By Candice Madsen and Elizabeth Stuart | Posted - May 22, 2011 at 9:00 a.m.

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

Fathers are disappearing from American homes and society is feeling the impact. The Deseret News took a closer look at the issue in Sunday's paper and the topic was discussed on Sunday Edition with Bruce Lindsay.

"Women are picking up the vast majority of responsibility for children in society," said Alan Hawkins, BYU professor of Family Life.

Hawkins points to the dramatic increase in the number of children born out of wedlock as the main reason why fathers are absent. He says society has become very accepting that it is fine for a child to be raised by a single-parent.

Women are picking up the vast majority of responsibility for children in society, –Alan Hawkins

But there are consequences.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 85 percent of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes.

For Clint Eastman, a drug addiction nearly cost him his relationship with his six-year-old son.

"He and I were just really, really good friends. There was no father relationship as far as emotion was concerned," recalled Eastman.

Divorce caused Eastman's father to move out of the house when he was a teenager, which had a major impact on his life.

"At the time, I blamed a lot of my drug abuse on him. I would find excuses to use it," he said.

It's just as important. For men, still these days, raising a family is an important element of what it means to be a man. –Hawkins

Hawkins says separation from fathers puts children at higher risk for crime, substance abuse, teen pregnancy, and dropping out of high school. In fact, 71 percent of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes, according to the National Principals Association Report on the state of high schools.

Researchers point to the dramatic increase in the number of children born out of wedlock as the main reason why fathers are absent. Society has accepted that it is fine for a woman to raise a child alone.

"This is America's cowboy attitude taken to the max. It's about 'me and what I want and what feels good to me. We will deal with those consequences later,'" explained Hawkins.

Related:

Sunday Edition with Bruce Lindsay BYU professor Erin Holmes, and author and family advocate Roger Muir discuss the importance of fathers.

But research shows men need to be a mainstay as much for their kids as for themselves.

"It's just as important," said Hawkins. "For men, still these days, raising a family is an important element of what it means to be a man."

Eastman is getting his life back on track so that he and his wife will both play an integral role in their son's life.

"In the first years of his life, I didn't know how to do it different," said Eastman. "I realize now I'm doing the same thing to him that I had felt so negative toward my father about."

Watch Sunday Edition with Bruce Lindsay at 9 am on KSL 5 for information about an organization that helps dads be better dads. It was started by a local author who grew up without a father.

×

Related Links