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For example, children raised with significant positive father involvement display greater empathy, higher self-esteem, increased curiosity, higher verbal skills, and higher scores of cognitive competence." [7] Increasingly, the responsible fatherhood movement has defined itself by focusing on the development of healthy father-child relationships.
Studies have found that the father is a child's preferred attachment figure in approximately 5–20% of cases. [1] [2] [3] Fathers and mothers may react differently to the same behaviour in an infant, and the infant may react to the parents' behaviour differently depending on which parent performs it.
The FFCWS’s initial research questions focused on gathering information on four domains: (1) socioeconomic background of unmarried parents, especially fathers; (2) relationship patterns between unmarried parents; (3) life outcomes of children in these families; and (4) the impact of policies and environmental conditions on families and children.
Statistics show that fathers' levels of testosterone tend to decline several months before the birth of the child. Since high testosterone levels are linked to more aggressive behaviour, low levels may enhance the ability to develop a new relationship bond. [4] [5] Fathers also have an important bonding role after the child is born.
A second study also found a risk of schizophrenia in both fathers above age 50 and fathers below age 25. The risk in younger fathers was noted to affect only male children. [23] A 2010 study found the relationship between parental age and psychotic disorders to be stronger with maternal age than paternal age. [24]
The International Dictionary of Psychology defines "father figure" as "A man to whom a person looks up and whom he treats like a father." [4] The APA Concise Dictionary of Psychology offers a more extensive definition: "a substitute for a person's biological father, who performs typical paternal functions and serves as an object of identification and attachment.
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Genes in the father's reliability predict up to 40% of his positive or negative emotions toward his children. In this sense, genes contribute to a father's liking or repulsion for his children, the latter of which may result in the father's absence. However, genes are not the sole predictors of whether a father will like or dislike his child.