Claude Wilson, Outlook Writer

American research psychologist, Peggy Drexler, Ph.D., created controversy in her doctoral book Raising Boys Without Men in which she concluded that raising thriving, emotionally healthy sons does not require a man around the house.

The former gender scholar, advocate for homosexual marriage and the transformation of gender role said in an ABC interview that her research shows that parenting is not anchored to gender; instead, it is either good or deficient.

Such conclusion, however, does not fit squarely in a country where the fatherless accounts for 90 per cent of the homeless or runaways, 70 per cent of school dropouts, 60 per cent of the suicide, and 85 per cent of children with significant behavioural problems.

Local statistics reveals some 85 per cent of those incarcerated are from homes without fathers and some 60 per cent of the Jamaican households do not now have present or actively involved fathers.

"Fatherlessness is the most harmful demographic trend of this generation," laments a United States (U.S.) social historian.

David Blankenhorn wrote in Fatherless America: Confronting Our Most Urgent Social Problem, "It is the leading cause of declining child well-being in the society. It is also the engine driving our most urgent social problems, from crime to teen pregnancy to child sex abuse to domestic violence against woman."

havoc on society

Some of us rose above this regrettable circumstance to become good citizens contributing to society. But, regrettably, a large number of the fatherless and under-fathered, especially boys, wreak havoc on society.

Demographers are also showing that the percentage of blacks, Hispanics and white children living in U.S. household headed by women, primarily the result of divorce or unwed motherhood, correspond closely to the percentage of children in those groups who live in poverty.

Contrary to Dr. Drexler's thesis, behavioural scientists are coming to grip with how critical fathers are to the healthy development of boys and girls. "Infants are born with a drive to find and connect to their fathers. As they begin to speak, their word for 'father' often precedes their word for 'mothers'. The reason for this is unknown", says Dr. James Dobson of 'Focus on the Family'.

Whatever be the unknown reason, somehow, when that connection is not made then the results have, in many cases, untold, serious sociological consequences.

Dr. Percy Ricketts, a licensed psychotherapist, fatherhood consultant and trainer, says that father care is of unique and irreplaceable nature in a way that mother care cannot replicate.

"Unique because it is different from what mothers bring to the parenting table. Irreplaceable because what father provides in the life of the child cannot be replaced by what mother provides."

A graduate of Glenmuir High, Virginia Tech and Nova South-Eastern University, Dr. Ricketts notes that no matter what mother provides it is always in the context of motherhood. It should never be assumed, he said, that mother can 'father', nor should it be assumed that mothers alone can raise boys without serious consequences.

Dr. Ricketts, who is the author of Parenting in the 21st century and the upcoming book Fathers of African Descents (based on studies done in Jamaica and the U.S. on the attitude of black fathers), presents some empirical evidence of positive fathering.

studies

When children are raised with a caring, responsible father resident at home, generally:

They do better academically.

The boys involvement with drugs is lessened, they experience lower rate of delinquency, are likely to go on to higher education and they experience reduced emotional and behavioural problems.

Boys raised with fathers exhibit less violent behaviour.

Boys who share a close relationship with their fathers themselves become responsible fathers later.

The girls become sexually active at a much later age, incidences of teenage pregnancy lowered, they do academically better and will grow to have a more positive relationship with men.

When father lives with his children and have a good relationship with their mother it results in the children experiencing positive male-female relation first hand. And the boys are likely to view females in a radically more positive light and will, in the future, incline to respect women.

Children with caring fathers are less likely to develop protracted problem of depression later in life.