What Dads Do
with Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse
The research on this page is designed to help you appreciate the contributions of fathers. Please forgive me, but this is my nerd side coming out! I hope these results of these studies will trigger your imagination.
What are the dads in your life doing? What do you observe, as a child, or as a wife? 
Wives,
if this helps you appreciate your husband, we have a sample letter for you to send him!
Father involvement with the care of their pre-schoolers helps the development of empathy, not only
during childhood, but later in life.
Richard Koestner, Carol Franz, Joel Weinberger, “The Family Origins of Empathic Concern: A 26 year Longitudinal
Study,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, April 1990, vol. 58, No. 4, pp 709-717.
Father’s involvement with children is the strongest predictor of fewer behavior problems in kids.
The impact of father involvement is more pronounced than the impact of parental education.
An involved dad can make up for low parental education.
“Parental Involvement and Children’s Behavior Problems,” Paul R. Amato and Fernando Rivera, Journal of
Marriage and the Family, Volume 61, No. 2 (May 1999), pp. 375-384.
Even if they aren’t “involved” the mere presence of the biological father protects girls from pre-mature maturity. Living with the biological father delays the onset of menstruation. Early menses is associated with early sexual activity, unhealthy weight gain, and behavior problems. Girls who menstruate earlier face higher risks later in life for breast cancer, stillbirths, miscarriages and low-birth weight babies.
“Timing of Pubertal Maturation in Girls: An Integrated Life History Approach,” Bruce Ellis, Psychological
Bulletin, 2004, Vol. 130, No. 6, pp. 940-942.
More warmth and father involvement delays menstruation even more.
“Quality of Early Family Relationships and Individual Differences in the Timing of Pubertal Maturation in Girls,” Bruce Ellis, et. al. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1999 Vol. 77, No. 2, 387-401.
A literature review of 91 studies of the impact of father love/acceptance on various aspects of child development. The combination of father’s involvement and warmth help children to be:
- More cognitively and socially competent
- Less inclined toward gender stereotyping
- More empathic
- Psychologically better adjusted
Father love is as important as mother love to the following:
- Personality and psychological adjustment.
- Conduct problems.
- Cognitive and academic performance.
- Mental illness
- Substance abuse.
Father love explains a unique independent portion of the variance in specific child outcomes, over
and above the variance explained by mother love:
Psychological adjustment problems.
- Conduct problems
- Delinquency
- Mental illness
- Substance abuse
- Psychological health and well-being.
“The Importance of Father Love: History and Contemporary Evidence,” Ronald P. Rohner and Robert V.
Veneziano, Review of General Psychology, 2001, vol. 5, no. 4, pp.382-405.
The very fact that mothers and fathers are working together within the home, means that children get to see:
- Adult love and cooperation modeled
- Adult respect for the opposite sex
- Gender role modeling
- They are not the center of their parents’ world: the other spouse is.
How about it ladies? Does any of this ring a bell? If you are feeling gratitude for your husband’s contributions, why not tell him? Your respect and appreciation will be a much better Father’s Day gift than another necktie!
Here's a sample letter you might consider (or pick from): CLICK HERE
