Adolescent boys more prone to delinquency without a father
Adolescent boys are more prone to delinquency if they do not have a father figure in their lives, a Melbourne study has found, while adolescent girls seem unaffected by the presence or absence of fathers in their lives.
The study found that the presence of a father figure during adolescence was most likely to have a preventive effect on whether male youths engage in risk-taking and deviant behaviour. While active involvement and interaction between fathers and youths was found to be beneficial, it did not explain the positive benefits of children who grow up with fathers in the household.
Prof Deborah Cobb-Clark, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, University of Melbourne
