In recent years, as divorce rates have climbed and family structures continue to deviate further from the two-parent household, much has been made of absentee fathers and the impact that it has on children, particularly boys. Many studies have suggested that the absence of a father often causes boys to drop out of school and become delinquent. Research will show that boys raised outside of intact marriages are, on average, more than twice as likely as other boys to wind up in jail -- with each year spent without a dad increasing the odds of future incarceration by 5 percent (NJCCR.org). While there can be a variety of reasons as to why a young male could become delinquent (such as race, income, intelligence, etc.) family structure or lack thereof was rated as the main reason.

These findings were compiled by two professors, one from the University of California and the other from the University of Princeton. They used a large national database containing a wealth of information about our nation's youth referred to as the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. By using it they were able to isolate the desired variables and arrive at the statistics above. Their research, on the su

Sam, a 27 year old male who lived with his father until he died when Sam was sixteen.

Ten people were interviewed, and their first names and family situations are as follows:

Vinny, a 21 year old male who's parents are divorced and in his late teen years decided to live with his father.

Others, such as Sam, were much more open when discussing their situation. "I have never gotten along well with my mother and I moved to Florida with my dad the summer before he died. I was having a great time, getting excellent grades and had put in an application to the University of Miami. I was there with him when he died suddenly that fall, and it's a moment I think about every day. I always ask myself what could have been." Eleven years later, Sam has gone through countless jobs, places of residence, and endured two drunk driving convictions. He still has not found his niche in life and rightly or wrongly places the blame on his father's untimely death.

"Of course you miss the little things dads do, like playing ball or stuff like that", says James. "I think it made me a better father when I had kids because I understood what it was like to be without one. It had an impact, but it didn't ruin my life or anything". George had a similar attitude, but was not quite as cavalier. His words are devoid of emotion, but the story he tells isn't. "My stepdad came at me with a hot iron and I ended up fracturing his skull when I tried to defend myself. It was a real bad situation, he had to go through six months or rehabilitation. I didn't mean to hurt him that bad, but I almost got in very serious trouble."

In addition, as I stated earlier, only about two percent of children live with their father alone. There is a strong possibility that I would have to survey hundreds of people before encountering someone who was raised or is being raised in such an environment. A survey also cannot take into account certain extranneous variables, such as whether or not the father in question is abusive or unemployed. In order to get down to the nitty gritty and discover someone's true feelings, the surest way is through a personal interview. Since this is a research topic that can be both emotional and sometimes highly personal, a facial expression may be worth as much as the actual verbal response an interviewee gives.

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