Fathers


This blog post is specifically set to talk about fathers. The worlds view on fathers is changing drastically, and not in a good way. Fathers are being put down in many places, with people saying that they aren’t needed. I have to say that is simply not true! In this blog I will give you a few things to think about, and I hope that you will spread the good word of fathers to others around you.

The things that I will be quoting in my blog today will be coming from an article by Leah East, Debra Jackson, and Louise O’Brien called “Father Absence and Adolescent Development: A Review of the Literature.” This article does a review on multiple different studies on the absence of fathers in the home. I will point out five things that I found interesting and give my thoughts on the research.

  1. “…adolescents who experienced father absence had lower self-esteem, engaged in sexual activity at an early age and had lower general achievements compared to adolescents of intact dyadic families” (found on page 289).
  2. “The findings indicated that the adolescents of intact families with a healthy relationship have the best physical and psychological well-being compared to single woman-headed families, with the latter group more likely to engage in sexual activity, smoking, alcohol consumption and drug use” (found on page 290).
  3. “Furthermore, Pfiffner et al. (2001) found that children between five and 11 years with an absent biological father had significantly higher anti-social and behavioural symptoms, and that these difficulties continued regardless of whether a stepfather was present or not” (found on page 290).
  4. “The authors concluded that adolescent females exposed to father absence, particularly at an early age, have a greater risk of engaging in sexual activity and becoming pregnant at an early age, whereas father presence was a protective factor against early sexual activity…Their study found that peer influence was related positively to frequent drug use, particularly on adolescents from father-absent homes, more so on adolescent females and those experiencing familial conflict” (found on page 291).
  5. “…[M]ale youths from father-absent homes were at a significantly higher rate of incarceration compared with male youths from intact dyadic family homes” (found on page 291).
The research gives us a small glimpse into the impact that fathers have in the family. They can bring some great emotional support and moral support to their children. In point number three it talks about how the children had higher anti-social and behavioral symptoms without the dad being present, and in point number four and five how males and females have a harder time making moral choices resulting in devastating outcomes.

I wanted to share a link to a YouTube video that I thought did a great job describing the roles of fathers. I hope you take the time to go watch it, because the last man in the video really puts into words how children feel about their fathers. Here is the link: https://youtu.be/OAv_ERwKwv8
 
Photo by Chelsea Jessop Photography
Now I just want to end my blog with saying a few words about my father. My dad is someone that I compared all the boys I dated to. My dad was the person I would go to when I was deeply concerned about things like education, going on a mission (a volunteer service for my church that encompassed service and teaching the gospel), and marriage. My dad showed me compassion, strength, and determination. Without my dad, there are many things that I wouldn’t have ever done and would have never thought about doing. He truly is a pillar of strength and love to me, and I would never give him up for anything.



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