[Role of the father in the development of school-age children. Results of an epidemiologic study].

As part of an epidemiological follow-up study, data collected from 356 children at ages 8 and 13 and from their parents were analyzed to examine the relationship of parental child-rearing behavior and parents' psychological problems to the intellectual, emotional and social development of the offspring. The results revealed that while children are growing up father and child influence each other in specific ways. The fathers were particularly active in developing their children's cognitive abilities and had a strong influence especially on the development of their sons. At both age 8 and age 13, children whose parents had psychiatric disturbances, regardless of which parent was affected, were much more likely than those with normal parents to have psychiatric disorders themselves. Significant parental gender effects were found, however, when the form of the child's disorder was considered: At age 13, the children were at a higher risk for a conduct disorder if the father had a problem than if the mother did. In further analyses, children who had lost their fathers were compared with those in intact families. Significantly higher rates of psychiatric disorders were found for the fatherless boys, whereas no such effect could be detected for the fatherless girls.