(PRWEB) June 12, 2005 -- Children that are deprived of frequent contact with both their mother and their father have a greater risk of drug abuse, dropping out of school, teenage pregnancy, and many other behavioral and emotional problems. Children whose parents are divorced are at the greatest risk because court ordered visitation does not provide enough contact with the non-custodial parent to reduce the risk of deviant behavior.
The American Psychological Association (APA) references a meta-analysis of 33 studies involving 2660 families performed by psychologist Dr. Robert Bauserman of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in Baltimore. The results indicated that "children need to spend substantial time with both parents, especially their fathers." Bauserman goes on to add that children from divorced families who have continued, ongoing contact with both parents have less behavioral and emotional problems, had higher self-esteem, better family relations and school performance, and were as well-adjusted as children from intact families.
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