This academic paper provides an annotated bibliography on the connection between fatherless homes, illiteracy rates, and criminal behavior. The essay reviews scholarly research on how family structure, single parenthood, and absence of fathers impact children’s education, cognitive development, poverty levels, aggression, delinquency, and broader social outcomes, offering critical insights for students and researchers.

Annotated Bibliography on Fatherless Homes, Illiteracy Rates, and Criminal Behavior

Harkness, S., Gregg, P., & Fernández‐Salgado, M. (2019). The rise in single‐mother families and children’s cognitive development: Evidence from three British birth cohorts. Child Development, 91(5). https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13342

Harkness and his colleagues researched the impact of single motherhood on children. They state that children in single-mother families have poorer outcomes on cognitive behavior. Over the years, there has been a reduction in the stigma associated with single parenthood. In conclusion, single motherhood has become more common but still harms children’s cognitive attainment due to reduced resources available. Harkness and his colleagues suggest two policies that include supporting incomes for single-parent families, especially the young ones, and address the issue of the growing gap between parents and children.

Hoffmann, J. P., & Dufur, M. J. (2018). Family social capital, family social bonds, and juvenile delinquency. American Behavioral Scientist, 62(11), 1525–1544. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764218787020

Hoffmann and Dufur base their research on social bonds on criminal behavior between parents and children during adolescence. In their conclusion, they encourage criminologists to adopt family social capital as a promising concept for understanding adolescent behavior.

Kim, S., & Glassgow, A. E. (2018). The effect of father’s absence, parental adverse events, and neighborhood disadvantage on children’s aggression and delinquency: A multi-analytic approach. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 28(5), 570–587. https://doi.org/10.1080/10911359.2018.1443866

Using a multi-analytic approach, Kim and Glassgow research the effect of a father’s absence, parental adverse events, and neighborhood disadvantage on children’s aggression and delinquency. In their findings, they established that a child’s level of aggression is influenced more by the household and neighborhood-level stable characteristics. Also, the presence and absence of the father figure influence a child’s aggression in a household.

Lu, Y.-C., Walker, R., Richard, P., & Younis, M. (2019). Inequalities in poverty and income between single mothers and fathers. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(1), 135. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17010135

Lu and his colleagues researched inequalities in poverty and income between single mothers and fathers. In conclusion, they found significant differences between single mothers and fathers in taxable income, total income, and poverty status. Vulnerable groups such as single parents are acknowledged according to income and income status.

Simmons, C., Steinberg, L., Frick, P. J., & Cauffman, E. (2018). The differential influence of absent and harsh fathers on juvenile delinquency. Journal of Adolescence, 62, 9–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2017.10.010

Simmons et al. identified father absence and harsh fathers as a contributor to juvenile delinquency in their research on the differential influence of absent and harsh fathers on juvenile delinquency. Their research finds that the group engaged with a harsh father participates in more offending behaviors than youths in the absent-father group.

Stack, R. J., & Meredith, A. (2017). The Impact of Financial Hardship on Single Parents: An Exploration of the Journey from Social Distress to Seeking Help. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 39(2), 233–242. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-017-9551-6

Stack and his partner Meredith researched the impact of financial difficulties on single parents and identified that single parents are at a high risk of financial hardship, which negatively impacts their psychological well-being. The increased risk of mental health negatively impacts the children, drastically affecting their lives, including academics and socialization.

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