Research on the Importance of Father Involvement



Fathers' Involvement In Their Children's Schools
This report from the National Center For Educational Statistics details the effect of a father's participation in his child's schooling. This report deals with both resident and nonresident fathers.

“The odds that children in grades 1 through 12 have ever repeated a grade are 39% less if their nonresident fathers have participated in one activity at school and 48% less if their nonresident fathers have participated in at least two activities at their schools.” Page 74.


Starting school matters: Supporting children’s transition to school
This abstract of a presentation given at the 2002 Early Childhood Matters Conference in Melbourne, Australia, discusses the influence of father care on the preparedness of children for school.

"...children who received regular father care in the year, 5 years prior to schooling, were more likely to have higher levels of cooperation and social skills and lower levels of hyperactivity and problem behaviours. Children who experienced regular care by their fathers and more days of father care per week in the years prior to schooling showed higher levels of cooperative behaviour."


Father Absence and Youth Incarceration
This Report from the Center For Research on Child Wellbeing discusses how fatherlessness affects the likelyhood of youth incarceration. Even after controlling for the other factors associated with fatherlessness, such as poverty, the results were clear. An interesting aspect of this research is that stepfathers made the situation worse, not better.

"Results from longitudinal nationally representative data show that although youths from father-absent households no longer represent an unusual family situation, there remains a significant divide between their incarceration outcomes and those of youths who grow up in a household with both of their parents." Page 29
Fragile Families Research Brief - Dispelling Myths About Unmarried Fathers
This two-page report from the Bendheim-Thoman Center For Research on Child Wellbeing at Princeton University discusses 3 common myths about unmarried fathers. Note that the percentage of fathers who provided support was BEFORE any court order would have been in place, since child support can't be ordered until the child is born.

"Myth #2: Unmarried fathers don't care about thier children. Our findings do not support this view. Eighty-one percent of mothers in they survey indicated that the father provided financial help during the pregnancy, and all fathers interviewed (99.8 percent) report that they want to be involved in raising their children in the coming years."