EFFECTS OF CHILD WITHOUT A FATHER

It is a common belief that ¡§the decline of fatherhood is one of the most basic, unexpected, and extraordinary social trends of our time¡¨ (Tischler, 2001, p.19). However, the opposing view of this standpoint is that there is no decline in fatherhood. There are very few people saying that they doubt the fundamental importance of mothers, yet there are those that believe that the importance of a father figure is diminishing (Tischler, 2001). There are even those who see the father position in a family to be easily replaceable with another figure such as a stepfather, aunt, uncle, grandparent, or any other person (Tischler, 2001). My view on the topic of whether or not a father is needed in a family, and yes I mean the birth father, not a replacement, is based upon my own upbringing. Since I am a male and am in the position of being a potential father, it only makes sense that I see the position of the father as an instrumental one pertaining to the upbringing of a child. I am consta...