Effect of an Absentee Father on an Adolescent's Self Concept
The emphasis on family-centered practices has never been greater than today as society veers away from the notion of a mother-and-child-centered practice. Instead, all members of the family are held accountable when it comes to child-rearing and development practices in order to ensure that children grow up to be well-rounded individuals, with lesser angst and hang-ups in life. Thus, the responsibilities of the father in the family as well as his role is now given due recognition, appreciation, and understanding when it comes to an individual's growth and self-concept. Because of this, having an absentee father figure in the family becomes a huge issue in child rearing. What are the common reasons for not having a father figure in the family? How does an absentee father affect an adolescent's self-concept? Are there ways to compensate for such situations?
As in the case of the American family, changes are rapidly happening from what it was in the past. Where a family used to consist of a father, a mother, and the children, more families are now faced with various familial structures where either the father or the mother is absent in the family. Maternal absence is common, but the more prominent structure is paternal absence where children mostly grow up without the presence of their father (Eastin, 2003, p. 10). Most of the time, the reasons for having an absentee father include increasing divorce cases in the United States, teenage pregnancies that result to single parenting, weak geographical and economic influences that force the father to find work opportunities abroad, and instances of paternal child abuse (Eastin, 2003, p. 14).
Paternal involvement in child growth and development is a huge determinant on whether a child grows up to be healthy, capable of surviving life's problems, and even the "child's capacity to become an [effective] parent themselves for the next generation" (Ball, Moselle, & Pederson, 2007, p. 7). Barber, Biller, Biller & Solomon, Blankenhorn, Hetherington, Kalb et al., and Popenoe argued that without a father figure in the family, "children are more likely to suffer more emotional, behavioral, and intellectual problems resulting in a higher risk of dropping out of school, alcohol and drug abuse, adolescent pregnancy and childbearing, juvenile delinquency, mental illness, and suicide" (as cited in Eastin, 2003, p. 14).
According to studies, a number of children with absentee fathers tend to do worse in school unlike children whose fathers are involved in caring and nurturing the children. Thus, Pruet and Sternberg claim that children with involved fathers have higher IQ levels and highly developed verbal and mental capacities (as cited in Rosenberg & Wilcox, 2006, Impact of Fathers on Cognitive Ability and Educational Achievement section). In addition, children who begin school at an early age tend to show advanced levels of readiness when it comes to academic performance, unlike those children whose fathers are less involved (as cited in Rosenberg & Wilcox, 2006, Impact of Fathers on Cognitive Ability and Educational Achievement section). The noted psychologist, Erik Erikson, corroborate these findings based on his "Eight Stages of Development" ("Stages of Social-Emotional Development," n.d.) claiming that the "social and emotional development of children and teenagers continues into adulthood" ("Stages of Social-Emotional Development," n.d.). Apart from these, fathers also experience positive feelings when they are more involved in their children's lives, asserting that as they become more involved, the happier and more satisfied they become knowing that they are able to perform their paternal roles. Thus, the more they turn into effective fathers and "the more likely they are to sustain involvement with their child" (Ball, Moselle, & Pederson, 2007, p. 7).
Based on Erikson's theory, adolescent's stages of development involve "psychosocial crisis" ("Stages of Social-Emotional Development," n.d.), which means that the individual must successfully pass the previous stage before moving to the next level of development. Each of the stages are systematically related to the next stage, thus, it is important that individuals complete the process in its proper order. It is not to say that an individual is limited from moving on to the succeeding phase, but doing so could result to ineffective ways of dealing with problems.
According to Erikson, the first stage is learning about trust and mistrust (Stage 1), which occurs during the infancy stage ("Stages of Social-Emotional Development," n.d.). Because society is "mother centric", an infant's first interaction is always with the mother, while the father is often left out of the equation. At this time, the baby learns about trusting and nurturing, and when handled negatively, instead of faith, belief, and hope, a child learns to mistrust aside from developing a self-doubting nature ("Stages of Social-Emotional Development," n.d.). Therefore, with an involved father, a child learns to trust and develop self-confidence as well.
The succeeding stages include learning about autonomy versus shame (Stage 2) and initiative versus guilt (Stage 3) ("Stages of Social-Emotional Development," n.d.), which both happen during a child's toddler and preschool years. In both stages, the parents as well as other members of the family are involved in helping a child develop willpower and self-control in addition to purpose and direction ("Stages of Social-Emotional Development," n.d.). Without the help of a father figure, a child learns to become impulsive and inhibited instead of determined and imaginative.
The next stages occur during a child's school age including up to the junior high school days. During this period, a child learns about industry versus inferiority (Stage 4), identity versus identity diffusion (Stage 5), and intimacy versus isolation (Stage 6). The child discovers about competence, relationships, and teamwork when dealing with people other than family members. Commencing as a child up to pre-adolescence, he or she begins to develop an individual identity ("Stages of Social-Emotional Development," n.d.) that further enhances his or her self-worth and self-image. With the help of the father, a boy can understand why women should be respected and have a clear perception about his sexual identity. For a girl, the presence of the father helps her understand how she should conduct herself in front of the opposite sex and nurture thoughts about what she wants in a man. Without someone to inspire them or look up to, adolescents might grow up with a false sense of fervor on matters or things that do not have value. It could also lead to promiscuity for not having someone who tells them about the other side of a situation ("Stages of Social-Emotional Development," n.d.).
The final stages of development happen in adulthood whereby the individual learns about generativity versus self-absorption (Stage 7) and integrity versus despair (Stage 8). These final stages are the culmination of an individual's self-concept in that he or she adopts and promotes everything the individual learned from interactions with parents, siblings, peers, and society, in general, as the individual becomes a parent or a responsible citizen. If all the other stages were completed successfully with the help of both the mother and the father, then the result is a person of integrity with a well-rounded view of the world. Otherwise, the individual may see himself as a failure and view "his life with disgust and despair" ("Stages of Social-Emotional Development," n.d.).
In conclusion, the way a father interacts with his children has a strong effect on how a child will grow emotionally and socially. Rough play can actually teach children how to manage their feelings and deal with aggressive peer behaviors aside from promoting independence and achievement as basis for success. In addition, children with close relations with their fathers tend to display higher levels of emotional strength than those with absentee paternal figures. Therefore, with absentee fathers, children generally do not reach their full potential due to incomplete nurturing and lesser authority figure to teach about life stages.
References
Ball, J., Moselle, K., & Pederson, S. (2007). Fathers' involvement as a determinant of child health. Retrieved from http://www.fira.ca/cms/documents/122/PH_FI_Final_Full_Report.pdf
Eastin, J. F. (2003, August). Impact of absent father-figures on male subjects and the correlation to juvenile delinquency: Findings and implications. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc4332/m2/1/high_res_d/dissertation.pdf
Rosenberg, J. & Wilcox, B. (2006). The importance of fathers in the healthy development of children. Retrieved from https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/usermanuals/fatherhood/chaptertwo.cfm
Stages of social-emotional development. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://childdevelopmentinfo.com/child-development/erickson.shtml
