In case you hadn’t heard, there is a parenting crisis in America right now.
As these Fatherhood Reports clearly demonstrate, at no time in our country’s history, have more dads been less involved with their own children. The reasons are numerous, as the father surveys and reports below outline.
Although these reports outline some very general, and sometimes specific reasons for this, perhaps the most glaring statistic is this one.
The divorce rate among parents raising children with special needs is a staggering 82%. This means that the vast majority of families with children with special needs has only one full-time parent. Couple that with the added stress of numerous appointments to get to, dealing with difficult behaviors, the medication regiment, and fighting with schools to get services and accommodations, leads to a variety of undesirable situations in many homes…
Siblings in these single-parent homes are more likely to get less attention, support, and interaction from the parent
Children without a father at home are at a higher risk to get involved with substance abuse, juvenile justice, pre-marital pregnancy, and even a higher rate of mental health issues
The drop out rate in these homes is nearly twice that of homes with two parents, and their academic scores are lower as well
The absence of a father has also been linked to poor inter-relationship skills, abuse, and domestic violence. While there has not been a fatherhood report that specifically addresses the absence of the father in a special needs family, we can get some insight into this topic by gleaning information from the various reports and surveys below.
We will continue to add more fatherhood reports as they become available.
As these Fatherhood Reports clearly demonstrate, at no time in our country’s history, have more dads been less involved with their own children. The reasons are numerous, as the father surveys and reports below outline.
Although these reports outline some very general, and sometimes specific reasons for this, perhaps the most glaring statistic is this one.
The divorce rate among parents raising children with special needs is a staggering 82%. This means that the vast majority of families with children with special needs has only one full-time parent. Couple that with the added stress of numerous appointments to get to, dealing with difficult behaviors, the medication regiment, and fighting with schools to get services and accommodations, leads to a variety of undesirable situations in many homes…
Siblings in these single-parent homes are more likely to get less attention, support, and interaction from the parent
Children without a father at home are at a higher risk to get involved with substance abuse, juvenile justice, pre-marital pregnancy, and even a higher rate of mental health issues
The drop out rate in these homes is nearly twice that of homes with two parents, and their academic scores are lower as well
The absence of a father has also been linked to poor inter-relationship skills, abuse, and domestic violence. While there has not been a fatherhood report that specifically addresses the absence of the father in a special needs family, we can get some insight into this topic by gleaning information from the various reports and surveys below.
We will continue to add more fatherhood reports as they become available.
Family Structure, Father Closeness, and Delinquency
A report that examines the relationships between adolescent delinquency and the types of family structures in which adolescents live. It addresses why certain family structures tend to produce lower levels of risk for adolescent delinquency, with an emphasis on the role that father involvement plays in helping adolescents avoid risky behavior.
Family Structure, Father Closeness, and Drug Abuse
A report that examines the relationships between adolescent drug use and the types of family structures in which adolescents live. It addresses why certain family structures tend to produce lower levels of risk for adolescent drug use, with an emphasis on the role that father involvement plays in helping adolescents avoid risky behavior. Drug use is broken down into four categories: smoking, drinking, hard drugs, and inhalants.
The Costs of Father Absence – The Hundred Billion Dollar Man
A study, the first of its kind, that provides an estimate of the taxpayer costs of father absence. More precisely, it estimates the annual expenditures made by the federal government to support father-absent homes. These federal expenditures include those made on thirteen means-tested antipoverty programs and child support enforcement, and the total expenditures add up to a startling $99.8 billion.
Fatherhood and Healthy Families Taskforce Report
A report issued by the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, gives an overview of this parenting crisis, as well as an overview of recommendations. These recommendations are then broken down into specific action steps, to help address the outlined concerns.
Pop’s Culture: A National Survey of Dads’ Attitudes on Fathering
700 respondents were asked 14 questions concerning their attitudes about fatherhood in general, about their views of themselves as fathers, and about their own fathers. These questions were in the form of statements about which the respondents could choose “strongly agree,” “somewhat agree,” “somewhat disagree,” or “strongly disagree.”