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PROBLEMS OF FATHERLESS CHILDREN:
A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF MATERNAL
ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR OF PROBLEM
CHILDREN IN FATHERLESS AND
PHYSICALLY INTACT FAMILIES
by
Richard E.Higley and James G. Lyon

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THE PROBLEMS OF FATHERLESS CHILDREN:
A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF MATERNAL ATTITUDES

AND BEHAVIOR OF PROBLEM CHILDREN IN
FATHERLESS AND PHYSICALLY INTACT FAMILIES

by
Richard E. Higley and James G. Lyon

A PROJECT REPORT

Submitted to the School of Social Work,
Michigan State University, in Partial
Fulfillment of the Requirements”

for the Degree of

MASTER or SOCIAL WORK
1960

June

APproved: 1%égfiékdgl“¢éé~t

Chairman, Research Committee

   

DirectOr‘of

 

 

 

 

 

 

[31$ng

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

With sincere appreciation the writers wish to

acknowledge the helpful guidance of Dr. Max Bruck, and
.Mr. Arnold Gurin, members of the project committee;
also, Miss Arlie Bennett and Miss Ruth Kohler, field
work supervisors, and the other staff members of the
Kalamazoo and Lansing Child Guidance Clinics, who have
helped to make this project possible. The writers also
wish to give special recognition to their wives for their
patience, understanding and help during the preparation
of this study. Finally, the writers wish to express
their gratitude to their typist, Mrs. Carol Bickenbach,

who has put considerable effort and time into the finished

project.

ii

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

LIST or TABLES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CHAPTER
I. INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE. . . . . . . . .
III. METHODOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
IV. PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA . . . .
V. IMPLICATIONS OF THE ONE-PARENT FAMILY . .
VI. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
BIBLIOGRAPHY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
APPENDIX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

111'

11

iv

14
28
44
74

78

82
85

10.

11.

12.

13.
14.

15.

16.

LIST OF TABLES

Sex differences of children in
total sample . . . . . . . . . .

Mean age of children and mothers in
total sample . . . . . . . . . .

Religion of child . . . . . . . .
Ordinal position of child . . . .

Percentage of age distribution of
children according to sex. . . .

Intelligence of children. . . . . .
Education of mothers. . . . . . . .
Predominant maternal attitudes. . .
Comparison of type problem. . . . .

Predominant maternal attitude and

type problem . . .H. . . . . . ._

Percentage distribution of problems
according to age group . . . . .

Percentage of conduct disorders
according to sex . . . . . . . .

Absence of fathers. . . . . . . . .
Father's contact with child . . . .

Age of child at time of father-
separation . . . . . . . . . . .

Age of child at father-separation
and type problem . . . . . . . .

iv

Page

44

45
46
47

A8
50
51
52
53

55

S7

58
58
59

60

61

 

l7.

18.

I9.
20.

21.

22.

23.

LIST OF TABLES (continued)

Time interval between father-
separation and referral to clinic

Source of income for mothers
in the study group . .

O O O O 0

Number of children in family.

Referral source of child.

Psychiatric diagnostic classification
of children. . .

Percentage distribution of conduct
disorders according to psychiatric
diagnoses. . . . . . .

O O O O 0

Clinic recommendation for children.

63

65 ,

68
69

7O

72

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

In recent years there has been a growing awareness
of the psychological role of the father in the personal
and social adjustment of the child. 0. Spurgeon English,1
in an article referring to this psychological role,
mentioned the need for research in this area and sug-
gested that in part, this might be accomplished through
a study of fatherless families.

In discussing the role of the father, English2
and Josselyn3 as well, point out that one of the father's
principal functions is to provide support for his wife
in her role as mother. .If this be true, then there may
well be in fatherless families, where this support
is lacking, a change in the role of the mother and the

pattern of her mothering; this change may create difficulties

 

1O. Spurgeon English, ”The Psychological Role of the
Father in the Family," 1§25i5;_§ggggg;§, Vol.XXXV, 1954,328.

2English, Ibig., p. 325.

3Ir J l "The P5 cholo of Fatherliness ” faith
Co ene osse yn, y , VoI? 26 (1956) pp. - .

2
for the development of one or more of her children.
Ruth J. Peterson, in an article entitled, "Under-
standing the Reactions of Fatherless Families," speaks
of the difficulties that fatherless youngsters have as
resulting from "the lack of emotional balance" in
these families:
"The high proportion of children in
fatherless families who come to the attention
of social agencies and public authorities
because of learning problems, poor social
adjustment, or anti-social or delinquent
behavior, is indicative of the lack of emo-
tional balance within such families. This lack
in turn, has disrupted the normal processes

of emotional growth £or the individual mem-
bers of the family." '

Assuming then, that one of the father's principal
' functions in the family is to provide physical and
emotional support for the mother, it must be concluded”
that without the presence of the father, the mother's
role is likely to change; further, this changed role
may well interfere with the mother-child interrelation-
ships and affect the child's personal and social

adjustment.

 

4Ruth J. Peterson, "Understanding the Reactions of

Fatherless Families," The Signifiicagce of the Fathgg,
New York: Family Service Association of America, (1959)

3
From these assumptions three major hypotheses

were drawn:

1. Amother from a one-parent family, being
deprived of the emotional and physical
support of her husband, will reflect this
loss in a rejecting attitude toward her child.

2. The child from the fatherless family will
display a significantly greater amount
of aggression and/or conduct disorder than a
child from a physically intact family.

3. Aggressive behavior or conduct disorders
‘will occur more frequently in the cases
in which the mother has a rejecting attitude.

A study of fatherless children, and the inter-

relationship of child and mother in such circumstances,
‘would appear to have many values: (I) findings
hapefully would show a pattern of dynamics that would
assist in diagnostic assessments_of the problems of
both mothers and children of fatherless families;

(2) findings would provide the social planner'with'

- information to asSist in alleviation and prevention of
the problems of such families; and, (3) the study would
be a supplement to present knowledge about the signifi-
cance of the father in the family.

It seemed logical that a study of such families

might well begin in the Child Guidance setting, since
children experiencing difficulties in personality

development would likely be seen there. In field work

4

placement at the Lansing and Kalamazoo Child Guidance
Clinics the writers had the Opportunity to examine the
case records of fatherless children, reviewing both
factual face sheet data about the family and its make-up,
and the relationships and family difficulties revealed
in the case material. From these settings, it was
possible to assess and analyze the difficulties of this
atypical, though not uncommon, family pattern, and to
compare the findings of each clinic. The use of the two.
clinics was seen as an advantage in that comparable
findings would thus be more generalizable and significant.

Since the Lansing and Kalamazoo Clinics are both'
organizations whose major framework is set up by the
State Department of Mental Health, their programs and
operational procedures are similar in many respects.
Therefore, to simplify the presentation of the clinical
settings in which this study was conducted, the program
of the Lansing Child Guidance Clinic will be presented
in detail and this presentation will be followed by a
presentation of those aspects of the Kalamazoo program
which differ from the administrative procedures and make-
up of the Lansing Clinic.

The Lansing Child Guidance Clinic offers diagnostic

and treatment services on an°out-patient basis for

5

children showing emotional difficulty in that they are
unable to adjust adequately to their homes, school,

- community or selves. ‘Whenever possible, both the parents
and the child are seen in order to affect an adjustment
in all concerned. This procedure is warranted by the
relative ineffectiveness of treating the childonly,
inasmuch as he normally returns to the family milieu.

In general, the clinic fosters children's mental health
by providing information and educational services for the
general public through program.planning, presenting
public lectures, or leading group discussions. The
clinic not only participates in community planning

and coordination, but also provides consultation services
with other agencies, including physicians. These include
consultations regarding other agency cases, consulta-
tions with agencies regarding other problems of a general
nature, interpretation of clinic policy to agencies,
attendance at staff meetings of other community agencies,
and annual meetings with coincidental reports.

The clinic, formerly known as Lansing Children's
Center, Inc., was opened in 1938 by the Ingham County
Council of Social welfare and became a branch.of Michigan's
Mental Health Program. This step resulted froma survey

by the National Probation Association relative to the

6

prevention of delinquency, a pattern characteristic of
the child guidance movement in general. Its function
was essentially diagnosis, treatment, prevention,
and education.5

The clinic is a joint state and local project
supported by funds received from state taxes through the
Michigan Department of Mental Health and local sources,
e.g., the Community Chest, school boards, and boards of
supervisors. An advisory board, composed of citizens of
the area served, acts as a liaison between the com-
munity and the professional staff. Inherent in the
duties of the Board is the reaponsibility for the
raising of local funds. The Clinic does not utilize the
fee system, but gifts to the Clinic by those served are
accepted.6

Referrals are accepted from the four counties
which the clinic is designated to serve: Ingham,.Eaton,

Clinton, and Livingston.

5Marcella Jean.Cast, "A Child Guidance Clinic as a
Social Resource in a Small Metropolitan Community"
(Unpublished Project for Master's Degree, Department of
Social‘Wbrk, Michigan State College, 1947).

6Marouf Hasian and Franklyn Hosek, ”A Comparative
Study of Psychosocial Characteristics of Parents of
Sixty Families Who Continued or did not Continue
Recommended Treatment at the Lansing Child Guidance
Clinic" (Unpublished Project for Master's Degree, School
of Social Work, Michigan State University, 1959).

7

Referrals are accepted for children from birth until
they graduate from high school or through the age of
sixteen, if they no longer attend school. .

AThe team approach is employed by the professional
staff composed of a psychiatrist-director, a half-time
psychiatrist, four psychiatric social workers, two
.psychologists, three students in social work, and two
students in psychology;

Only problems which indicate that a child has
some emotional difficulty are accepted as referrals;
whereas other problems, such as a severe organic dif-
ficulty, are considered as inquiries. Frequently the
referrals are made by a physician, a school, or other
agency. In such instances, the parents are encouraged to
personally contact the agency. After the referral is
made, it is reviewed by the chief psychiatric social
‘worker, administrative assistant, who:

1. may call the parents for further information or
discussion and may refer them to another agency;

2. may call the original referral source for further
information or discussion;

3. may obtain further information from community
agencies and institutions, if permission is granted by

the parents;

8

4. may, depending on whether or not the.re£erral is
a typical one, decide the approximate time for the
diagnostic study;

5. and may occasionally assign a case to a social
worker for one or more interviews with the parent for
clarification of the difficulty so that an appropriate
disposition may be made, such as referral to another
community agency or planning for further clinic service.

The referral is then placed on the diagnostic
evaluation waiting list. Appointments for the intake
process or diagnostic study, which includes the interview
‘with the parents by the psychiatric social worker,
psychiatric examination of the child by the psychiatrist,
and psychological testing of the child by the psychologist,
are scheduled according to the problem involved and/or
community concern. -

A new referral may be seen within a week, two weeks,
a month, or perhaps not for a year. ‘The waiting period
is due to the large area served and the many children
referred compared to the size of the staff. 'New
referrals are generally categorized as "emergency”, "ahead“,
"regular". An attempt is made to apportion time among
the three categories. .Approximately six diagnostic'

studies are completed a'weeks While an attempt is made

 

9

to schedule two emergencies, two ahead, and two regular,
this is often altered by the following points:

1. Re-referrals are seen ahead.

2. Long standing chronic cases may need to wait
a longer period of time.

3. Emergency situations are put in as soon as pos-
sible. This may refer to children with acute anxiety
attacks, acute depression, uncontrollable behavior, etc.

a. Community agencies, who are referring for
further study and recommendations, are generally sched-
uled within a month to two months and according to the
time when the agency reports are received by the clinic.

The diagnostic study is completed within one to
four weeks. Each case is then staffed by the team
members involved within one to four weeks following '
the completion of the study. Members from other com-
munity resources, with permission of the parents, are
invited to the staff conference. These include Visiting
Teachers, Family Service, Court, and others. School
personnel and community representatives not trained in
case service come to the last half hour of the staff
conference after confidential material has been dis-
_cussed by the staff. One hour is scheduled for each

staff conference, the purpose of which is to reach a

10
tentative diagnosis and makeplans for helping the child.
The parents are seen by the social‘worker within one to
two weeks after the staff conference for a discussion of
clinic findings and recommendations.

The program of the Kalamazoo Child Guidance Clinic
is essentially the same as that of the Lansing Clinic;
only the major differences in history, organization and
program will be cited here. I

Established in 1942 under the name of the Kalamazoo
Children's Center, the program served a nine county
area of Southwestern Michigan. This area was later cut
down to the present five county service area of Allegan,
Barry, VanBuren, St. Joseph and Kalamazoo counties.

The staff now includes: a psychiatrist-director, a

chief psychiatric social worker, who is also administrative
assistant, a half-time psychiatrist, a psychologist,

three social workers, three student social workers, and

a half-time volunteer Speech therapist.

In the year 1959, support for the program was
garnered from forty-six different local sources in
addition to the State Department of Mental Health;
primary among these sources were the boards of supervisors
of the five counties, the boards of education, and the

Community Chests within the area.

ll

By assignment of a particular staff worker to each
county for purposes of liaison and communication, an
attempt has been made by the clinic to personalize its
relationship with the counties served, and with the
referral sources within these counties. Further, still
attempting to provide more service, the clinic has
inaugurated the use of pre-intake forms to the parents,
the physician, and the teacher of the child. The parents--
alone decide whether or not they wish to use these forms”
and service is not denied if they elect not to send the
'questionnaires to the physician and the teacher.

The waiting period from the time of referral of the
problem.to the Clinic until intake varies from three to
six months, depending on the county involved. Those
counties presenting the greatest need for service, as
measured by the number of referrals, will have the
greatest number of new cases seen per month. This wait-
ing list, and the number of new cases seen per year, is
further controlled by the use of a "screening*week”
which is held semi-annually, or as needed to maintain a
constant level of new cases per year. "Screening week“
is a week in which regular treatment interviews are
suspended and all new cases are seen by the staff, to

determine the need for service by the clinic, referral to

12
other more appropriate agencies or interpretation and
closing of the case. Approximately five hundred new
cases are seen annually, or ten cases per week.

Two waiting lists are maintained by the clinic:
the regular list and the emergency list; the emergency
list is composed of problems in which the child is
potentially dangerous to himself or others, or in which '
the child is, for one reason or another, staying away
from or being excluded from regular school attendance.

As in the Lansing Clinic, the diagnostic Study
consists of psychiatric social history, psychological
examination, and psychiatric evaluation; however, this
year, speech evaluation has been used to provide a new
dimension to the study of each child seen. This total
clinical evaluation involves about six and a half hours
of professional staff time and takes from one to three
weeks to accomplish.

However, not every child is seen for full diagnostic
study. The social worker, who sees the parent at intake,
together with the psychologist, who has examined the child
determine the need for psychiatric evaluation. If
they feel that the problem is inappropriate for clinic
service, they may refer the family to another, more

appropriate agency. If they feel that the dynamics of

13
the situation are clear and adequately understood, they
may have the case assigned for treatment in the clinic.
Or they may make interpretation and suggestions to the
parents and close the case, if this appears to be indicated.

In the event that the social worker and the pay-
chologist send the case on to the psychiatrist for
evaluation, they include their own evaluations of the
case and their recommendations. The psychiatrist, after
making his own evaluation and considering the recommenda-
tions of the other disciplines, makes the case recommenda-
tions. No formal staffing is held unless one of the
members of the clinic team requests it.

As in the Lansing Clinic, diaposition of cases after
diagnostic study is dependent upon the findings and
recommendations of the study. In the event that the
case is to be kept for treatment within the clinic, the
administrative assistant makes assignment of the parent
or parents to one staff person, and of the child to a
second staff person; any one of the disciplines may be
assigned to do treatment. Treatment interviews are
generally bidweekly, although, at the discretion of the

worker, they may be scheduled more often.

CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

"If the old bird dies, the eggs are addled."

- Ama-Xosa, a Bantu tribe proverb

Numerous studies related to the present study,
reflect a growing concern in the general area of mother-
child relationships when the father is permanently absent
from the home. Much of the literature on parent-child
relationships is nonexperimental in.nature. On the whole
it lacks the preciSion and the accuracy that is neces-
sary for diagnosis, therapy, and prediction. However, it
is suggestive of trends in the relatidnships between the

l

child's home environment and his behavior. Schaefer and

Bell2 point out that the current intereSt in the influence
of the parent-child relationships upon the personality

development of the child has arisen primarily through

LMarian J. Radke, The Relation 9f Parentgl Authgrity

' t2 Childggg' g fighavigr and Attitudes, (Minneapolis: The
University of Minnesota Press, 1946) p.3

2Earl S. Schaefer  and Richard Q. Bell, "Development
of a Parental Attitude Research Instrument”,g;i1d_
Develogmgn t, Vol. XXIX, No. 3, (September, 1958) p. 339.

it.

15
studies of families by child guidance clinics.

One such study, done at the Judge Baker Guidance
Center in Boston, compared twenty problem boys who lived
alone with their mothers with a control group of twenty
problem boys who lived with both parents. It was found
that more of the boys living with their mothers tended
to be delinquent in their behavior and aggressive in
their personalities. Those living with both parents
tended to be inhibited, socially or intellectually, in
their behavior and withdrawn in their personalities.3

In another study, done at the Worcester Youth
Guidance Center, Wylie and Delgado4 were impressed by
similarities in a number of cases of aggressive, father-
less boys. Their study of twenty cases revealed that
nearly all of the boys did poorly in school, half were
enuretic, and one-fourth soiled. The absent fathers
were looked upon by the mothers as being bad; the boys were

viewed as being like their fathers, and assumed some of

the father's role in the home. The relationship between

 

3Ruth E. Allen, “Problem Boys Who Lived Alone with

Their Mothers", Smith Cgllege Studigs in Sggial Uggk,
Vol. XIII (1942), p. 157.

4Howard L. Wylie and Rafael A. Delgado, "A Pattern
of Mother-Son Relationships Involving the Absence of the
Father", Ame i an J 1 o rtho s. i t , Vol. XXIX
(July, 1959) pp. 644-46.

____.,-____ .-- -.-. —-.v

16

mother and son was intense, highly sexualized and full of
hostility. In some cases it was noted that mother and
son wrestled together, and in almost half of the cases,
mother and son slept together. It was also concluded
that the mothers came for help only at times of crisis
and under external pressure; most of them discontinued
treatment early. Those who remained were Very difficult
to treat. “ 1

In addition to clinical studies of father-separated
homes, the broken home has been studied by researchers
seeking the causes of delinquency. In their findings
they conclude that the broken home is relatively in-

5

significant in relation to delinquency. Sherman found

that only about twenty-five percent of the children in
broken homes present problems, from the standpoint of

the clinic, and Hirsch6 reported that the proportion of
siblings who are delinquent among cases from broken homes

is about the same as the proportion among cases from

unbroken homes. Campbell7 found that neither school

sBaruch Sherman, "The Behavior of Children from
Broken Homes". WW.
V01. v (Jane, 1 pp. 1-1 . ,. 4 -

6N. D. M. Hirsch, ic u 3 J v 11 1 ,
(Cambridge: Sci-Art, 1937).

7Marian Campbell, ”The Effect of Broken Home upon
the Child in School", Journal of Edggatigggl Sggiglggy,

' Vol. V. (Jan., 1932) pp. 274-281.

17
achievement nor conduct was affected appreciably by a
break in the home after the immediate stress had passed.
Although coming from a broken home was not in
itself felt to be very significant, the quality of the
parent-child relationship was considered to be of crucial

8 concluded that defective discipline

importance. Burt
was present six and nine-tenths times as frequently in
the homes of delinquents as of non-delinquents. Included
among the forms of defective discipline was the lack of
discipline due to the absence of the parent. The Gluecks9
found "unsuitable" supervision by the mother in the homes
of sixty.four percent of the delinquent children and in
the homes of only thirteen percent of the non-delinquents.
Since the most extensive and intensive social inter-
actions of the child during crucial developmental stages
occur within the family and eSpecially with the mother,
the mother-child relationship is of major importance in
personality development. The importance of maternal

attitudes to the development of the child has been

generally accepted.

W

scyril Burt. WW. Fourth Edition.
(London: University of London Press, 1944).

9Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck, W
Dglinguengy, (New York: The Commonwealth Fund, 1950)
pp. 113, 131.

 

18

Bettelheimlo has pointed out that if
parents, who rigidly attempt to impose acceler-
ated developmental goals upon children, are
told that early toilet-training is undesir-
able, they may delay such training but may
continue to accelerate the child in talking,
reading, and other important areas of
development. This example illustrates that

an underlying attitude may influence a great
variety of parent behaviors.

Nonexperimental reports agree that the influence of
the home is exceedingly great in the life of the child
because of the primacy, perVasiveness, and long duration
of its contacts with him.12 Teagarden13 states that ". .
all manner of behavior deviations can be and often are
accounted for by the subtleties of home relationships."

In conjunction.with the above, Gardner14 has pointed
out that changes may frequently occur in the maternal
attitude toward the child following separation from the

husband. Included among these changes were: (1) the child

10B.Bette1heim, "Mental Health and Current Mares”,

Amerigag g ouggal of gr thgpgychiatry, Vol. XXII (1952),
pp. 76'78. - '

11Schaefer and Bell, 0 'it , p. 340.

12Radke, op, git,, p. 3..

~13F. Teagarden, i d Ps c 010 as
Eggkggg, (New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1940), p. 229.

14George E. Gardner, ”Separation of the Parents and
the Emotional Life of the Child", Mgntgl Hygieng, Vol.
XL (1956) PPo 60'61.

 

.- --_. .- . _ E __ mfi— T — m'W—_ w

19
may suddenly become an economic or social burden; (2)
the presence of the child may be a continuing example to
the mother of her own deficienciesnnotably her failure
in her attempt to maintain a home, to satisfy a husband,
to be a completely adequate wife and mother; the child

becomes a continual reminder and reactivator of these

 

doubts and fears; and (3) directly associated with

these changed attitudes toward the child is the tendency
for the mother to identify the child with the absent '
husband, and particularly to identify the child with‘
all the bad and undesirable aspects of the father‘s
makeeup. ‘In short, the child may becdme an economic,
social, and emotional burden to the mother and he

begins to realize it. In most instances this child will
fight back with hyperaggressiveness, hostility, and
insubordination.. 0n the other hand, it sometimes happens
that the mother's changed attitude is one of increased
acceptance and overwhelming devotion to the child. In
her attempt to show herself as an adequate parent, she
may become oversolicitous and overprotective of the
child. In the absence of the father, the child becomes
"the single, all-inclusive, libidinal investment that

the mother makes, to the exclusion of an investment of

any part of herself in other peeple or other interests."

20

Levyls indicated that maternal overprotectiveness
may take several forms: "where maternal overprotection
is primarily and successfully domineering in character,
submissive traits result~-obedience, authority-acceptance,
dependence on others; in boys, effeminacy; When pri-
marily indulgent in character, aggressive traits result
--authority-reception, commanding, bullying, and'lime-
light' behavior." “

Greenbaum16 concluded that the behavior of rejected
Children was more extreme than that of their non-rejected
siblings; that the presence of a maternal feeling of
rejection toward children who were referred to a clinic
was a major factor in the development of behavior
pathology.

Zimmerman,17 treating the problems of five and six
year old children, stated that the aggressive children

tended to have overprotecting or rejecting mothers; the

 

15David Levy,WA.Method of Integrating Physical and
Psychiatric Examination, with Special Studies of Body
Interest, Overprotection, Response to Growth and Sex
Differences". WW. V01. 1x
(July, 1929) pp. 169-170.

16Richard S. Greenbaum, “The Influence of Certain _
Maternal Attitudes on the Behavior of Rejected Children,"

Dissertation Abstract (University of Florida (1954). p. 2124.

17A. Zimmerman, “Parental Adjustment and Attitudes
in Relation to the Problems of Five and Six.Year Old

Children,” 31th College §tudigs in Social work, Vol. I
(1931), pp. 406- 07.

21
timid children, oversolicitous or overanxious mothers.
Figge18 pointed out from a study of maternal rejection,
that the problems for which the rejected child was
referred were more frequently of the aggressive, rebel-
lious type. Gorlow and Katkovsky19 stated that for
most cases labeled ”rejection", the actual treatment was
likely to be indifference and denial of affection,
rather than an active dislike for the child. Various
studies of rejection by parents seemed agreed that the
result is likely to be an aggressiVe, suspicious,
destructive child.

English pointed out that in order for mothers to
develop proper and consistent attitudes toward their
children, there are certain contributions that a father
should make.

In his role he may not seem to be directly
"fathering" his children-~yet actually he is
doing so. His strength.and power are passing
through the mother to the child or children.

He is keeping her in the mood for her job by

consistently providing material comfort for

her through his labor. He gives her security
and freedom from anxiety about food, clothing,

 

18M. Figge, “The Etiology of Maternal Rejection: A
Study of Certain Aspects of the Mother's Life", W
College Studies in Social'Work, Vol. I (1931), p. 407.

19Leon Gorlow andNWalter Katkovsky, Readings in the

Psychology of Adjustment, (New York:'McGraw-Hill Book
Company, Inc., 1959) p. 278.

22

and shelter. Further, he shows an interest
in her activity, her creativeness, her work,
and her needs, both emotional and physical.
He loves "her" in that he satisfies her, stimu-
lates her, comforts her, and assists her in
the realization of her personality. This he
does uniquely, as a male, in the fulfillment
of his role in society. A maid, a sister, a
friend, or a mother can perform these duties
only partially, and it is neither socially ac-
ceptable nor biologically consistent for them
to be done by a person other than the father
of her child.

Since the pattern of society is heterosexual,
a woman, if she is normal, can accomplish a
more complete emotional fulfillment and wholesome
personality growth through the father of her
child than from any other source.

Therefore, the father cannot afford to be a nonentity
in the family. He cannot leave child rearing to a
' strictly feminine environment. Such an environment
would be likely to produce distorted personalities.
English further suggests that there are at least eight
variants of the father's role:
1. Companion and inspiration for the mother;
2. Ego ideal for masculine love, ethics, and morality;
3. Awakener of the emotional potential of his child;
4. Beloved friend and teacher to his child;
5. Model for social and vocational behavior;
6. Stabilizing influence for solution of the oedipus

complex;

 

——1
——

200. Spurgeon English, "The Psychological Role of the
Father in the Family," Sgcial gasework, Vol. XXXV, 1954,
p. 325. '

23
7. Protector, mentor, and hero for the grade school
child; and

8. Counselor and friend for the adolescent.21

22 stated that to give consistently to

Bartemeier
her child the love which he needs, a woman needs the
consistent love of her husband and the certainty of his
love for their child.

Gardner23

stated that parental relationships are
necessary to the child in the formation of both his
concept of self and his concept of human beings. He
selected for consideration the deleterious effect of a
prolonged or permanent father absence upon these concepts,
since the prototype of the broken home is that where the
father is absent and the mother has the sole care of

the children. In talking about father-separated children,
he points out multi-conflicts which beset the children

at various stages of development when they realize

that they are different from other children. They are

different in the sense that they have no fathers living

Zlihia., pp. 323-29.

22L. Bartemeier, "The Contribution of the Father to

the Mental Health of the Family," IDS Aggricgn Jggznal
W. Vol. ex. 1953. p. 279.

23Gardner, 9;, git,, pp. 53-59.

24
in the home. The father, who left the home when the
child was younger than three years of age, leaves the
child with thoughts of worthlessness and gives him a
warped picture of reality and the male figure. The child
feels that he must have been and still is of little worth
or his father would never have left. There is also a‘
questioning of the absolute worth of his mother, for
she too was left. This effect is compounded when the
mother attempts to explain the father's absence to the
child. Insecurity prevails. The child feels that if
the father can abandon the family, the mother may also
do the same. There is also the possible deduction that
the child thinks that he is the cause of the parental
separation. In adolescence, there is another surge of‘
anxiety, if the mother has given the child a spurious
explanation as to the cause of-the father's absence,
such as telling the child that the father is dead when
he actually deserted or divorced. The adolescent may
wonder if he is an illegitimate child..:

Gardner further stated that to the child at-any age
--and particularly in earliest childhood-~the parents
are the source of life itself in the form of food and
clothes--the one single factor of basic significance in
establishing within him a sense of security and in

indicating probable continuing survival. He predicates

25

his physical integrity, including later his sense of
anatomical integrity, upon the presence of parents,
who will care for his bodily needs and will protect him
from aggressive and mutilative attacks by others. Having
experienced the trauma of a broken home, the child will
be forced to consider love relationships as extremely
conditional and capricious, and his reluctance to enter-
himself into such relationships and his attitude toward
them when he does may be patternized at the time of his
parents' separation and lead to considerable future
distress.

The case of a young boy of five years was presented

by Margaret L. Meiss24

as a psychoanalytic interpre-
tation of a child who lost his father during the oedipal
period. This particular child, suffering from severe
insomnia, anxiety about his mother, and obsessive thoughts
about his angry father, lost his father through death I
when.he was three years and three months of age. Aggrese
sive feelings toward the father had already been present.
Analysis revealed that the child conceived of his father

as an omniscient, angry, and avenging figure who dis;

approved of masturbation and threatened castration. He

-_._

“v

24Margaret L. Meiss, "The Oedipal Problem of a. .
Fatherless Child," The figxghgggglytic Stgdy of the guild,.
Vol. VII (New York: International Universities Press, Inc.,
1952) pp. 216-29.

26

also thought of his father as reunited with the mother
at night (hence the insomnia), and he felt that this
reunion would eventually become permanent and take his
mother from him forever. This study presented the
dynamics resulting from the loss of the father during the
period of the child's life when he felt omnipotent.
Tremendous guilt resulted from his destructive desires.

In summary, then, the literaturehas emphasized
the importance of the home experience, and particularly,'
the quality of the mother-child relationship in the
development of the child. The mother-child relationship
' was found to be of more importance than the broken home.

The most frequently discussed maternal attitude
--rejection--was seen by most authors as leading to
aggression, hostility, and rebelliousness in the child
and was considered a major factor in behavior pathology.
Overprotectiveness, too, was seen as resulting in domina-
ting, aggressive behavior. Levy, however, sees over-
protectiveness as either dominating or submissive, the
former leading to submissive behavior on the part of the
child, and the latter, to dominating behavior.

Fathering is seen as essential to the mother's role
with the child, as well as with providing the child with

a masculine ideal and model. He also is seen as the

27

provider and stabilizer of the total family constellation.
His role is further defined as essential to the child's
concept of self and self-worth, playing a significant
part in the socialization and in the ability of the child
to enter into relationships with others.

In the absence of the father, the mother's role
in the development of the child takes on even greater
significance. In the few studies in which this role was
assessed, a hostile and often highly sexualized relation-
ship was encountered, with aggressive and rebellious
behavior most often resulting in the children. The
majority of the writers felt that a probable change had
occured in the maternal attitude as a result of the
loss of the husband and father, and the concommitant loss
of physical and emotional support. Actual change in
maternal attitude was not really demonstrated in any of

these studies.

CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY

5 cti f a es for

After having reviewed the current thinking on the
subject it was felt that fatherless families could be:
studied best in comparison with families in which the
father was present. It was also decided, after survey-
ing the records of fatherless families in each clinic,
that all of the fatherless children whose cases were
Opened and closed between January 1, 1956 and December 31,
1958 should be included in the study group. A control
group of 40 cases was selected at random from this same
period of time, 20 cases from each clinic.

In the study group only those cases were included
in which there was no father in the home at the time of
referral to the clinic. The term, "father", was inter-
preted to mean no father, step-father, grandfather or
other male living in the home with whom the child might
relate, as a father-figure or father-substitute. Secondly,

only those cases which had received a complete diagnostic

28

 

29

study were included for study in either group. (A
complete diagnostic study included: a psychiatric social
history, a psychological examination, and a psychiatric
evaluation.) The number of cases seen during 1956 to
1958 which met the requirements for inclusion in the
study group was ninety-one; forty-five of these cases
were from the Lansing Child Guidance Clinic, and forty-
six cases were from the Kalamazoo Child Guidance Clinic.

In selecting the control group sample, only those
‘were included in which the child‘s natural father and
mother were present in the home at the time of referral.
Thus, all cases were eliminated in which there was a
step-mother, a step-father, or adaptive parents.

a ti 8 du .

The schedule was devised jointly by both.writers.
It was divided into three main categories: (1) general
information (face sheet data), (2) inter-disciplinary
recorded material of parent-child relationships as meas-
ured by certain psychosocial factors, and (3) clinic
assessment (closing sheet data). In devising the
schedule, the writers analyzed a number of cases indi-
vidually, selecting all the responses or items appro-
priate to the questions being asked, e. g., employment,

ADC, alimony, etc. as items essential to any question

—-—-—-—v—— "—" "' .“ """‘""
, - ‘qi - —~ «--—— -

30
regarding source of income of the mother. Secondly,
five cases were selected at random and were analyzed
by each writer to assure consistency and common inter-
pretation of items.

The face sheet included ten items of information:-
parents' age, religion and education; child's age, sex,
religion, ordinal position in the family, and number of
children living in the home; problem(s) for which the
child was referred and the source of referral. In some
cases, various items of information on the face sheet
were not recorded. In such instances, the classification
"not recorded" was added to the identifying categories.

Parents' ages were recorded in terms of the age
given on the date of intake. “Religion" was classified
into: Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Other.
"Education" was classified into the following: elementary,
some high school, high school, some college, and college.

With regard to the child's age, the age intervals
used were calculated according to the age of the child
on the date of intake. The classification, used for
recording the child's "ordinal position" in the family
‘was as follows: oldest, youngest, intermediate, and only.
In conjunction with this, the number of children in each

home was listed and grouped according to numerical intervals.

 

31
Such a measure would point out a reality factor which the
woman without a husband must face.

The presenting problem was based on the Michigan
State Department of Mental Health classification. This
classification includes the following categories:

1. Conduct Disorder--anti-social behavior, in-

cluding truancy, stealing, defiance, running

away, temper tantrums, cruelty, overly aggressive

behavior, and sex offenses.

2. Habit Disorders--enuresis, nail biting,
thumb-sucking, masturbation and tics.

3. Personality Problem-ochronic unhappiness,

pre-psychotic symptoms including withdrawal,

day dreaming, depression, fears, anxiety,

inferiority and poor social adjustment.

4. Learning and DevelOpmental Problem--for

educational disabilities, (such as slowness in

academic learning or special subject disa-
bilities).

5. Functional-~any physical complaint without

an organic condition, such as blindness or

anesthesia.

6. Other.

Classifications used for determining the source of
referral were as follows: physician, parent, self,
school, juvenile court, publicagency, private agency,
police department, and other. In one case, a fourteen .
year old girl referred herself. The parents were later

seen for diagnostic study.

Items furnished by the recorded case material

 

‘-
;‘_

32
included: mother's source of income, reason for the
father's absence, father's contact with family, child's
age at the time of father separation, intelligence,
sleeping arrangements, and maternal attitude.

The mother's source of income included the following:
employment only, ADC only, ADC and employment, employ-
ment and other, ADC and other, and other only.

The reason for the father's absence was classified
according to death, divorce, desertion, separation,
prison, mental hOSpitaI, and unwed mother. In no case
was the father's absence due to military service. The
. father's contact with the family was categorized as:
frequent contact (regular), some contact (erratic),
and no contact.

The child's age at the time of father separation
was grouped in age intervals as follows: Pre-natal to
five years, six to eight years, nine to eleven years,
twelve to fourteen years, and unknown.

The child's intelligence was categorized as follows:
very superior (I30 and up), superior (120-129), bright
normal (110-119), average (90-109), dull normal (80-89),
borderline (70-79), and mentally defective (69 and below).

The child's sleeping arrangements consisted of the

following categories: own bedroom, shares bedroom with~

 

I...

33
siblings, shares bedroom with mother, shares bed with
mother, and unknown.

"Clinic assessment"'consisted of two main categories:
diagnostic classification and recommendation. The "
diagnostic classification was considered to be one of
the most important items on the schedule, for this
(assessment could only be made after evaluation of the
professional contributions of each of the three dis-
ciplines. The diagnostic classification was the out- .
come of a total evaluation of the child in relationship
to his environment, and is therefore necessarily
differentiated from the categories used to order the
presenting problems (conduct, habit, personality,
etc.). The diagnostic classification was broken down
into ten categories: brain syndrome with convulsive
disorder, all other brain syndromes, mental deficiency,
psychotic disorder, psychosomatic disorder, psychoneuro-
tic disorder, personality disorder, situational personali-
'ty disorder, essentially healthy,and undiagnosed. In
no case was there found the diagnosis "essentially
healthy".

Clinic "recommendation" was classified according
to three categories: treatment, referral to other

agency or resource, and interpretation only.

34

Ma erna ttitude

Both writers conceived of the "maternal attitude"
as an acquired tendency of a mother to react toward
her child in a constant manner. Each attitude,
then, is indicative of a need-disposition on the
.part of the mother, and reflects emotional, cognitive,
and motivational elements.1

The maternal attitude was rated by the use of
two scales. The first scale (Figure 1) measured the
amount of rejection or acceptance shown by a mother
toward the child referred for help; the second scale
(Figure 2) measured the amount of control exercised
over the child or the amount of autonomy permitted

the child.

Fig. l. -The Dimension of Love Vs. Hostility

 

Rejecting Accepting
Vergf Someahat Someahat ‘ Very
. Rejecting Rejecting ~. Accepting ~ Accepting

Fig. 2. - The Dimension of Autonomy Vs. Control

 

Controlling Autonomous
Very» Somehhat Somewhat Very _‘
Controlling Controlling ‘ Autonomous Autonomous

On the basis of interviews recorded by the staff

persons,who had seen the mother in the clinics,each

fl ‘—

lSchaefer and Bell, g2, cit,, p. 340.

35

mother in the total sample were rated for their attitudes
on each of the two scales. Value judgement of the rater
was used to select the predominant attitude described in
the case material. In those instances where it appeared
that neither of the polar attitudes on a given scale
predominated, the mother's attitude was classified as
inconsistent. Such a classification occurred only
once in each of the groups studied.

In arriving at quasi-definitions of the various
positions on each scale, the writers read through
a number of cases, selecting from the records descrip-
tive words and phrases relating to rejection, autonomy,
acceptance and control on the part of the mother.
Assessment of these terms and phrases permitted the
development of a range of concepts, and the use of
descriptive phrases found in the records were used
as anchor points along the scales.

Thus rejection was described by the various
clinic recorders as “Perception of the child as a
burden", or, "physical and emotional neglect“, or,
"overt rejection",et¢- Physical and emggigna; neglegt
'were used as indicative of a "very rejecting“ attitude
on the part of the mother. Another example of a very

rejecting attitude was a mother's refusal to acknow-

 

36
ledge her child because of illegitimacy, and frequently
requesting boarding care.

mammals. or lamina. on the part
of the mother, were used as anchor points for a "some-

‘what rejecting" attitude. Some other phrases
indicative of a somewhat rejecting attitude were:
"nagging", "indifferent", "punitive", "apathetic to
needs", "consistently emphasized negative qualities“,
and ”perceives son as a reminder of marital failure“.

Anchor points chosen for the "somewhat accepting"
attitude were pgotgctige, or W
interests. A few of the phrases, indicative of this
attitude were: “encourages sociability", "indulgent”,
and, "expresses warmth and affection toward child“.

Po ti v ti n t hild nd i -
centerednegs, were selected as models of a erry
accepting" attitude. Some records indicated the mother
planning for and with.the child, giving freely of
her time and energy.

0n the autonomous vs. control scale, the anchor
point for "very autonomous" was dgtggged and gllgg-
ing-eggessigg figeedom. These were the only examples

found among the cases.

Both ngity in diggiplige and indiffgggnge, and

«crop .. —— w— m. \_..
A“a—.—-.-M‘_h-‘v‘ __

37

engograging indepgndent thinkigg, were selected as anchor
points for the "somewhat autonomous"attitude. Examples
found were primarily negative aspects of the attitude;
e.g., indifferent, "insensitive to needs“, etc. As
implied by the anchor point, the positive expression
of some autonomy would be the fostering of indepen- .
dence within the realm of the child's emotional develop-
ment.

"Somewhat controlling" attitudes used as anchor

points were: P h int t 1 a i -

mgnt and Eggtgigting ghilg'g gggigl ggggth' to meet

mother's narcissistic needs. Examples of this found

in the cases were: "mother will not allow daughter

to wear sweaters, accept dates,---"; "mother

requires son to study after school and on weekends---",
”pressures him to achieve", and "mother has difficulty
accepting John's maturation".

The anchor point for a "very controlling" attitude
was complete and rigid prgygntigg of indgpegdgng
hehaxigg. Examples found: infantilization--"she
talks about Jim (age 16) as if he were a pre-schooler“.

Each writer encountered one case in which he 6
‘was unable to make a judgment on one or another of the

dimensional scales. In these instances the maternal

 

38

attitude was classified as undetermined.

After the rating of each mother was completed on both
of the dimensional scales, the two scales were ordered
(Figure 3) in such a way that the polar positions formed a
universe of content circumscribing the social and emotional
behavior of a mother toward an individual child.

Thus, from the combination of the two scales a single
maternal attitude can be derived, which shows a relation-
ship between two neighboring polar positions. For
example, a mother rated as "somewhat accepting and some-
‘what controlling" would be assigned an attitude in the
controlling-accepting quadrant, possessing qualities of
both polar positions. If a mother were rated "very
controlling" and "somewhat accepting" her resultant
attitude would fall within the same quadrant, but
would correlate more highly with control than acceptance.

Figure 3
A Two Dimensional Diagram of Maternal Attitudes

Autonomy

Hostility Love
(Rejection) (Acceptance)

 

Control

 

 

 

 

39

The completion of the universe of maternal
attitudes and of the circumplex model2 can now be
.attained by ordering other maternal behavior concepts.

A hypothetical ordering of such concepts is (shown in

Figure 4.

Thus, from the combination of the two scales a
single maternal attitude can be derived, which shows
a relationship between two neighboring, polar positions.

Figure 4

Hypothetical Circumplex Order of Maternal Behavior

 

 

 

imam
Detached Freedom
Indifferent Democratic
Neglecting . -CoOperative
serum Love
Overindulgent
Demanding Protective
Antagonistic . Indulgent
Overprotective
Authoritarian Possessive
Dictatorial
nt 0

 

‘11

—-—w~

2L. Guttman, ”A New Approach to Factor Analysis:
The Radex." In P. E. Lazarsfeld (36.): M2£hflfl££¥££l
.Thinking in the §g§ia1 Sgiggces, (Glencoe, 111. Free
Press, 1954. . ' . ’

 

 

 

 

-..'.r- _‘-

40

"Freedom is placed on the Autonomy Vs. Control
dimension with its polar opposite, possessiveness;
d cratic havior d o r tiv avi are
placed in the quadrant which indicated both loving
acceptance and autonomy. .Acceptance and its polar
opposite rejection, are placed on the Lg¥g_1_.
‘figggiligy,dimension. Excessive love, overindulgence,
protective indulgence, and overprotectiveness
are placed in a quadrant that indicates both love
for the child and an inability to treat the child
as a differentiated individual who has his own
activities and interests apart from the.parent.
The variables of authoritarian dictatorial treat-
‘ment and demanding, antagonistic behavior are
placed in the quadrant that indicated both'a
hostile relationship to the child and control;
while neglect, indifference and detachment are
placed in the quadrant that indicates varying
combinations of hostility and autonomy for
the child. This organization seems to satisfy
both a law 3f neighboring and a law of polar
opposites."

Measures Taken To Eliminate Bias
A protesting of the schedule was done to deter-
mine the clarity and common interpretation ofthe
items. Five cases of fatherless children were
selected at random from the Lansing Child Guidance
Clinic. Each of the writers and the administrative
assistant of the Lansing Clinic independently rated

these five cases. There‘was unanimous agreement on

all of the factual items of the schedule. On the

k

3Earl S. Schaefer, “A Circumplex.Model for
Maternal BehaVior", Jou f
‘ngghglggx (Vol. LIX, No. 2, Sept. 1959) p. 232.

41
ratings of the maternal attitude scales there was
a difference on one of the thirty scales rated;
i.e., perfect agreement by three reviewers on the fif-
teen ratings of the rejecting-accepting scale, and
agreement on fourteen of the fifteen ratings on the
controlling-autonomous scale.

Later in the course of the study, the writers
felt that further evidence was necessary to demon-
strate the reliability of judgments on the mater-
nal attitude scales. Having a vested interest in the
study, the writers might be accused of bias in rating
maternal attitudes. To demonstrate reliability of
judgments, other clinic workers, who had no vested
interest in the study or knowledge of the hypothesis,
were asked to rate a sample of the cases.

In the Lansing Clinic, nine cases were rated
by one social worker, and five of these nine were
again rated by a psychologist.' The nine cases repre-
sent fourteen percent of the cases studied at the
Lansing Clinic. The raters were asked to rate these
cases as to predominance of rejection or acceptance
shown by the mother, and as to the predominance of
control or autonomy shown by the mother. There was

some disagreement with the writers‘ choices of attitudes.

 

42

When the choices on these two scales were combined into
an attitude-ocontrolling-rejecting, rejecting-autonomous,
accepting-controlling, or autonomous-accepting--it was
found that the resultant choices differed with the
writers' ratings in four out of the fourteen cases. The
percentage agreement, then, would be seventy-one percent.

In the Kalamazoo Clinic, a social worker and
psychologist each rated seven cases in the manner
described above. These seven cases represented eleven
percent of the cases studied in Kalamazoo. Since one
of the raters did not rate one scale, this case was
eliminated and the total number of ratings was thir-
teen instead of fourteen. There was disagreement with
the writerS' ratings on four of the thirteen cases.
The percentage of agreement then.was sixty-nine percent.

It might_appear at first glance that the percentage
of agreement (seventy-one percent and sixty-nine percent)
with the test raters was somewhat low; however, it
was felt that this much agreement was very encouraging
in view of the fact that the combination of the two
scale ratings into one attitude meant a possibility of
'four choices per case and a compounding of error found
on any one scale. Thus, with four possible results in

the combination of the two scales, there were 108

43
possibilities on the twenty-seven cases rated in both
clinics. In view of this, the percentage of agreement
appeared to the writers to be very high.

Many research studies employing rating scales have
achieved acceptable reliability through training of the
raters. No attempt was made to train the raters in
this study. It seemed reasonable to conclude that
any bias was minimal and training of the test raters
‘might have increased the amount of agreement with the

writers.

CHAPTER IV

PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA

The fatherless families comprised the study group;
the physically intact families, the control group.
Since the sample in the study group was larger than
the sample in the control group, percentages were
used wherever apprOpriate.

After all of the data had been collected at the
Lansing and Kalamazoo Child Guidance Clinics, it was
discovered that the findings were nearly identical. This
made it possible to combine the findings of the two clinics

into single tables. The comparability is illustrated in

the following tables which pertain to the total sample:

TABLE 1
SEX DIFFERENCES OF CHILDREN IN TOTAL SAMPLE

T‘

‘

 

 

 

 

Study Group Control Group
Lansing Kalamazoo Lansing Kalamazoo
Sex No. Percent No. Percent No. Percent No. Percent
Male 28 62 31 70 15 75 13 65
Female 17 38 15 30 5 25 7 35
Total 45 100 46 100 20 ‘ 100 20 100

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

45
This clearly shows that there is a like distri-
bution of males and females in each clinic.
Further evidence of comparability of the findings
4 of the two clinics is seen in the mean age of the
children and mothers.

TABLE 2

MEAN AGE OF CHILDREN AND MOTHERS IN TOTAL SAMPLE

 

 

 

 

 

 

Study Group I‘ Control Group
Mean Age Lansing Kalamazoo Lansing Kalamazoo
Child . . 10.9 10.8 9.2 9.7
Mother . . 37.2 37.9 I 35.6 35.5

 

 

 

 

It can be seen from Table 2 that the children in the
study group are slightly more than a year older than the
children in the control group. This is.consistent in
each clinic. Furthermore, the mothers in the study
group are also older than the mothers in the control
group; this difference is also reflected in the data of

each clinic.

This comparability of data from clinic to clinic

‘was found in virtually every aspect of the study. For

this reason, all ensuing tables*will combine the findings

46
of both clinics into one study group of ninety-one cases
and one control group of forty cases.

In addition to the comparability in clinic findings,
it is both desirable and necessary to establish compara-
bility between the study group and control group. Com-
parability in terms of sex of child and median age of
child and mother is evident in Tables 1 and 2.

In order to test the differences between the two
groups, the following table concerns the religious

affiliations of the children:

TABLE 3

RELIGION OF CHILD

 

4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Religion Study Group “ Control Groups
Number Percentage Number Percentage

Catholic . . 15 17 fl ‘7 . 17.5
Protestant . 63 69" 29 72.5
Jewish . . . l l . . . . . .
Other 0 e e e e e e o e e O O - 0 O '0
Not Recorded 12 13 4 10.0

Total . . 91 100 W 40 100.0

 

 

 

 

47

This table shows that both groups are highly com-
parable in religious affiliation. There is no reason
to believe that a child's religion is in any way
associated with any differences which may later be found
to exist between the study group and the control group.

The next table tests the ordinal position of the
child in order to assess whether or not there is a

difference in trend of ordinal position in either group:

TABLE 4

ORDINAL POSITION OF CHILD

 

 

 

 

 

Study Group “ Control Group
Ordinal

Position Number Percentage]! Number Percentage

Oldest . . . 25 27 18 ' as

Youngest . . 25 27 '10 25
Intermediate 26 29 ll . 27.5
Only . . . . 15 17 l 2.5
Total . . 91 100 n 40 100.0

 

 

 

 

A marked difference appears in the percentage of
oldest and only children in the two groups. However, the
higher percentage of only children should be anticipated

in a comparison of fatherless families and physically

48
intact families. ESpecially is this true when "fatherless"
families are limited by definition to those families in
which there is no father or step-father in the home.
It is,then, noteworthy that a combination of the ”only”
and oldest child percentages in the study group yields
a percentage comparable to that of the combined percentages
of the control group.‘

Therefore, ordinal position of the child in the family
does not appear to offerany real difference between the
study and control groups. A '

Table 5 presents a comparative age distribution of

the study and control groups.

TABLE 5
PERCENTAGE OF AGE DISTRIBUTION OF CHILDREN

ACCORDING TO SEX

4a

 

 

 

 

Study Group Control Group
Age 3, _
Male Female Male Female
2-4 3 6 7 17
5-7 12 6 18 42
8-10 46 22 43 8
11-13 12 22 14 . . .
14-16 25 41 18 33
17’19 2 3 e e e e e 0
Total
Percent 100 100 100 100

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

49

This table clearly shows that the majority of the
male population are referred to the clinics within the
eight to ten year range. There is little difference
between the study group and the control group in terms
of the age ranges of the boys. There is a trend for
most of the children to be referred to the clinics
after the age of eight. Especially is this true 0f the
‘male papulation of both groups and the female popula-
tion of the study group. However, the females comprising
the control group appear to represent a trend in the
apposite direction, and the percentage of the females
falling between two years and seven years is not
representative of the total population of females seen
at the clinics. In conjunction with this, the females
in the control group only number twelve. Therefore,
no definite conclusions can be drawn.

A further indication of the comparability of
the two groups studied is seen in the following table
showing the distribution of the intelligence of the
children. Although there is an apparent difference in
this table, it is not statistically significant.” From
a comparison of the data on Table 6, it is evident
that any differences that may later be found in the

behavior of fatherless children is not associated with a

difference in level of intelligence.

50

TABLE 6

INTELLIGENCE OF CHILDREN

 

 

 

 

 

Study Group Control Group
Intelligence
No. Percent No. Percent
Very Superior. . . . . . A 2 5.0
Superior . . . . 2 2 1 2.5
Bright Normal. . ll 12 4 . 10.0
Average. . . . . 56 62 17 42.5
Dull Normal. . . 13 14 7 ' 17.5
Borderline . . . 6 7 ‘6' 15.0
Mentally Defective 3 3 3 7.5
Total 91 100 n 40 100.0

 

 

 

 

It might well be said that differences in maternal
attitudes vary in accord with the education of the
mother. In attempting to investigate whether or not a
particular maternal attitude, i.e., rejection, pre-
dominated in fatherless families, it should be tested
whether or not this attitude is associated with any
other factor, such as the educational background of
the mother. The following table presents a com-.
parison of the study group and the control groups as

to the educational background of the mother.

51

TABLE 7

EDUCATION OF MOTHERS

 

 

 

 

 

Study Group ControlfiGroup
Education
Number Percent Number Percent
8th grade or less 15 16 . 2 5
Some high school . 23 25 10 25
High School. . . . l6 l8 17 42.5
Some college . . . 11 12 4 10
College. . . . . . 5 6 4 10
Not recorded . . . 21' 23 3 7.5
Total . . . . . 91 . 100 40 100.0

 

 

 

 

The two groups appear to be comparable but con-
clusive evidence is lacking because of the great
percentage of mothers whose education was not recorded.

In all of the variables considered to this
point, the data has shown little difference between the
study and the control groups. ‘When the maternal
attitudes of the study and control groups were compared,
significant differences were found. Table 8 clearly
illustrates that the mothers without husbands (study
group) tend to reflect a rejecting attitude toward

their children.

52

TABLE 8

PREDOMINANT MATERNAL ATTITUDES

 

Predominant Study Group " Control Group

 

Attitude
Number PercentflNumber Percent

 

Control-Rejection' 49 54 9 24.5
Rejection-Autonomy 27 30 5 '12.5
Autonomy-Acceptance 2 2 ' ‘ 5 12.5
Acceptance-Control . 12 13 . 20 50.0
Inconsistency 1 l ,.1 2a5

 

 

 

 

Total 91 100 H- 40, 100.0

 

By far, the majority of the mothers in the study
group tend to be both controlling and rejecting in their
attitudes toward their children. This is compared to the
predominance of the accepting and controlling attitudes
of the mothers in the control group. Although some
rejection is found in over three-fourths of the mothers
in the study group and over one-third of the mothers in
the control group, it is to be remembered that all the
children were emotionally disturbed which, as generally

accepted, tends to be highly associated with inadequate

patterns of mothering.

53

The findings included in the above table are the
first indication that there is a difference between the
two groups other than the fact that the mothers in the
study group have no husbands. Therefore, it may be con-
cluded that the rejecting attitude which predominates in
the study group is related to the lack of a husband and
father in the home. ‘

If the maternal attitude varies so much between'
the two groups of mothers, and if the third hypothesis
is true that aggressive behavior results from a rejecting
maternal attitude, then a greater percentage of conduct

disorders should be demonstrable in the study group.

TABLE 9

COMPARISON OF TYPE PROBLEM*

 

 

 

 

 

Study Group Control Group
T Pr ble
ype o m Number Percent Number Percent
Conduct . . . . . . 49 53.8 13 32.5
Habit e o e e o e e 3 3e3 e e e e e 0
Personality . . . . 22 24.2 20 50.0
Learn and .
Deve opmental. , 13 14.3 7 17.5
FunCt iona 1 . . . . 3 e 3 e e e e e e
Other 9 g . . g e g 1 101 e e e o e e

 

 

 

 

Total 9i 100.0 ll 40 100.0

 

*See appendix B for detailed list of problems.

 

54

The third hypothesis is supported by the data in the
above table. The "conduct disorder“ classification in-
cludes a disproportionate number of sex offenses and
stealing in the study group. A complete list of pre-
senting problems is contained in the appendix.

The relationship between a rejecting maternal
attitude and aggressive behavior of the child would

further strengthen the hypotheses. Table 10 attempts‘

 

such a correlation between the maternal attitudes and
the problems presented by the children.

The table clearly demonstrates a high correla-
tion between a rejecting maternal attitude and conduct
disorder and/or aggressive behavior. This relationship
is noted in the control group as well as in the study
group. Such hostile and aggressive behavior has been
noted by several authors already cited in the review

1 also pointed

of the literature. English and Pearson
out that the child who experiences a rejecting parental
attitude, rebuffed in his attempts to please his parents,
ultimately resorts to rebelliousness, hostility and

defiance.

 

50. Spurgeon English and Gerald H. Pearson,
E ti p b L (New York: N. W. Norton

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56

The question then arises as to which of the various
Atypes of difficulties predominate at any particular age.
Table 11 shows that in the study group, conduct disorders
predominate at almost every age range, whereas in thee
control group, the personality disorders more often”
predominate.“ The table also shows that aggressive behavior

increases in proportion to the age of the child. Thus

 

conduct disorders predominate at ages fourteen to six-
teen and personality disorders are common at ages
eight to ten.

Table 12 presents the incidence of conduct disorders
in relation to the sex of the child. An inspection of
the table reveals that there is little difference between
the sexes and the occurrence of conduct disorders in
either the study or the control group. However, these
figures are percentages and do not deny the greater
incidence of problems among boys than among girls.

A comparison has now been made between the study
and the control groups and it has been determined that
mothers'without husbands frequently present a rejecting
attitude. Also a correlation has been found between a
rejecting maternal attitude and the incidence of
aggressive behavior on the part of the child. At this

point, the focus is turned to the reality and factual

 

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TABLE 12

PERCENTAGE OF CONDUCT DISORDERS ACCORDING TO SEX

 

 

 

 

Study Group ‘[ Control Group
Sex _ “
Percentage “ Percentage
Male 53 31
Female 56 27

 

 

material of the father-separated family.

First, the father's absence from the family was

explored and is represented in the following table:

ABSENCE OF FATHERS

TABLE I3

 

 

 

 

Cause Number Percentage
» Death . . . . . . . 20 22
Divorce . . . . . . 38 42
Desertion . . . . . 2 2
Separation . . . . 15 16
Prison. . . . . . . 6 7
Mental HOSpital . . 5 5.5
Unwed Mother. . . . 5 5.5
Other . . . . . . . 0 0
Total 91 100

h—

 

 

 

Althoughthis table presents a wide range of reasons

as to the cause of father separation, divorce is the

 

 

pre

p6

a!

Ti

phi

 

 

 

59
predominant reason. When divorce is combined with desertion
and separation, it is noted that this group comprises sixty
percent of the total. r
By definition, the writers identified the study group
as comprised of only those children who had no father or

male figure in the home with whOm they could identify.

 

Therefore, it was necessary to determine the frequency of
father contact with the family in order to strengthen the
definition of the fatherless family.

TABLE 14

FATHER'S CONTACT WITH CHILD

 

 

 

 

Father's Contact Number Percentage
Frequent. . . . . . . 3 3
Some. . . . . . . . 12 13
None. . . . . . . . 70 77
Unknown . . . . . . . 6 7
Total . . . . . . . . 91 100

 

 

 

Table 14 shows that in almost eighty percent of the

cases, no contact with the child following separation was

maintained.

The age of the child at the time the father left the

hOme'was explored next. The minor hypothesis requires

an investigation as to whether or not the majority of the

children, whose fathers left the home prior to the child's

 

 

 

 

six:

in

var

60
sixth birthday, would manifest some type of a conduct disorder.
Table 15 gives an over-all view of the number of children
in the study group who experienced father-separation at

various age levels.

TABLE 15

AGE OF CHILD AT TIME OF FATHER-SEPARATION

 

 

 

 

 

Age at Separation Number Percent
Under 5 e e e e e e 46 5005
6.8. e e e e e e e 23 2503
9-11. 0 e e s e e e 15 16.5
12-14. 0 e e e e e o 6 606
Not recorded . . . . l 1.1
Total 91 100.0

 

 

 

This table shows that in slightly over half of the

children referred to the clinics, the father had left _

the home before the sixth birthday. In seventy-five per-

cent of the cases, the father had left the home before the

child'was nine years old. Since the majority of the children

have virtually never known a father figure, it is reasonable

t kind

to assume that these children may present a differen

of problem than the children who have known a father.

Therefore, is there any significant difference between

the percentage of conduct disorders presented by the

Children of various ages at the time of father-separation?

61

This question logically follows if the minor hypothesis is
to be supported or disproved. The following table will give

the answer.

TABLE 16

ACE OF CHILD AT FATHER-SEPARATION AND TYPE OF PROBLEM

 

 

 

 

 

>s 'UH
&J c m Fa
«4 d u g
u "* .05. o
0 3 rig. *4
:3 u O 4-! u u .-o
A e at Se ration '3 3 3 5.3 u E 3
8 pa 0 m o It! 0 5 U 0
U :1: 0-. 3 > In O [-t
0
<9
Under 5. . . . . . . 25 1 13 5 l 1 46
6-8 e o e e e e e 12 1 S 4 1 O 23
9-11 0 e e o e e e I 6 .9 4 4 1 o .15
12-14 0 O O O O O 5 1 O. O. O. O. 6
Not recorded . . . . l .. .. .. , .. .. 1
Total 49 3 22 13 3 l 91

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 16 supports the hypothesis that the study group

children, having virtually never known a father, present a

predominance of conduct disorders. However, it cannot be

said that the predominance of conduct disorders is attribut-

able to the absence of the father at any given age. This

conclusion is reached since a predominance of conduct

disorders occurs at every age level. There is only a two

percent differential in the conduct disorders presented

by children whose father left the home prior to their

 

62
sixth birthday, and those whose fathers left prior to their
ninth birthday. In the older age groups, the conduct dis-
orders also predominate.

In the study by“wylie and Delgado, cited in the review
of the literature, the conclusion was reached that the
relationship between mother and son became highly sexualized
after father-separation. An effort was made to test this
inference in the present study by examining the child's
sleeping arrangements. Less than one-third of the records
contained this information and therefore no definite con-
clusions could be drawn. Among the cases in which the
sleeping arrangements were noted, there were several
instances where the son either slept with the mother or
shared the same bedroom. However, no definite trend
could be established.

The time which elapsed between father-separation and

the age of the child at the time of referral was also

explored. Can any prediction be made as to the average

period of time it will take an emotionally disturbed
fatherless child to manifest his disturbance necessitating
psychiatric help? A prediction is not possible on the

basis of such a small number of emotionally disturbed

fatherless children comprising this study group. However,

table 17 shows the average lapse of time before the

63

children of the study group were referred to the clinics.

TABLE 17

TIME INTERVAL BETWEEN_RATHER-SEPARATION

AND REFERRAL TO CLINIC

 

 

 

Age at time of Mean lapse of time Mean age at
Father-separation before referral referral
0-5 years 6.9 years 9.9 years
6-8 years 2.8 years 9.8 years
9-11 years 3 5 years 13.5 years
12-14 years 1.2 years 14.2 years

 

 

 

This table does not lend itself toward the establish-

ment of definite conclusions. Since a referral to the

clinic is limited to children within a given age range,

it is expected that there would be a decrease in the

lapse of time before referral as the child grows older.

With this in mind, it is interesting to note that the

mean lapse of time before referral is sooner for children

whose fathers separated when the children were within

the 6-8 year age group. The loss of the father may have

a greater psychologi

cal impact on children of this age

group than any other age group. The child of this age

may be either seeking masculine identification or

resolving the family romance conflict.

leaves the home,

‘When the father

the child's psychic processes may be

64 .
disrupted and this may account for a more immediate recog-
nition of the child's emotional disturbance.

In retrospect, although the hypotheses relating to
maternal attitudes and types of problems have been
supported by the data, there are some reality factors
operating that may add another dimension to the mothers'
attitudes and the children's.problems.‘ These are the
very real burdens placed upon a motherby the loss of
her husband and breadwinner. How does a mother left
alone provide financial support for herself and family?

It has been pointed out by Maccoby2 that the
employment of the mother outside the home is not in
itself inherently in conflict with the needs of family
unity and child rearing. However, the attitude of the
mother toward her employment, or toward her need to be
employed, may well affect family unity and child rear-
ing. Also the arrangements made by the mother for the
supervision of her children while she works may have
certain effects on the deveIOpment of the child.

Table 18 presents the number of mothers in the study
group who work full time and those who supplement some

other source of income with part time employment.

_

v—v

2Eleanor Maccoby, "Children and Working Mothers",
thldzgn, May-June, l958. pp. 53-57.

 

65

TABLE 18
SOURCE OF INCOME FOR MOTHERS

IN THE STUDY GROUP

 

 

 

 

Source of income Number Percentage
Employment only . . . 43 47
ADC only. 0 o o o o o 14 I 16'
ADC and employment. . 8 l p 9
Employment and other. 8 9
ADC and other . . . . 7 7
Other only. . . . . . ll 12
Total 91 100

 

 

 

All of the forty-three mothers whose sole means
of support was their employment were working full time.
Combining these mothers with those who worked in addition
to receiving Aid to Dependent Children or some other
income, it was found that sixty-five percent of the mothers
were employed. Virtually all eXperienced difficulty in
Supporting their families adequately. ADC provides
adequate subsistence by minimal standards, and most
working mothers had jobs which provided minimum

security at best. Other sources of income were Old

 

 

 

66
Age and Survivor's Insurance benefits, Workmen's Compensa-
tion benefits and Veterans' benefits. These, too, provide
only partial or minimal support for the fatherless family.

Twenty-seven percent of the mothers of the control
group were employed full time. A combination of full
time and part time employment of mothers in the control
group increases the figure to thirty-seven percent.
Therefore, the percentage of mothers in the control group
who are employed is considerably less thanwwhat'was
found_in the study group. This might indicate that many
of the mothers in.the study group may be reacting to
reality pressures.

It may be concluded that mothers left alone‘ten‘d to
have a difficult time supporting their family. This dif-
ficulty, with its accompanying anxiety and.pressures, may
‘well influence a mother's attitude toward her children and
partially account for the negative attitudes found in
the mothers in the study group. This would tend to support
the first hypothesis that mothers left alone are deprived
of the physical and emotional support which normally
allows them to adequately fulfill their maternal roles.

Further, there may be a relationship between the
financial burden on the mother of the one-parent family

and the nature of the problem that the child develops.

— 4‘_._ -——h_‘

 

 

67
Since most mothers must work, they may present themselves
to their children as tired, cross, and disagreeable. The
children may reactto their mothers by aggressive and
acting out behavior. Also the mothers must often be
gone from the home necessitating less supervision for their
children and greater opportunity for them to become in-
volved in delinquent behavior. '

On the basis of the data presented in table 18,
sixteen percent of the ninety-one mothers are solely de-
pendent upon ADC. This may suggest that most mothers
prefer employment to ADC. Some of the mothers, however,
combined partial ADC with some other form of income.

Another factor which might add to the reality
pressures of the study group mother is the total number
of children whom she has to support.' The child referred
to the clinic for emotional difficulty is not the only
child for whom the mother must provide care and support.
Table 19 presents the number of children in the families
of the study group as compared with the families of the
control group.

Table 19 shows no significant difference between
the incidence of other children between the two groups.
Mothers left alone have as heavy a family load as

Physically intact families and she must provide for them

 

Vibe?

"V‘
W‘hb\ag

 

 

 

 

_.__.__L_-

68
by herself. This mother, then, frequently has other children
adding to her burden, taxing her energies,'making demands

upon her time and resources.

TABLE 19

NUMBER OF CHILDREN IN FAMILY

 

 

 

 

 

Study Group Control Group
Number of
Children
Number Percentage Number Percentage

1-3 58 63.7 28 70

4-6 28 30.8 10 25

7-8 5 5.5 2 5

Total 91 100 . 0 || 40 100

 

 

 

 

Table 20 explores the referral source for children
1n the study and control°groups. It has been noted in
Table 18 that the majority of the mothers have employment
Outside the home. This may well result in a lack of
suDervision, and consequently, it might be expected that
“‘3“? of the fatherless children would be referred to the
Clinic by public resources. It has also been pointed out
that in the study group the primary problem at referral
was in the conduct disorder classification. Therefore,

it might be expected that inthe study group there will

 

69
be more referrals to the clinics from an authoritarian

agency, such as the juvenile court.

TABLE 20

REFERRAL SOURCE OF CHILD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Study Group , Control Group

Referral Source
Number Percent Number Percent
Physician . . . . . 8 I 9 , 11 27.5
Parent. . . . . . . 15 16 6 15.0
Relative. . . . . . ..' ,. .. .. ....
self. 0 O O O 0 O O. 1 1 O. 0...
School. . . . . . . 21 23 15 37.5
Juvenile Court. . . 18 20 3 7.5
Public Agency . . . 21 . 23 5 12.5
Private Agency. . . 6 7 .. ....
Police Department . l 1 .. ....
Total 91 100 40 100.0

 

 

This table clearly shows that twenty percent of the
fatherless children are referred to the clinics by the
juvenile court; whereas only seven percent of the control
group are referred from this source. School referrals:
are consistently high in both groups. However, the
number of referrals from physicians in the control group
is atypically high when compared with total clinic referrals.

Table 21 compares the psychiatric classification of

children in the fatherless and physically intact families.

 

 

 

70

The table is regarded as particularly important since the

psychiatric diagnosis represents the joint thinking of

the three disciplines involved in the diagnostic process.

TABLE 21

PSYCHIATRIC DIAGNOSTIC CLASSIFICATION OF CHILDREN

 

 

Diagnostic t!
Classification umbe

Study Group“ Control Group

 

 

 

 

 

r Percent" Number Percent

Brain syndrome with

convulsive disorder. 2 2 ' ..
All other brain

syndromes 2 2 6 15
Mental deficiency 3 3 2 5
Psychotic disorders 1 l 2 5
Psychosomatic complaints 3 3 .. ..
Psychoneurotic disorders 24 28 11 27
Personality (character)

disorders 31 34 6 15
Situational personality

disorders 21 23 12 30
Essentially healthy .. . .. ..
Undiagnosed 4 4 l 3

Total 91 100 40 100

 

 

 

 

 

71

Table 21 shows that a greater percentage of persona-
lity (character) disorders are found among the fatherless
children as compared with the children of the control.
group. This is indicative that the emotional disturbances
of fatherless children tend to be more deep-seated than
the problems of children from physically intact families.
Because it was hypothesized that children from father-
less families show a predominance of conduct disorders
and a diSproportionately high percentage of conduct
disorders as compared with children from physically intact
families, it is assumed that the greater percentage of the
conduct disorders in the study group will fall within
the personality (character) disorder diagnostic classifica-
tion. It should be remembered that the presenting prob-
lems in Table 9 represent the primary symptoms for which
the children were referred to the clinics. Table 21,
however, reflects a professional and interdisciplinary
assessment of the total personality of the child.
I Table 22 illustrates the major.psychiatric classifica-
tions within which the conduct disorders of both groups
fall. It can be noted that eighty-five percent of all
conduct disorders within each group fall within three
of the psychiatric diagnostic classifications. There

is a radical difference between the two groups in terms

72
of the distribution of conduct disorders. The high
percentage of conduct disorders in the study group, falling
*within the personality (character) disorder classification,
is indicative of a greater amount of psychOpathology;
whereas in the control group, the problems fall largely
‘within the situational personality disorder classification,
which is. indicative of less personality disorganization

or an adjustment reaction to some environmental situation.

TABLE 22
PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF CONDUCT DISORDERS

ACCORDING TO PSYCHIATRIC DIAGNOSES

 

Diagnostic classification Study Group Control Group

 

Psychoneurotic disorder U 19 I ~15

Personality (character) '
disorder 47 8

Situational personality
.disorder ~ 19 }' 62

 

 

 

 

Table 23 explores the clinic recommendations for the
children in both groups. Since the psychiatric diagnostic
classification revealed the study group children to be
the more emotionally disturbed, the clinic recommendations
may show a higher percentage of recommended referrals to

other agencies for fatherless children.

73

TABLE 23

CLINIC RECOMMENDATION FOR CHILDREN

 

 

 

 

 

Study Group ][ Control Group
Recommendation
Number Percent Number Percent
Treatment 39 42.9 15 37.5
Referral to other agency 36 39.6 15 37.5
Interpretation only 16 17.5 10 25.0
Total 91 100.0J[ 40 100.0

 

 

 

 

 

Although the difference between the two groups is

not highly significant, a greater trend is shown in the
study group toward recommended treatment or referral to
other agencies. Further analysis of_the data reveals that
the recommendations in the study group for treatment or
referral show a higher percentage than the control group.
because the child was in many instances too disturbed or
else the mother and child were considered to be less apt
to benefit from an interpretation interview only. This
is also essentially true of the control group, although
in these cases, more families were thought to be capable

of benefiting from an interpretation only.

CHAPTER V

IMPLICATIONS OF THE ONE-PARENT FAMILY

The comparison of fatherless with physically intact
families has revealed few real differences between the two
groups. However, a description of the circumstances of some
of the fatherless families may more clearly illustrate the
difficulties that these families encounter; such an approach
may also suggest areas of further study to others interested
in this whole problem of the father's role in the family.
The discussion.which follows is a presentation of cir-
cumstances which were frequently found in the fatherless
families reviewed. -

It has already been noted that sixty-five percent
of the mothers in the fatherless families were working.

The remaining mothers, with two exceptions, were depen-

dent upon meager allowances. In the majority of cases the

employed mother held a manual type job requiring long

hours of work, frequently during the evening hours; pay

was almost invariably low. A good percentage of these

‘mothers were employed as waitresses, housekeepers or

charwomen. Employment such as this placed financial,

74

75
as well as tiring physical burdens upon these mothers; in
some instances the mothers found it necessary to work in
the evening when their children were most likely to be
in need of supervision. Many of these mothers expressed
bitterness and resentment toward society over the burdens
they carried.

Added to and complicating a mother's financial bur-
dens were the number of children a mother had to care for.
Table 19 indicated that the total number of children in
I a family was as high in the one-parent families. This
meant the physical burden upon the mother, as well as
the financial burden, were comparable to that of the

mother who had a husband providing support, both financial

and emotional .

In Table 15 it was shown that in more than seventy-
five percent of the cases the father was gone from the

home before the child was nine years old. This meant that

the mothers were left to support their children for a

considerable length of time. Also the father, once

separated from his children, rarely maintained contact

with them. Table 14 pointed out that-seventy-seven

percent of the fathers had no contact with their children,

and only three percent had frequent or regular contact

with their families .

76 .

Mothers left alone with their children were often
critical of themselves; they blamed themselves for their
children's difficulties; they were confused and afraid of
their responsibilities. These factors may explain the
fact that the median age of the study group children
*was more than a year higher than that of the control
group children (Table 2). Mothers may have felt guilty
and been reluctant to seek help for their children.

Some of the records indicated that the child with

difficulty reminded the mother of her husband toward whom

 

she felt bitterness and resentment.. This may explain
‘why it was this particular one of her children.who

presented the difficulty. In a few instances a child
‘was a reminder to his mother of her own failure as a

‘wife and she feared failure as a mother as well.

On the other hand some mothers made their child the

focus of their attention, excluding all other outside

interests after the loss of the husband. This often

resulted in a restrictive, debilitating control of the

child by the mother. In some instances mothers developed

a highly sexualized relationship with a son. In several

cases mothers shared a room‘with a son and there was no

privacy exercised in dressing, bathing, etc.

In the case of Jimmie, age 11, for example, mother

was
10 c

refc

div
whc
m0!
hu:
to
he

IC

 

77
was employed as a waitress, working from 2 P.M. until
10 or 11 P.M. Jimmie was in the fourth grade and was
referred by the school for stealing. In interviews with
‘Mrs. B., Jimmie's mother, it was found that she was
divorced when Jimmie was two years old. Each worker
'who saw'Mrs. B. was impressed by the fact that she was
more anxious to discuss her bitter feelings toward her
husband and the wrongs he did unto her, than she was to
consider Jimmie's problem. She talked bitterly about
her low wages and her difficulty in keeping baby sitters
to stay with Jim;, at the time of the referral she often
left him alone until she returned from work.

Mrs. B. also had a boy friend, but Jimmie and the
friend did not get along very well. Mother resented Jim's
inability to accept this man, and she likened her boy's
behaviorto that of her husband who had also kept her
from being happy. Mother frequently spanked Jimmie to

control him and often resorted to use of a strap.

 

 

,_ . _,_..._... "fi‘. ._... . “' ' ‘ -._ _. “—4.. - M _———-— .- _ -- lib—o -- - ‘

CHAPTER VI

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

A group of ninety-one children from families deprived
of a father or father-figure were compared with a group
of forty children from families in which both mother and
father were present in the home. All of the children had
been seen for diagnostic study at either the Lansing
or Kalamazoo Child Guidance Clinics in the three year
period of 1956 to 1958.

It was determined, in an assessment of maternal
attitudes that eighty-four percent of the mothers living
alone with their children, showed a predominantly rejecting
attitude toward the child referred to the clinic, while
thirty-seven percent of the mothers in the control group
showed such an attitude. Analysis of the two groups
according to a number of variables indicated that they
differ only in the fact that there is no husband-father
in the home.

The problems of the children in the two groups showed
a greater incidence of conduct or aggressive, acting out
type disorders in the study group. A high correlation

78

79

was also found in both groups between a rejecting maternal
attitude and the occurence of conduct disorders. This is
in accord with the findings and theoretical postulates
cited in the review of the literature.

This occurence of aggressive type behavior was
noted more often in the older age child, especially among
the girls; however, no significant trends were found in
correlation of the child's age at which the father left
the family and the type of problem developed by the child.
It was noted that a greater percentage of the aggressive_ -
problems of the study group of children were diagnosed by
the psychiatrists as personality (character) disorders;
this indicates a more serious developmental disorder.

Although no attempt was made to correlate the
maternal attitude or type of problem behavior of the child
‘with employment of the mother, it was found that sixty-five
percent of the study group mothers were employed, as
Opposed to thirty-seven percent of the control group
mothers. The fact of employment was held to be of less
importance in affecting the maternal attitude toward the
child than the attitude of the mother toward her employ-
‘ment; this was not measurable, however, and the influence
of employment upon the rejecting attitudes found in both

groups was undetermined.

 

80

Rejection was more often found in the study group
mothers. It is speculated that this attitude is related
to the fact of fatherlessness. The exploration of the
nature of this relationship mightbe undertaken in an-
other study.

Certain limitations of the study are suggested. It
is. recognized by the investigators that case recorded
material is probably a less reliable measure of attitudes
than might be attained through use of a parental attitude
questionnaire. The Parental Attitude Research Instrument
developed by Schaefer and Bell3 would provide a much
more objective and quantifiable measure of attitudes.

Another means of attaining more objectivity in
rating attitudes would be to have three raters rate
each case and take the judgements only in those instances
where there was agreement among at least two judges.

In view of the correspondence found between maternal
attitude and type of behavior presented by the child,
it is recommended that careful consideration be given
to the mother's attitude. In the event of a rejecting

attitude on the part of the mother, more serious develop-

*mental disorders might be anticipated in the child.

 

 

3Schaefer and Bell, Op, cit., pp. 339-61.

 

81
The data strongly suggests that such disorders would
most likely be expressed through aggressive, asocial
behavior.

In general the records of the clinics were complete
and helpful. However, it was frequently not possible to
determine the sleeping arrangements of children. In
view’of the sexualized relationships found between mother
and son in this study and in others, it would be well
to be alert in fatherless cases for unusual sleeping
arrangements which would be a further source ofdifficulty
for the boy.

Finally, it is recommended that all children's
services need to evaluate their assessments of maternal
attitudes and the reliability of these assessments. In
view of the relationships between the parental attitude
and the development of the child, the assessment of
attitudes becomes very important. Pre-intake questionnaires
'may well offer the most objective and reliable means to

accomplish this measure.

 

\ BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books

Ackerman, Nathan W. The P od mics Pa 1 Li e.
New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1958.

Burt, Cyril. The Yohhg leihguent. London: University of
London Press, 1944.

English, 0. Spurgeon and Pearson, Gerald H. gaggighgl

ficblghs 2f Living. New York: W. W. Norton and Co.
Inc., 1955.

Glueck, Sheldon and Eleanor. Unggvgling Juvehile legh-
ghghgy. New York: The Commonwealth Fund, 1950.

Gorlow, Leon and Katkovsky,‘Wa1ter. Rehdings in the
P5 c 01 d stm . New York: McGraw-Hill
Book Co., Inc., 1959.

Hirsch, N. D. M. thhmig Causgs of Juvenile Crime.
Cambridge: Sci-Art, 1937.

Lazarsfeld, P. 8., Editor. Mathgmagiggl Thinking ih thg
Social Sgignces. Glencoe, Illinois: Free Press, 1954.

Radke, Marian J. Thg Relation of Parental Authority to

Children's thgvio; and attitudgg. Minneapolis:
The University of Minnesota Press, 1946.

Teagarden, F. Child Psycholggy fig; Prgfggsgghgl‘ngkggg.
New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1940..

Articlgs and gggiggicglg

Allen, Ruth B. "Problem Boys Who Lived Alone with their
Mothers," Smit C e t dies ci 1 W k,
Vol. XIII (1942). p. 157. >

82

 

 

83

Altman, Charlotte "Relationships Between Maternal Attitudes
and Child Personality Structure," Amgricgn thzhgl 9f
Psyghiatry, Vol. XXVIII (1958). PP. 160-69.

Bartemeier, L. "The Contribution of the Father to the
Mental Health of the Family,“ Am c n
Ps chiatr , Vol. CK (1953), pp. 278-283.

Bettelheim, B. "Mental Health and Current Mores,” Amgrican

Jo f c s iat , Vol. xxu (1952),
pp. 76-780

Bishop, Barbara M. "Mother-Child Interaction and the Social
Behavior of Children," s o M n ,
Vol. LXIV, No. ll (1951).

Campbell, Marian. "The Effect of the Broken.Home upon
the Child in School." W
§gg;g;232, Vol. V (January, 1932), pp. 274-281.

English, O.Spurgeon. YThe Psychological Role of the'
Father in the-Family," W15, Vo1.xxxv
(1954), pp. 323-29.

Figge, M. "The Etiology of Maternal Rejection: A Study
of Certain Aspects of the Mother's Life," Smith
Co le St dies 1 ocia Wo , Vol. I (1931),
p. 407. '

Gardner, George E. "Separation of the Parents and the
Emotional Life of the Child," Mgnthl hygiehg,

Greenbaum, Richard S. "The Influence of Certain Maternal
Attitudes on the Behavior of Rejected Children,"

Digsggtgtign Abstracts (1954L'p. 2124.

Josselyn, Irene. "The Psychology of Fatherliness," Smith

Collggg Studies in Social Wgrk, Vol. 26 (1956),
pp. 1-40

Levy, David. "A Method of Integrating Physical and
Psychiatric Examination, with Special Studies of
Body Interest, Overprotection, Reaponse to Growth

and Sex Differences," American 3922251 of Psyghigtgy

Vol. IX (July, 1929), pp. 169-70.

 

84

Maccoby, Eleanor. "Children and WOrking Mothers," Childreh
(May-June, 1958) pp. 53- 57.

Meiss, Margaret L. "The Oedipal Problem of the Fatherless‘
Child, " The Psychognalytic Sthgy 2f the ghild.
Vol. VII (1952) pp. 216- 29. -

Peterson, Ruth J. "Understanding the Reactions of Father-
less Families," The Significance of thg Fathgg,
York: Family Service Association of America (1959),’
pp. 48-63.

Schaefer, Earl S. and Bell, Richard Q. "Development of
a Parental Attitude Research Instrument,” Child

Develophgnt, Vol. XXIX, No. 3 (September, 1958),
pp 0 339.61 a

Schaefer, Earl S. "Circumplex Model for Maternal Behaviors,"

JghzhaL 9f Abnoghhl ghd Social Psycholggy, Vol. LIX,
No. 2 (September, 1959) pp. 226-35.

Sherman, Baruch. ”The Behavior of Children from Broken
Homes," WW Vol. V
(January, 1935), pp. 11-18.

Wylie, Howard L. and Delgado, Rafael A. "A Pattern of
Mother-Son Relationships," American Jghrnal of
Orthopsychiatry, Vol. XXIX (July, 1959), pp. 644-46.

 

Zimmerman, A. "Parental Adjustment and Attitudes in
Relation toS the Problems of Five and Six Year Old

Children", Smith College Studies in Sggial‘Wgr rk,
Vol. I (1931) pp. 406-07.

Unpublished Material

Gast, Marcella J. ”A Child Guidance Clinic as a Social Resource
in a Small Metropolitan Community," Unpublished Master's
Thesis, Department of Social work,'Michigan State
College, 1947. '

Hasian, Marouf andflWOsek, Franklyn. "A.Comparative Study
of Psychosocial Characteristics of Sixty Families
‘Who Continued or did not Continue Recommended Treatment
at the Lansing Child Guidance Clinic," Unpublished
‘Master's Thesis, School of Social‘Work, Michigan
State University, 1959.

 

11

APPENDIX

SCHEDULE

GENERAL INFORMATION (face sheet data)

 

MO R

Age _____Education ____hReligion
QELEQ

Age A Sex ,____;Religion

 

 

Number of Children in Home

Ordinal Position:

 

Oldest ‘ Youngest Intermediate Only
Source of Referral:

Parent Physician ‘ Police Department

Self Private Agency Juvenile Court

_School~Pub1ic Agency Other

Presenting Problem at Referral:
First recorded problem
Second recorded problem
RECORDED CASE MATERIAL

Mother's Source of Income

 

_Employment only Employment and other
A. D. C. only A. D. C. and other
A. D. C. and employment Other only

Reason for Father-Separation:
Death Prison
Divorce Mental Hospital
Desertion Unwed Mother
Separation Other

85

 

 

 

86

Father's Contact with Family:
Frequent Some None

Age of Child at Time of Father-Separationz'
Prenatal to 5 years 12-14 years

6-8 years Not recorded
9-11 years

Child's Intelligence:
Very superior (130 and above)
Superior (120-129)
Bright normal (110-119)
Average (90-109)
Dull normal (80-89)
Borderline (70-79)
Mentally defective (69 and below)

\

\

Child‘s Sleeping Arrangements:
Own bedroom
Shares bed or bedroom with siblings
Shares bedroom with mother

Shares bed with mother

Not recorded

\

\

\

 

Predominant Maternal Attitude:
Controlling-Rejecting:

 

Predominately rejecting
Rejecting-Autonomous: ,
Predominately rejecting Inconsistent
Predominately autonomous
Autonomous-Accepting:

 

 

 

\

Predominately accepting
Accepting-Controlling:

l

 

Predominately controlling
Undetermined

 

CLINIC ASSESSMENT (Closing Sheet Data)

DIAGNOSIS:
Brain syndrome with convulsivedisorder
All other brain syndromes '
Mental deficiency
Psychotic disorder
Psychosomatic disorder

 

Predominately controlling’ Inconsistent

Predominately autonomous Inconsistent

Predaminately accepting Inconsistent

 

87

Psychoneurotic disorder
Personality disorder
Situational personality disorder~

Essentially healthy
___Und iagnosed

RECOMMENDATION:
Treatment
Referral to other agency
Interpretation only

 

88

APPENDIX B

PRESENTING PROBLEMS OF CHILDREN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Study Group . Control Group
CONDUCT Number Percent Number Percent
Defiance. . . . . . . . 10 20. 4 30'
Destructiveness . . . . . 2 4 l 8
Firesetting . O O O O O O 3 6 O O O O
Overaggressiveness. . . . 2 4 1 8
Running away from home. . .. .. 1 8
Sex offenses. . . . . . . 10 20 .. ..
Stabbing... . . .'. l 2 .. ..
Stealing. . . . . . 18 38 3 23
Temper tantrums . . . . 2 4 3 23
Truancy . . . . . . . . ~,1 2 .. A ..
Total . . . . . . . . 49 100 13 100
HABIT
Enuresis. . . . . . . . 2 67 . .
Masturbation. . . . . ”l 33 . ..
Tate]. O O O O O O 0 . 3 100 O O O O
PERSONALITY
Chronic unhappiness . . l 4 1 5
Depression. . . . . . . . l 4 .. ..
Excessive daydreaming . . 3 l4 4 20
Fears and nightmares. . 3 14 1 5
Feelings of inadequacy . 2 9 1 5

 

 

 

 

 

89

PRESENTING PROBLEMS OF CHILDREN (continued)

 

 

Number

Percent

 

 

PERSONALITY (continued)

 

 

Feminine interests . ...

Nervousness-restlessness .

Overdependency on mother
Pre-psychotic symptoms .
School phobia. . . . . .
Stuttering . . . . . . .
Withdrawal . . .

Total. . . . . . ...

l
3

me

NHHHNO‘.

30
10

10

 

22

 

Study Group Control Group
Percent Number
4 , . .
14
37 '
100 20

 

100

 

 

W

 

LEARNING AND .
‘ DEVELOPMENTAL

 

Learning difficulties . .

 

13

 

L O

 

lOO

 

 

 

FUNCTIONAL

 

Psychosomatic complaints.

 

 

10

 

 

 

 

OTHER

 

Convulsions . . . .~. . .

 

 

O
10

“7
OJ”

 

 

 

90

APPENDIX C

ANALYSIS OF PREDOMINANT MATERNAL ATTITUDES OF FATHERLESS

FAMILIES AS COMPARED‘WITH PHYSICALLY INTACT FAMILIES

A

 

Predominant Attitude

Study Group " Control Group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No. Percent No. Percent
Possessiye-rejecting H
Predominantly possessive 9 18 2 22
Predominantly rejecting 16 33 .. ..
Intermediate 24 49 7 78
Total 49 100 #F9 100
Reiggting-autonomous
Predominantly rejecting ll 41 2 4O
Predominantly autonomous 2 7 1 20
Intermediate 14 52 . 2 40
Total 27 100 5 100
Autonomous-accepting
Predominantly autonomous .. . .. ..
Predominantly accepting .. .. 3 60
Intermediate 2 100 2 40 ,_1
Total 2 100 5 100
Accepting-possgssive
Predominantly accepting 2 l7 5 25
Predominantly possessive 5 41.5 10 50
Intermediate 5 41,5 . 5 5
Total 12 100.0 20 100
W
Diffuse attitude . l 100 '1 100

 

 

 

 

 

 

l1 1 1‘

n

, 1m 1'11
31293101528077

 

 

l