Mankind
Quarterly, Vol. 44, Nos. 3 & 4 (Spring-Summer 2004)
pp.
339-366
The Presence
of the Social Father in Inhibiting Young Men's Violence.
Wade C. Mackey and Ronald S. Immerman
The suggestion is offered that the
prior presence of a residual and biological father
reduces the likelihood of violent behavior by his
sons grown to adulthood. Data analyzed across the
U.S. indicate that father absence, rather than poverty,
was the stronger predictor of young men's violent
behavior. The pattern was also found in predictions
of violent crime rates based on the level of out of
wedlock births from the prior generation. A consonant
pattern was also found in cross-national surveys.
Accordingly, developmental theories that would explain
these patterns need to be constructed and policies
that are designed to reduce the incidence of violent
crimes and their sequelae may wish to take into account
(i) how the presence of social fathers may tamp down
violent behavior by their sons and (ii) how to maximize
the opportunities for younger children to have an
ongoing social father.
