The selected article explores the implications on children resulting from growing in a fatherless environment. The article premise is hinged on the proposition that children who grow without a father face the risk of experiencing a permanent brain alteration. Markedly, the text emphasizes that fatherless children are highly likely to exhibit aggression characteristics with girl being at most risk. Growing up without a father could lead to an irreversible change in brain structure resulting to children with a high emotional quotient ( Spencer, 2013). Deviant behavior such as substance abuse could also develop in fatherless children. The article notes that in the UK, approximately 1 million children are growing in an environment where there is no father which poses a great risk to their livelihoods. According to the reading, research conducted showed that paternal deprivation could adversely affect the children neurobiology. The article notes that the prefrontal cortex, the brain faculty that controls cognitive and social activity are likely to develop differently in comparison to children who have contact with fathers. Fatherless children are likely to exhibit signs of abnormal social interactions consequently giving rise to an abnormal behavior. I am interested in the current issue of fatherless children, as I would like to gain knowledge on whether there exists any risk posed to children who are brought up only by their mothers. If research proves that fatherlessness has a negative impact on children, I will be in a position to sensitize the society on the need for paternal and maternal contact on children to improve their quality of life and eliminate adverse outcomes such as aggression and substance abuse risks.
The first article by Radl, Salazar and Cebolla-Boado (2017), investigates the topic on whether living in a fatherless family has negative outcomes such as compromising the children education success. The article notes that family structure and household resources are key predictors of student performance and attainment. The article pays interest to parental separation on children wellbeing. Radl et al., (2017) explain that children growing up without father due to divorce are vulnerable to developing externalizing behavior resulting to a slow mental wellbeing and poor health relative to offspring’s in households with two parents. Such children are also highly likely to pre-maturely transition to crucial life stages such as becoming a parent, entering a union and breaking the union later on. The article emphasizes that such children are also likely to exhibit deteriorated education outcomes either quantified by grades, final attainment, track selected or grade retention. The article immerses itself on examining the impact of fatherlessness on locus control and numeracy. According to Radl et al., (2017) there exists sufficient evidence showing that absence of a father in a household is negatively correlated with children education success. Assessment of the students’ educational achievement showed that low attainment was attributed to father absence.
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The article indicates that research in USA and UK has shown that fatherless children experience emotional problems and psychological stress which negatively affects their self-esteem and locus of control. Supposedly, parental separation leading to fatherlessness triggers loss of control beliefs among children ultimately catalyzing undesirable symptoms. Previous studies which have taken a multi-country perspective confirmed that single parenthood is negatively correlated with children literacy ( Radl et al., 2017) . Father absence is linked to deteriorated cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes in comparison with families having both parents. Fatherlessness creates an environment with fewer resources such as emotional, social, material and cultural endowments which leads to sub-optimal school success.
The second article by East, Jackson and O'Brien (2006), undertakes a literature review on fatherlessness and adolescent development. The article notes that the past 20 years have been characterized by an upsurge in women-headed households due to rapid social change. According to the text, paternal love is crucial in influencing a child’s social functioning, child health and cognitive development. Father-child relationship shapes childhood development predicts either positive and negative psychological wellbeing as well as influencing values. The text promulgates the view that a father figure offers healthy development of self-concept through childhood to adulthood. Fatherly attention is crucial in cushioning a child from development of maladaptive demeanours and growth of negative self-concept ( East, Jackson& O'Brien, 2006) . Father absence prompted by discord that is linked with divorce can result in altered family values and negative parental vies on children. The article reports that children brought up by their mothers experience a high rate of behavioral problems with males being at most risk relative to females. A study that assessed children aged 6 and 12 years experiencing father absence due to military duties reported that such children showcased depression and anxiety ( East, Jackson & O'Brien, 2006) . Father absence leads to low socio-economic status ultimately resulting to poverty which has a negative outcome towards children.
Children in woman-headed families were found to indulge in sexual activity at an earlier age and had a deteriorated achievement relative to adolescents in dyadic households. Fatherless children encounter hardships in establishing intimate relationships and independence in addition to greater life adversity and maladjustment. Children lacking fatherly contact in UK were reported to exhibit negative psychosocial well-being and emotional disturbances. Females who experienced absence of father while below the age of 5 years had a high likelihood of contracting teenage pregnancy and increased sexual activity before attaining 16 years ( East, Jackson & O'Brien, 2006) . Overall the article concludes that father absence is detrimental to the children psychological wellbeing and affects their general development.
The third article investigates the effect of fatherly contact on children’s achievement in education. According to Ahmad and Muhammad (2014), father absence due to causes such as career demands and divorce can have a potential impact on a child’s emotional development. The traumatic effects are caused by prolonged paternal absence. However, the article notes that the severity of effects due to father absence are dependent on a child’s age due to factors such as inferior coping mechanisms or development of emotional maturity. Father absence due to bereavement can likely lead to suicide, cardiac illness and self-neglect attributed to severe stress. Children who have the privilege of living with both parents record higher grades while those in women-headed households tend to register low scores ( Ahmad & Muhammad, 2014) . Children having close contact with their father are more likely to participate in extra-curricular activities and develop a positive attitude towards schooling.
The article explains that delinquent behavior particularly among boys can be attributed to father absence. Children who lack fatherly upbringing are more likely to develop behavioural disorders and suffer from low self-esteem. Results from the experiment carried by researchers indicated that father involvement in a child’s upbringing contributes immensely in improved academic performance while father absence leads to deteriorated academic performance ( Ahmad & Muhammad, 2014) . The carried study confirmed that fathers play an instrumental role in children’s aspects of academic prowess. Fatherlessness was found to cause psychological distress, depression and deteriorated academic attainment. Additionally, children whose fathers are absent are more likely to postpone marriages and divorce later once in a union.
Conclusion
The popular press article has a subjective approach in analysis of the impact of fatherlessness in comparison with the scholarly articles which have less bias as they are based on empirical data. The press article report on an experiment that was conducted on fatherlessness but does not carry research of its own while the three articles conduct their own research and experiment which makes them credible relative to the press article. The information in the three articles is referenced to give credit to contributors of literature unlike in the press article which does not acknowledge its contributors. The information in the scholarly articles is presented in stages from abstract, introduction, literature review, methodology, analysis and conclusion whereas the data in the press article has no such arrangement. After considering the topic research, my perception of role played by fathers in households has changed as I previously trivialized fatherly contact. I now acknowledge the essence of fatherly presence in families as it contributes to overall emotional, psychological and physical development of a child.
References
Ahmad, M. S. & Muhammad S. Q., (2014). Effects of father absence on children's academic performance. Journal of Educational, Health and Community Psychology , 3 (1), 1-6.
East, L., Jackson, D., & O'Brien, L. (2006). Father absence and adolescent development: a review of the literature. Journal of Child Health Care , 10 (4), 283-295.
Radl, J., Salazar, L., & Cebolla-Boado, H. (2017). Does living in a fatherless household compromise educational success? A Comparative Study of Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Skills. European Journal of Population , 33 (2), 217-242.
Spencer, B., (2013).Growing up without a father can permanently alter the BRAIN: Fatherless children are more likely to grow up angry and turn to drugs, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2518247/Growing-father-permanently-alter-BRAIN-Fatherless-children-likely-grow-angry-turn-drugs.html
