Dad matters - and can matter a lot


Full article: http://www.livescience.com/20997-science-fatherhood-fathers-day.html

Key points

Children who feel rejected by their parents (one or both) suffer:
  • more likely to be hostile, aggressive, emotionally unstable
  • more likely to have low self-esteem, have feelings of inadequacy, have negative worldviews.
(Khaleque & Rohner 2012 Journal of Personality and Social Psychology)

Dad's input can be even more important than Mum's
  • Behavior problems, delinquency, depression, substance abuse and overall psychological adjustment are all more closely linked to Dad's rejection than Mum's
  • "Knowing that kids feel loved by their father is a better predictor of young adults' sense of well-being, of happiness, of life satisfaction than knowing about the extent to which they feel loved by their mothers."
(Khaleque & Rohner 2012 Journal of Personality and Social Psychology)

Kids appear to learn persistence more from Dad
  • Higher persistence is linked with higher engagement and lower delinquency at school
  • This is attributed to the parenting style of fathers, one that is characterized by warmth and love, accountability to the rules (including explanations of why those rules exist), and age-appropriate autonomy for kids
(Padilla-Walker et al. 2013 Journal of Early Adolescence)

Footnote: "Dad" in the above generally refers to an adult male engaged in raising the children, whether genetically related or otherwise.