Experiments in living: The Fatherless Family

'After three decades of experimenting with the fatherless family, we are now in a position to evaluate the results.'

This report by Rebecca O'Neill, published by Civitas - The Institute for the Study of Civil Society, released in September 2002, details the social consequences of the growing trend for families without fathers. It is important because it is not theorizing from a particular ideological position, but is carefully documenting the results of a wide range of sociological research.

Read the report online
Download it as a pdf file

In her introduction, O'Neill says:

In the 1970s and 1980s many people argued that the traditional family - based upon a married biological father and mother and their children - was outdated. Under the guise of 'freedom of choice', 'self-fulfillment', and 'equal respect for all kinds of families', feminists and social rebels led a campaign to experiment with different family structures. Sometimes it was claimed that women and children did not need men, and were, in fact, often better off without them. On occasion it was said that families were not breaking down, they were just changing; that the most important thing for children was their parents' happiness and self-fulfillment; and that children were resilient and would suffer few negative effects of divorce and family disruption. The idea of 'staying together for the children's sake' was often derided. Some parents embraced the new thinking, but not all of those who took part in the 'fatherless family experiment' were willing subjects. As the idea that mothers and children did not need fathers took hold, many social and legal supports for marriage weakened. Some mothers and children were simply abandoned. Some fathers were pushed away... After three decades of experimenting with the fatherless family, we are now in a position to evaluate the results.'

The research catalogued by O'Neill shows that lone mothers:

are poorer
are more likely to suffer from stress, depression, and other emotional and psychological problems
have more health problems
may have more problems interacting with their children

Non-resident biological fathers are:

at risk of losing contact with their children
more likely to have health problems and engage in high-risk behavior

Children living without their biological fathers:

are more likely to live in poverty and deprivation
are more likely to have emotional or mental problems
have more trouble in school
tend to have more trouble getting along with others
have higher risk of health problems
are at greater risk of suffering physical, emotional, or sexual abuse
are more likely to run away from home

Teenagers living without their biological fathers are more likely to:

experience problems with sexual health
become teenage parents
offend
smoke
drink alcohol
take drugs
play truant from school
be excluded from school
leave school at 16
have adjustment problems

Young adults who grew up not living with their biological fathers are more likely to:

fail to attain qualifications
experience unemployment
have low incomes
be on income support
experience homelessness
be caught offending and go to jail
suffer from long term emotional and psychological problems
develop health problems
enter partnerships earlier and more often as a cohabitation
divorce or dissolve their cohabiting unions
have children outside marriage or outside any partnership

O'Neill identifies these effects of fatherless families on the social fabric

increased crime and violence
decreased community ties
a growing divorce culture
cycle of fatherlessness
dependence on state welfare

She identifies these reasons for the effects on society:

poverty
reduced parental and paternal attention
conditions before, during and after divorce

O'Neill's report ends with a four-and-a-half-page list of the research studies and surveys quoted. She sums up this research as follows:

For many mothers, fathers and children, the 'fatherless family' has meant poverty, emotional heartache, ill health, lost opportunities, and a lack of stability. The social fabric - once considered flexible enough to incorporate all types of lifestyles - has been stretched and strained. Although a good society should tolerate people's right to live as they wish, it must also hold adults responsible for the consequences of their actions. To do this, society must not shrink from evaluating the results of these actions

The conclusion is inescapable:

The weight of evidence indicates that the traditional family based upon a married father and mother is still the best environment for raising children, and it forms the soundest basis for the wider society.

We are recommending this report, not from any desire to 'bash' alternative lifestyles, but simply to demonstrate that a mass of sociological research now confirms that the model of family life upheld in the Bible is actually the one that works best in terms of the wellbeing of the people involved. Now this could just be an amazing coincidence... or it could be because the Bible's worldview is actually true.

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Experiments in living: The Fatherless Family

'After three decades of experimenting with the fatherless family, we are now in a position to evaluate the results.'