Relation of Type and Onset of Father Absence to Cognitive Development

SANTROCK, JOHN W. Relation of Type and Onset of Father Absence to Cognitive Development. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1972, 43, 455-469. Thirdand sixth-grade IQ and achievement scores were compared for 286 fatherabsent and 57 father-present white, predominantly lower-class boys and girls. Father absence was analyzed by onset, whether at 0-2, 3-5, 6-9, 10-11, or 12-13 years of the child's age, and by type, whether (a) death, (b) divorce, desertion, or separation, or (c) presence of a stepfather. While father absence due to divorce, desertion, or separation had the most negative influence in the initial 2 years of the child's life for boys and girls, father absence due to death was the most detrimental when it occurred in the 6-9