Child Development

With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed. Consequently he who moulds public sentiment, goes deeper than he who enacts statutes or pronounces decisions. He makes statutes and decisions possible or impossible to be executed.

We cannot change the language of the law until we can develop a better understanding of the human condition. We need to build a concensus, a synthesis of a new narrative, one that is reality based, recognizes the needs of our children, and the rights of parents and families. These articles, their abstracts, and a brief description are listed so as to inform the reader of the vast published research available on the effects of the loss of contact and bonds between child and parent. These articles in no way represent the extent of research available, however, they do reference a vast pool of former research which went before them. The article abstract and a brief comment is provided so the reader can identify the nature of the article and the material it covers. As these are professional peer-reviewed articles they must be purchased from the publisher. Most if not all the articles can be acquired for under $20.00, and in many instances this can be done online. Accordingly, full citations are provided to aid the reader in contacting the publisher for purchase.

These articles are listed in APA reference style; in alphabetical order by the primary authors last name.

Where possible, please inform the publisher that you learned of the article of interest via this website.

Howard, K., Lefever, J., Borkowski, J., Whitman, T. (2006). Fathers' influence in the lives of children with adolescent mothers. Journal of Family Psychology, 20(3), 468-476. doi: 10.1037/0893-3200.20.3.468.

Abstract: Little is known about the extent, nature, and impact of fathers of children with adolescent mothers. The current study measured father involvement with 134 children of adolescent mothers over the first 10 years of life. Overall, 59% had consistent father contact across the first 8 years. This contact was associated with better socioemotional and academic functioning at 8 and 10 years of age, particularly in school related areas. Children with greater levels of father contact had fewer behavioral problems and had higher scores on reading achievement; these results held after controlling for maternal risk. The findings showed the important role that fathers play in the lives of at-risk children, even if the father does not reside with the child.

Comments: A must read! The abstract for this article succinctly spells out the important findings of this research.

Kurtz, L. (1994). Psychosocial coping resources in elementary school-age children of divorce. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 64(4), 554-563. doi:10.1037/h0079561.

Abstract: The psychosocial coping resources of elementary school-age children living in the sole custody of a divorced single parent were compared with those of their peers living with nondivorced parents. Children of divorced parents were found to have lower levels of self-efficacy, self-esteem, and social support, and less effectual coping styles. Contact with the noncustodial parent was found to have a positive influence on their attitudes toward divorce.

Comments: This is an excellent article that clearly substantiates the need for both parents to be proactively involved in their children's lives. The focus of the article is on child coping skills with an assessment of feelings of guilt, self esteem, and self-efficacy. The article uses both psychological and legal key terms of art, making it a very useful tool for those that wish to work within the current framework of family and custody laws (as opposed to challenging their construct, premises, & constitutionality).

Nock, Steven L., Einolf, Christopher J. (2008). The costs of father absence. University of Virginia & DePaul University School of Public Service. National Fatherhood Initiative | www.fatherhood.org.

This study, the first of its kind, provides an estimate of the taxpayer costs of father absence. More precisely, it estimates the annual expenditures made by the federal government to support father-absent homes. These federal expenditures include those made on thirteen means-tested antipoverty programs and child support enforcement, and the total expenditures add up to a startling $99,800,000,000.00!

Comment: Though not a peer reviewed article, it is nonetheless included as it is an excellent publication addressing the real costs of father absence both economically (99.8 billion per year in direct costs!) socially, and on a personal level for the children. As noted, it is supported by the National Fatherhood Initiative, an organization worth looking into (see the Family & Child Rights Groups page for further information).

Perrin, P., Baker, J., Romelus, A., Jones, K., & Heesacker, M. (2009). Development, validation, and confirmatory factor analysis of the father hunger scale. Psychology of Men & Masculinity. 10(4), 314-327. doi: 10.1037/a0017277.

Abstract: Scholars have emphasized the importance of fathers in child development with regard to academic performance, emotional expression, and psychological adjustment. This study builds on that literature and describes the development of an empirically derived measure of father hunger, the emotional and psychological longing that a person has for a father who has been physically, emotionally, or psychologically distant. Study 1 employed 105 undergraduates who responded to 41 father-hunger items and 4 free-response questions. Exploratory factor analysis yielded 1 primary factor with 11 items. Study 2 employed 240 undergraduates whose responses supported the scale’s 1-factor structure, convergent validity with other validated scales, and test–retest reliability across 14 days. The Father Hunger Scale holds promise in advancing research on the role of fathers throughout child and adult development, as well as on the causes, correlates, and sequelae of unrequited father hunger.

Comments: Though “paternal longing” would sound more professional, the research and article does an excellent job of developing the need and desire to have a paternal figure in a child’s life during early development and adulthood. It clearly substantiates that both parents are needed, and begins to define more clearly the role a father plays.

Rohner, R. (year). The importance of father love: History and contemporary evidence. University of Connecticut, Center for the Study of Parental Acceptance and Rejection.

Abstract. This article explores the cultural construction of fatherhood in America, as well as the consequences of this construction as a motivator for understanding fathers - especially father love - for nearly a century in developmental and family research. It then reviews evidence from 6 categories of empirical studies showing the powerful influence of fathers' love on children and young adults' social, emotional, and cognitive development and functioning. Much of this evidence suggests that the influence of father love on offspring's development is as great as and occasionally greater than the influence of mother love. Some studies conclude that father love is the sole significant predictor of specific outcomes after controlling for the influence of mother love. Overall, father love appears to be as heavily implicated as mother love in offsprings' psychological well-being and health, as well as in an array of psychological and behavioral problems.

Comments: A must read! The research and article is well developed and appropriate for use in substantiating the need of a proactive father in a child’s life.

Shapiro, A. & Lambert, J.D. (1999). Longitudinal effects of divorce on the quality of the father-child relationship and on father's psychological well-being. Journal of Marriage and Family, vol. 61, No. 2 (May), pp. 397-408.

Abstract: Using panel data from the National Survey of Families and Households (n = 844), we examine the impact of divorce on father-child relationship quality and fathers' psychological well-being, the extent to which the residence of a focal child moderates these associations, and how changes in the quality of the father-child relationship over time affect fathers' psychological well-being. Results indicate that the effect of divorce on the quality of the father-child relationship and fathers' psychological well-being is moderated by the residence of children.

Comments: This article helps expand the understanding of paternal-child relationships and the impact of divorce upon the relationship and the father. Moreover, there is supporting evidence for the need for regular and meaningful contact between father and children. Here the focus is on the strong connection between father and child and what happens when that natural bond is severed. Well worth reading if for no other reason than to garner additional knowledge about men and their need to play a proactive role in the lives of their children.

Shinn, M. (1978). Father absence and children's cognitive development. Psychological Bulletin. Vol 85(2), 295-324. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.85.2.295

Abstract: Reviews literature showing detrimental effects of father absence on children's cognitive development as assessed by standardized IQ and achievement tests and school performance. Differential effects associated with characteristics of the absence (cause, duration, onset), the child (age, sex, race, socioeconomic status), and the skill tested (quantitative, verbal) are examined. The evidence suggests that financial hardship, high levels of anxiety, and, in particular, low levels of parent–child interaction are causes of poor performance among children in single-parent families; sex role identification, however, does not play an important role. An alternative hypothesis concerns the representativeness of father-absent families. The mother's ability to compensate for loss of the father is also considered.

Comments: The abstract succinctly conveys the nature of the research and article; the article is worth reading, though the reader should watch for innapropriate assumptions regarding the causes of and appropriateness of parternal absence.

Timms, J. E., Bailey, S., & Thoburn, J. (2008). Children’s views of decisions made by the court: Policy and practice issues arising from the Your Shout Too!

Abstract: Your Shout Too! reports on a National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children survey of the views of 141 children and young people involved in private law court proceedings following the separation of their parents. All of the children who responded had either been the subject of a Welfare Report prepared under the provisions of Section 7 of the Children Act, 1989, or had been separately represented in the proceedings under the provisions of Rule 9.5 Family Proceedings Rules, 1991. The research was carried out with the assistance of the Children and Family Courts Advisory and Support Service. This article looks at current arrangements for hearing the voice of the child and considers how society views the involvement of children and young people in parental disputes about their children’s residence and contact arrangements. Drawing on the views and experiences of the children responding to the survey, it goes on to explore the implications for developing policy and practice in relation to the approximately three million children in the United Kingdom who will experience the separation of their parents during the course of their childhood.

Comments: This is an interesting article from the perspective of child and family law practices in England. The article is also helpful in identifying some of the progress that is being made in other English speaking countries in the area of family law. As you might conclude from the Abstract, the article examines the needs of children of divorce and separation to be heard and take part in the process. Moreover, it identifies the agenda of family law practitioners and their lack of attention to key issues as seen by children. Particular issues as seen by the children interviewed included the government employees as: not helping my family to talk to each other; not helping me to see the special people in my life, not listening to what the child said, not respecting confidentiality, putting pressure on the child to see a person the child did not want to see, being patronising, and their opinion and wishes did not make a difference in the outcome. Sound familiar? Though this research article addresses the core questions it set out to examine, it does not address the issue of gross discrimination against men that England is experiencing. This is likely the cause for the children interviewed to make the comments; “putting pressure on the child to see a person the child did not want to see,” and “not helping me to see the special people in my life.”

Wallerstein, J., & Blakeslee. (1989). Second Chances: Men, women, and children a decade after divorce.

Wallerstein, J.S. (1991). The long-term effects of divorce on children: A review. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Vol 30, 349-360.

Wallerstein, J. (1985). The overburdened child: Some long-term consequences of divorce. Social Work, 30(2), 116-123.

Abstract: Discusses long-term effects of divorce on children and suggests that the needs of postdivorced families in which parenting is significantly diminished or disrupted are poorly addressed by interventions based on the dominant paradigm of divorce as a time-limited crisis. It is argued that the focus of treatment should rest on the postdivorce family and on some of its persisting psychosocial problems. In particular, 3 categories of children overburdened by responsibilities growing out of parental disintegration are discussed: (1) children responsible for their own care, (2) children responsible for their parents, and (3) children whose parents are in legal disputes. Clinical observations suggest that families at continued risk can be detected at marital rupture.

Comments: Judith Wallerstein has dedicated the vast majority of her professional career examining the outcomes of divorce and the needs of children so affected. Three of her works are listed above; however, a general review of her work is warranted for any serious researcher of how divorce, and access (or lack thereof) to parents, impacts children of all ages. As of this posting you can read her interview with PBS at: http://www.pbs.org/americanhigh/chats/drwallerstein.html.

Zill, N., Morrison, D. R., Coiro, M. J. (1993). Long-term effects of parental divorce on parent-child relationships, adjustment, and achievement in young adulthood. Journal of Family Psychology. Vol 7(1), 91-103. doi: 10.1037/0893-3200.7.1.91.

Abstract: Longitudinal data from the National Survey of Children were examined to investigate whether effects of parental divorce are evident in young adulthood. Among 18–22 yr olds from disrupted families, 65% had poor relationships with their fathers and 30% with their mothers, 25% had dropped out of high school, and 40% had received psychological help. Even after controlling for demographic and socioeconomic differences, youths from disrupted families were twice as likely to exhibit these problems as youths from nondisrupted families. A significant effect of divorce on mother–child relationships was evident in adulthood, whereas none was found in adolescence. Youths experiencing disruption before 6 yrs of age showed poorer relationships with their fathers than those experiencing disruption later in childhood. Overall, remarriage did not have a protective effect, but there were indications of amelioration among those who experienced early disruption.

Comments: As with the other studies listed here, this article offers substantial support and information to the problems children of divorce go through. The one criticism I would offer is that divorce is a legal fiction, a legal term of art. What is actually detrimental to the children of “divorce” is what they go through in real and practical terms. Of primary consideration is the loss of a parent – as Wallerstein (above) points out.

East L., Jackson, D., & O'Brien, L. Father absence and adolescent development: a review of the literature. Journal of Child Health Care. Vol. 10(4), 283-295. doi: 10.1177/1367493506067869.

Abstract: Rapid social change has seen increasing numbers of woman-headed singleparent families, meaning that more and more children are growing up without a father resident in the home. Father absence is a term that is not well defined and much of the literature does not discriminate between father absence due to death, parental relationship discord or other causes. This article presents a critical review of the extant literature on father absence, particularly as it relates to adolescent well-being and development. Findings from the literature point to the importance of father presence in children's lives and suggest that father absence has ramifications for children and adolescents. The conclusions drawn from this literature review suggest that father absence and its effects on children and families is an area for further research, with the view of developing strategies to ameliorate the impact of father absence on children and adolescents.

Comments: A well developed review of the literature, and spot on as to where additional research is needed. If you read more than one article, this one should be included.

Liebman, S., & Abell, S. (2000). The forgotten parent no more: A psychoanalytic reconsideration of fatherhood. Psychoanalytic Psychology. Vol 17(1), 88-105. doi: 10.1037/0736-9735.17.1.88.

Abstract. A growing body of psychoanalytic research has supported an understanding of the father as an important and unique contribution to child development. Though Freud's (1900/1961c, 1913/1961f) original understanding of fathering emphasized the punitive and inhibiting aspects of paternal influence, later theorists considered the more positive aspects of paternal involvement, such as the father's role in facilitating separation-individuation (M. Mahler, F. Pine, and A. Bergman, 1975). More recently, P. Blos (1984) has proposed that the male adolescent's capacity to enter into mature relationships in adulthood rests on successful resolution of the pre-Oedipal father-child relationship, whereas Kohl's (1977, 1984) work suggests that lifelong father hunger is best understood not as a pathological derivative of repression but rather as a universal part of normal development.

Comments: As the abstract suggests, this article examines the father-child relationship from a psychoanalytical approach. It develops the breadth of the father-child relationship to include necessary and healthy aspects of development. Those that find this earlier approach to understanding the human psyche as germane will enjoy the enlargement of its application. An interesting read.

JOURNAL ARTICLES ON CHILD DEVELOPMENT