Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Father Absence And Self-Esteem Amongst Economically Disadvantaged Children, Casey Kevorkian

Social Work Theses

Children begin to build self-esteem in early childhood based on social and emotional development. Previous research has shown that children inhabiting homes where the biological, adoptive, or step father are present have shown to exhibit higher levels of self esteem and social functioning. However, further information regarding the positive male influence, lesbian parenting, or the absence of “paternal absence” stigmas have show to contradict the previous research. This study investigated the self-esteem of economically disadvantaged children using results from the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment as it relates to the levels of father involvement. 115 children ages 3-5 involved in a …