Father absence occurs when parents separate and the father no longer lives with his children. Parental separation has been proven to affect a child's development and behaviour. Early parental divorce (during primary school) has been associated with greater internalising and externalising behaviours in the child,[1][2] while divorce later in childhood or adolescence may dampen academic performance.

Whilst father absence mainly results from parental divorce and separation,[3][4] including parental alienation, other factors such as family poverty and developmental difficulties have been associated with father absence,[5][6][7][8][9] the effects of which have been explained by various theoretical approaches.

Mod notes: Retimed to 14:19