Welcome to Breakpoint, a daily look at an ever-changing culture through the lens of unchanging truth, for the Colson Center. I'm John Stone Street. Years ago, I had an interesting conversation on a Breakpoint This Week podcast with Paul Rayburn. Paul was the author of a book that I found fascinating, Do Fathers Matter? One of the reasons I found the book so fascinating is that Paul Rayburn was a science writer.
He spent a lot of time articulating and trying to clarify some high-level scientific findings. He wrote about things like redshift theory and biological evolution and things like that. And Paul Rayburn was an atheist, or at least an agnostic, a secular humanist. He didn't believe in God or religion or anything like that.
So I found it fascinating that he tackled this issue of Fathers. And I asked him why. And the first thing he said was that the research on fathers is relatively new in the social sciences. In other words, it was largely assumed for decades that fathers didn't really make much of an impact or contribution to the lives and well-being of children, other than, of course, genetic material and maybe financial support.
So all the research was focused on do moms matter and in all the ways that moms matter. And at the time, I responded to him and said, really? We spent all that time and money asking, do moms matter? I mean, seriously, what was the result of those studies? Duh?
Of course they matter. But over the last 30 years, Rayburn clarified, there was a lot of research that was aimed at the role that fathers play in the long-term well-being of children. And then I asked him, but wait a minute, why did you choose to write this book? And he said, what do you mean? I said, well, much of your work has been in the hard sciences, chemistry, biology, physics, things like that, not in the so-called softer sciences like sociology and psychology.
And he said, Well, honestly, I wrote this book because I saw all this research and I have five kids. and I wanted to know if I mattered. To which I responded, well, do you? I mean, honestly, I wanted to know if I mattered as well. And Rayburn said in every possible area of child development, relationally, physically, socially, educationally.
even spiritually. Dads bring a unique set of contributions to the lives and well-being of their children.
Well, the latest social science only continues to bolster what Rayburn concluded in his book. For instance, a brand new study from researchers at the University of Virginia and Hampton University found that disparities in academic performance between students of different races and ethnicities disappeared when they had fathers in intact homes. The presence of dad also eliminated the racial gap in behavioral issues in school, meaning father absence is almost certainly the main driver of behavioral problems in school. Involved fathers also made a big difference for girls' mental health, with 10 times the number of female students being diagnosed with depression and the risk of self-harm if they had disengaged or absent fathers.
Now, of course, that aligns with an abundant amount of prior research that demonstrated that girls with uninvolved fathers show far higher rates of promiscuity and risky sexual behavior. including teen pregnancy. In other words, if we want to address all of these social problems that have to do with children and teenagers, like behavioral and academic and sexual risk among boys and girls, There's simply no better investment than to encourage fathers to be involved.
Now some of the specifics behind the amazing difference that dads make are only beginning to emerge right now and begin well before high school to playtime in early childhood. Writing recently at the Institute for Family Studies, Jay Fagan and Glenn Palm explored how fathers build attachment with their infants through different mechanisms than mothers, especially rough and tumble play to establish emotional security and a foundation for future learning. We've all seen a dad throw a tackling baby in the air until mom gets nervous. Our dad's chasing a toddler around on all fours until both collapse in fits of laughter.
Well, emerging research suggests that these behaviors are anything but just silly. They contribute greatly to a child's emotional regulation. They create a unique kind of attachment described as secure exploration. That attachment type allows children to venture into the world with less anxiety. Knowing from experience that they have a secure refuge that they can return to, a man who can help them make sense of what they learn.
And this in turn seems to jumpstart their mastery of taking on hard or frustrating tasks, helping them understand the dynamics and boundaries of healthy relationships. Here's how Fagin and Palm put it: quote, the term activation relationship describes the emotional bond between fathers and children that enables the child to feel safe and to take both physical and social risks and explore their environment. When fathers interact with sensitivity and warmth, they provide a secure base for exploration, encourage children to go out into the world and then come back to share with their fathers. End quote.
Now, all of this is the kind of thing we'd expect to find if, as scripture teaches, God is a loving father who designed the human family. around the distinct but essential contributions of both male and female. And that's why children tend to thrive when they have involved fathers as well as involved mothers. Because the two are not the same. And that's how they were designed.
Kids need both. In our time, it's often the overlooked parent, as Rayburn put it in his book. whose role that science is now only truly beginning to understand, whose absence has left especially deep wounds and long term consequences for society, and whose involvement the Church can especially lead the way in helping to reestablish. know that the research is in. We now have decades of evidence that show that, yes, fathers matter.
And what we do with this evidence will shape the future of our children in ways that are far more profound than many ever imagined. For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street with Breakpoint. Today's Breakpoint was co-authored by Shane Morris. If you're a fan of Breakpoint, leave us a review where you download your podcast. And for a version of this commentary that you can print out or electronically share with others, just go to breakpoint.org.
