by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS Staff Writer (Feb. 15, 2008) A massive study conducted by Swedish researchers has concluded that active father figures play a key role in reducing behavioral problems in boys and psychological problems in young women. Researchers analyzed 20 years worth of data from more than 22,300 individuals and found that regular positive conduct reduced criminal behavior among children in low-income families and enhanced cognitive skills such as intelligence, reasoning and language development. Children who lived with both a mother and father figure also had less behavioral problems than those who just lived with their mother. “Our detailed 20-year review shows that overall, children reap positive benefits if they have active and regular engagement with a father figure,” Dr. Anna Sarkadi from the Department of Women’s and Children’s Health at Uppsala University in Sweden told the press. “For example, we found various studies that showed that children who had positively involved father figures were less likely to smoke and get into trouble with police, achieved better levels of education and developed good friendships with children of both sexes. “Long term benefits included women who had better relationships with partners and a greater sense of mental and physical well-being at the age of 33 if they had a good relationship with their father at 16.” As a result of these findings, researchers are urging healthcare professionals to increase father’s involvement in their children’s healthcare and calling on policy makers to ensure that fathers have the chance to play an active role in their upbringing. This study only adds to a mounting pile of evidence that proves the vital role an active father plays in the healthy development of his children. For instance, a 2004 study of INTERPOL crime statistics of 39 countries found a significant correlation between children living in single parent homes and involvement in violent crimes. A U.S. Census Bureau study in 2003 found that children living in father-absent homes were five times more likely to be poor. A 2005 study of 3,400 middle school children found that not living with both biological parents quadrupled the risk of having some kind of affective disorder. A 2002 Department of Justice survey of 7,000 inmates revealed that 39 percent of jail inmates lived in mother-only households. Research published in 2002 from U.S. and New Zealand researchers found that teens without fathers were twice as likely to be involved in early sexual activity and seven times more likely to get pregnant as an adolescent. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources found that children who grow up without a father are twice as likely to drop out of school. The latest Swedish study only confirms what social scientists have been saying for a long time - children need their fathers! © All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly/Women of Grace. http://www.womenofgrace.com Learn how to lead, preserve and protect your family in today’s culture. See “Healing of the Family” in our store at www.womenofgrace.com