Fatherlessness and Violent Crime

It is arguable that, if a responsible and continuous adult male role-model is unavailable to young, developing boys, then those boys would become more prone to engage in deviant or anti-social behavior. That is, there is a tendency for children from fatherless homes to be over-represented in categories of unwanted behavior (Mackey 1985, 1996).

The lack-of-appropriate-role-model argument can be made in an anecdotal/idio- graphic mode. It can also be subject to a nomothetic, empirical corroboration. The em­pirical route seems like an interesting path to follow. First, let's look at the U.S. mega­tribe, and then a cross-cultural sample will be examined.