in homes where father-absence is due to divorce often interpret their father's loss as a rejection. Feeling hurt, trapped and humiliated, they react with anger and aggressive behavior; these tendencies are said to be increased if the boys' fathers have erratic and/or rejecting personalities.
A second explanation for the increased aggression of boys living in father-absent homes involves sex-role models. According to Stevenson (19
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