"Ninety percent of divorced fathers have less
than full custody of their children." Jonathan M. Honeycutt, Ph.D.(c),
M.P.A., M.A., I.P.C. Director of Research, Clinical & Consulting Psychotherapist,
National Institute for Divorce Research, Panama City, Florida.
Children from fatherless homes account for:
63% of youth suicides. (Source: US Dept. of Health &
Human Services, Bureau of the Census).
71% of pregnant teenagers. (Source: US Dept. of Health &
Human Services)
90% of all homeless and runaway children.
70% of juveniles in state-operated institutions come from
fatherless homes (Source: U.S. Dept. of Justice, Special Report, Sept 1988)
85% of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders. (Source:
Center for Disease Control).
80% of rapists motivated with displaced anger. (Source: Criminal
Justice & Behavior, Vol. 14, p. 403-26, 1978).
71% of all high school dropouts. (Source: National Principals
Association Report on the State of High Schools).
75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers.
(Source: Rainbows for all God`s Children).
85% of all youths sitting in prisons. (Source: Fulton Co.
Georgia jail populations, Texas Dept. of Corrections 1992).
The State of Fatherhood
37.9% of fathers have no access/visitation rights. (Source:
p.6, col.II, para. 6, lines 4 & 5, Census Bureau P-60, #173, Sept 1991.)
"40% of mothers reported that they had interfered with the
non-custodial father's visitation on at least one occasion, to punish the
ex-spouse." (Source: p. 449, col. II, lines 3-6, (citing Fulton) Frequency
of visitation by Divorced Fathers; Differences in Reports by Fathers and
Mothers. Sanford Braver et al, Am. J. of Orthopsychiatry, 1991.)
"Overall, approximately 50% of mothers "see no value in the
father`s continued contact with his children...." (Source: Surviving the
Breakup, Joan Kelly & Judith Wallerstein, p. 125)
Only 11% of mothers value their husband's input when it comes
to handling problems with their kids. Teachers & doctors rated 45%,
and close friends & relatives rated %16.(Source: EDK Associates survey
of 500 women for Redbook Magazine. Redbook, November 1994, p. 36)
"The former spouse (mother) was the greatest obstacle to
having more frequent contact with the children." (Source: Increasing our
understanding of fathers who have infrequent contact with their children,
James Dudley, Family Relations, Vol. 4, p. 281, July 1991.)
"A clear majority (70%) of fathers felt that they had too
little time with their children." (Source: Visitation and the Noncustodial
Father, Mary Ann Kock & Carol Lowery, Journal of Divorce, Vol. 8, No.
2, p. 54, Winter 1984.)
"Very few of the children were satisfied with the amount
of contact with their fathers, after divorce." (Source: Visitation and
the Noncustodial Father, Koch & Lowery, Journal of Divorce and Remarriage,
Vol. 8, No. 2, p. 50, Winter 1984.)
"Feelings of anger towards their former spouses hindered
effective involvement on the part of fathers; angry mothers would sometimes
sabotage father's efforts to visit their children." (Source: Ahrons and
Miller, Am. Journal of Orthopsychiatry, Vol. 63. p. 442, July `93.)
"Mothers may prevent visits to retaliate against fathers
for problems in their marital or post-marital relationship." (Source: Seltzer,
Shaeffer & Charing, Journal of Marriage & the Family, Vol. 51,
p. 1015, November 1989.)
In a study: "Visitational Interference - A National Study"
by Ms. J Annette Vanini, M.S.W. and Edward Nichols, M.S.W., it was found
that 77% of non-custodial fathers are NOT able to "visit" their children,
as ordered by the court, as a result of "visitation interference" perpetuated
by the custodial parent. In other words, non-compliance with court ordered
visitation is three times the problem of non-compliance with court ordered
child support and impacts the children of divorce even more.Originally
published Sept. 1992
Child Support
Information from multiple sources show that only 10% of all
noncustodial fathers fit the "deadbeat dad" category: 90% of the fathers
with joint custody paid the support due. Fathers with visitation rights
pay 79.1%; and 44.5% of those with NO visitation rights still financially
support their children. (Source: Census Bureau report. Series P-23, No.
173).
Additionally, of those not paying support, 66% are not doing
so because they lack the financial resources to pay (Source: GAO report:
GAO/HRD-92-39 FS).
The Poverty Studies Institute at the University of Wisconsin,
Madison discovered in 1993 that 52% of fathers who owe child support earn
less than $6,155 per year.
66% of single mothers work less than full time while only
10% of fathers fall into this category. In addition, almost 47% of non-custodial
mothers default on support compared with the 27% of fathers who default.
(Source: Garansky and Meyer, DHHS Technical Analysis Paper No. 42, 1991).
Total Custodial Mothers: 11,268,000. Total Custodial Fathers
2,907,000 (Source: Current Population Reports, U.S. Bureau of the Census,
Series P-20, No. 458, 1991).
66% of all support not paid by non-custodial fathers is due
to inability to pay. (Source: U.S. General Accounting Office Report, GAO/HRD-92-39FS
January 1992).
The following is sourced from: Technical Analysis Paper
No. 42, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Income
Security Policy, Oct. 1991, Authors: Meyer and Garansky.
Custodial mothers who receive a support award: 79.6%
Custodial fathers who receive a support award: 29.9%
Non-custodial mothers who totally default on support: 46.9%
Non-custodial fathers who totally default on support: 26.9%
