GPS: Is fatherlessness at the root of crime?

The growth of the poverty-ridden family today is linked directly with the growth of the family headed by the always-single mother. Children living in female-headed families with no spouse present have a poverty rate of 45.8 percent, over four times the rate of children in married-couple families (9.5 percent). This modern form of family disintegration – or more accurately non-formation – has its consequences for criminal behavior. The growth in crime is paralleled by the growth in families abandoned by fathers. As we continue to investigate the root causes of crime, we discuss the implications of the fatherless syndrome today on GPS.