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The effect of divorce on fathers: An overview of the literature

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Abstract

Divorce is becoming a major mental health problem in the United States. With rare exceptions psychological attention has usually focused on the effect of divorce on children and mothers. The author suggests that as some fathers become more involved in family nurturing they will be more intensely affected by marital disruption, particularly as it involves changes in the relationship to their children. A review of the recent psychological literature on divorce and custody is presented as a framework for understanding the divorcing father who is requesting psychiatric help.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Psychiatry, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 111 East 210 Street, 10467, Bronx, New York

    John W. Jacobs M.D. (associate professor)

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  1. John W. Jacobs M.D.
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This paper is reprinted here from theAmerican Journal of Psychiatry, 1982,139:10, pp. 1235–1241, with the permission of the original publisher.

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Jacobs, J.W. The effect of divorce on fathers: An overview of the literature. International Journal of Family Therapy 6, 177–191 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00926930

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00926930

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