Does an absent or negative father have any influence on his child’s behavior? Yes. Tragically, that influence is almost always antisocial.
1. An abusive or emotionally distant father puts his child at a 68 percent greater risk of smoking, drinking and drug usage than a teenager who has a good or excellent relationship with his or her dad.
2. According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, an absent father puts his child at nearly four times the risk of needing treatment for emotional and behavioral problems. An absent father also puts his child at twice the risk of dropping out of school and of going to jail.
3. Speaking of jail, 98.6 percent of those on death row in the U.S. are males. Fully 95 percent say they hate their fathers.
4. Dr. James Dobson notes: “Some years ago, executives of a greeting-card company decided to do something special for Mother’s Day. They set up a table in a federal prison inviting any inmate who so desired to send a free card to his mom. The lines were so long, they had to make another trip to the factory to get more cards. Due to the success of the event, they decided to do the same thing on Father’s Day, but this time no one came. Not one prisoner felt the need to send a card to his dad. Many had no idea who their fathers even were.”
5. Discover what else happens when
boys run wild.
