Divorced Fathers and Their Daughters: A Review of Recent Research

This study examined single mothers' concerns about the effects of father absence on boys. A two-pan questionnaire covering 11 dimensions of parent role and child development was administered to a group of single and a group of nonsingle mothers. Subjects rated the "importance" of a father and a mother and the effects of a father's absence on a boy. It was found that singles rated a father more important than nonsingles did, but singles also rated a mother more important-this was called the "parenting effect." All subjects rated a father as more important than a mother; the two most significant dimensions, especially for single mothers, were "sex role" and "play activity," substantiating previous research' and observation. The findings were discussed in terms of single mothers' psychosocial conditions, and clinical implications were offered.