Fatherless Homes in the United States of America
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over one-third of the children in America are growing up without their biological dad. Interestingly in the past 50 years the percentage of babies being born to unwedded mothers has jumped from 5 to 40 percent (Stuart, 2011, p.1). Sociologists have named father absence one of the most worrisome and issue related trends rising in today’s America. Since Barack Obama’s presidency he has made a special imploration to fathers asking them to take initiative in their children’s lives. Obama grew up in a single mother home and recognizes the significance of the father role. He once stated in a magazine regarding Father’s Day, “I came to understand that the hole a man leaves when he abandons his responsibility to his children is one that no government can fill. We …show more content…
In the westernized part of the world the U.S. has the highest rate of teen pregnancy and teen childbearing. Not surprisingly this accounts for 11 billion dollars per year on taxpayers due to increased health care expenses, foster care, higher incarceration rates, and lost tax revenue because of low level educational achievement and income (Barrett, 2014, p.970). Research also shows that the earlier start of sexual activity has to do with the increased chance of sexually transmitted diseases among adolescents (Barrett, 2014, p.971). The basis of this study was to compare the relationship of early aversive occurrences in the family, diagnosed psychological disorders, and juvenile delinquency to child mental health problems and adolescent pregnancy. Although the results demonstrated that adolescent childbearing is heavily correlated with mental health problems and environmental stress, the study found the strongest indicator for adolescent pregnancy was juvenile delinquency (Barrett, 2014, p.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over one-third of the children in America are growing up without their biological dad. Interestingly in the past 50 years the percentage of babies being born to unwedded mothers has jumped from 5 to 40 percent (Stuart, 2011, p.1). Sociologists have named father absence one of the most worrisome and issue related trends rising in today’s America. Since Barack Obama’s presidency he has made a special imploration to fathers asking them to take initiative in their children’s lives. Obama grew up in a single mother home and recognizes the significance of the father role. He once stated in a magazine regarding Father’s Day, “I came to understand that the hole a man leaves when he abandons his responsibility to his children is one that no government can fill. We …show more content…
In the westernized part of the world the U.S. has the highest rate of teen pregnancy and teen childbearing. Not surprisingly this accounts for 11 billion dollars per year on taxpayers due to increased health care expenses, foster care, higher incarceration rates, and lost tax revenue because of low level educational achievement and income (Barrett, 2014, p.970). Research also shows that the earlier start of sexual activity has to do with the increased chance of sexually transmitted diseases among adolescents (Barrett, 2014, p.971). The basis of this study was to compare the relationship of early aversive occurrences in the family, diagnosed psychological disorders, and juvenile delinquency to child mental health problems and adolescent pregnancy. Although the results demonstrated that adolescent childbearing is heavily correlated with mental health problems and environmental stress, the study found the strongest indicator for adolescent pregnancy was juvenile delinquency (Barrett, 2014, p.