Are Fathers Needed? Mothers Are, For Sure! (Literature Review)
Channel: Prof. Sam Vaknin
Date: 2022-01-28

Father absence has few negative outcomes on children. This is especially true if the mother is "good enough" (Winnicott) and not "dead" (Green). Children's future wellbeing as adults depends crucially on demography and socioeconomic status, not on the presence of the biological father.

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Mooney, A., Oliver, C., & Smith, M. (2009). Impact of Family Breakdown on Children’s Wellbeing: Evidence Review. Department for Children Schools and Families.

Holmes, J., & Kiernan, K. (2010). Fragile Families in the UK: Evidence from the Millennium Cohort Study.

Golombok, S. (2000). Parenting: What Really Counts? London: Routledge.

Bernardi L., & Larenza O. (2018). Variety of Transitions into Lone Parenthood. In Bernardi L., Mortelmans D. (Eds) Lone Parenthood in the Life Course. Life Course Research and Social Policies, pp. 93-108 Springer, Cham.

Millar, J., & Ridge, T. (2009). Relationships of Care: Working Lone Mothers, their Children and Employment Sustainability. Journal of Social Policy, 38(1), 103-121.

Fisher, H., & Low, H. (2015). Financial Implications of Relationship Breakdown: Does Marriage Matter? Review of Economics of the Household, 13(4), 735-769.

Growing up in a Single Parent Family; A Determining factor of Adolescent’s Well-being Ajita Gupta & Seema Kashyap, Advanced Journal of Social Science,  ISSN: 2581-3358 Volume 7, Issue 1, pp. 138-144, 2020

Are Children from Divorced Single-Parent Families Disadvantaged? New Evidence from the China Family Panel Studies, Chunni Zhang Department of Sociology, Peking University, Chinese Sociological Review, Volume 52, 2020 - Issue 1

Tuba Demir-Dagdas, Zeynep Isik-Ercan, Seyma Intepe-Tingir & Yasemin, Cava-Tadik (2017): Parental Divorce and Children From Diverse Backgrounds: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Mental Health, Parent–Child Relationships, and Educational Experiences, Journal of Divorce & Remarriage

Consequences of Divorce-Based Father Absence During Childhood for Young Adult Well-Being and Romantic Relationships Hanita Reuven-Krispin, Dana Lassri, Patrick Luyten, Golan Shahar First published: 03 November 2020

Father absence and adolescent development: a review of the literature, Leah East, Debra Jackson, Louise O'Brien, Journal of Child Health Care, First Published December 1, 2006 https://doi.org/10.1177/1367493506067869

The Consequences of Father Absence By Sara McLanahan & Julien Teitler, Parenting and Child Development in Nontraditional Families, 1st Edition, First Published1998, Psychology Press, eBook ISBN9781410602763

The Role of the Father in Child Development, 5th Edition, Michael E. Lamb

Bocknek E.L. (2020) A Family Systems Perspective on Father Absence, Presence, and Engagement. In: Fitzgerald H.E., von Klitzing K., Cabrera N.J., Scarano de Mendonça J., Skjøthaug T. (eds) Handbook of Fathers and Child Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51027-5_7

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, Cross-cultural evidence does not support universal acceleration of puberty in father-absent households, Rebecca Sear, Paula Sheppard, and David A. Coall, Published: 25 February 2019, https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2018.0124

Sex-Specific Developmental Effects of Father Absence on Casual Sexual Behavior and Life History Strategy, Jessica A. Hehman & Catherine A. Salmon, Evolutionary Psychological Science volume 5, pages121–130 (2019), Published: 20 September 2018,

Family Relations – Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Science, Trends in the Economic Wellbeing of Unmarried-Parent Families with Children: New Estimates Using an Improved Measure of Poverty, Christopher Wimer, Liana Fox, Irwin Garfinkel, Neeraj Kaushal, Jae Hyun Nam & Jane Waldfogel, Population Research and Policy Review volume 40, pages1253–1276 (2021)

Journal of Marriage and Family, Family Diversity and Child Health: Where Do Same-Sex Couple Families Fit?, Laura Freeman Cenegy, Justin T. Denney, Rachel Tolbert Kimbro, First published: 07 December 2017

Comparison of intergenerational transmission of gender roles between single-parent families and two-parent families: The influence of parental child-rearing gender-role attitudes, Mengping YangabI-Jun, Chena Yunping, Songa Xiaoxiao, Wanga Children and Youth Services Review, Volume 125, June 2021, 105985

Fair comparisons: Life course selection bias and the effect of father absence on US children, Alejandra Rodríguez Sánchez, Advances in Life Course Research, Available online 16 December 2021, 100460

Absent Father Timing and its Impact on Adolescent and Adult Criminal Behavior, Michael F. Ten Eyck, Krysta N. Knox & Sarah A. El Sayed, American Journal of Criminal Justice (2021), 30 August 2021

Father departure and children's mental health: How does timing matter? Emla Fitzsimons, Aase Villadsen, Social Science & Medicine, Volume 222, February 2019, Pages 349-358