http://my.excite.com/news/r/980821/10/odd-fathers
They found that those boys whose fathers were
absent from the household had double the odds
of being incarcerated -- even when other
factors such as race, income, parent education
and urban residence were held constant.
a correlation between absent fathers and criminal behavior
in boys. It further claims that a step-father is not a good
substitute.
Normally I would add the disclaimer that just because they
found a correlation, they do not have causation. However
this study has controlled for a number of other factors,
and so if we are to question the absence of fathers as
the causative factor, we must at least postulate another
possible causative factor which would seem likely to bring
about both absent fathers and criminal behavior in boys. I
have not found a plausible alternative to the conclusion that
fathers are important.
Robert Weverka
TWeverka@opticworks.com