CLICK HERE FOR RESEARCH: At the time of writing, Kim Jones was an Assistant Professor in School of Social Work, University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
This article initially reviews the psychoanalytic and empirical literature on the facilitative role that fathers play in children’s development and functioning.
Empirical evidence is presented comparing the academic performance of 25 nonresident-father boys and 25 resident-father boys between the ages of 14 and 17.
The study also assesses whether the degree of psychological separation from mother and father, quality of mother–son/ father–son relationship, and frequency of contact with father, had a mediating effect on academic performance.
The study found that boys living in nonresident-father homes were under-functioning when compared to boys living in father-resident homes.
In regard to the perceived quality of mother–son/father–son relationship, results for nonresident-father boys showed a positive correlation between the quality of relationship with father and academic performance.
Similarly, when assessing the group as a whole, a positive correlation was found between the quality of father–son relationship and academic performance.
Finally, for nonresident-father boys, a positive correlation was found between frequency of father–son contact and academic performance.
