The Infuence of Child Development on Father Absence

Based on the research that has been conducted, it can be concluded that fatherless conditions have a major influence on the process of child development in the psychological or emotional aspects. As a result, children who experience fatherless conditions cannot learn enough independent, confident, and leadership behaviors because these behaviors are generally owned by a father. Meanwhile, mothers generally contribute to the behavioral aspects of affection and so on.

If a child does not get a complete model during their development, it will tend to have a negative impact on the child. For example, lack of confidence and fear in making decisions. When children experience these negative impacts during their development, this will become a long-term problem until adulthood. Because as children get older, there will be more and more decisions that must be made and decided by themselves. If the child is not good at making decisions, the child must be prepared to accept the consequences of mistakes in deciding their choices.

Other findings show that the negative impact of father absence is related to children's ability to control their behavior. In this study, children's emotional control was low. Children often get angry and cry when asking for something. This study is in line with the research of Asy & Ariyanto (2019), that the absence of the father's role affects behavioral and cognitive control. This is supported by the following verbatim.

 "I don't know, my child often gets angry and cries when he asks for something ... well, if he doesn't get it, he gets angry ..." (Mother interview, April 5, 2023).

These findings suggest that the absence of fathers in childcare has negative impacts such as the absence of attachment between children and fathers, suboptimal child independence, and impaired child behavior control.

Fathers also indirectly contribute to children's physical health and psychological well-being when they provide optimal support to their spouses. Husbands who provide emotional support to pregnant wives result in excellent pregnancy conditions and normal labor and healthy children (Teitler, 2001). Horn and Sylvester (2002) state that children who do not live with their fathers mostly experience health problems. Fathers who are involved in parenting are more socially mature (Pleck, 1997), feel more satisfied with their lives (Eggebean & Knoester, 2001), are able to understand themselves and empathize with others, and manage emotions well (Heath, 1994). This involvement creates kinship and close interactions within the extended family (Knoester & Eggebean, 2006). This condition also contributes to the positive participation of fathers in work, thus improving the economic condition of the family (Lerman & Sorensen, 2000). Fathers who are involved in caregiving will influence marital happiness. Marital stability will lead to feelings of happiness even though the marriage has been lived for up to twenty years (Snarey, 1993).

 Meanwhile, in the cognitive aspect, fatherless is not a measure of high achievement. (Purwindari, 2023) learning in children. This is because the mother figure dominates to motivate the development of achievement in children. In fact, many say that a mother is the first school for children. This is based on the experience that children generally spend more time with their mothers because fathers have the responsibility to work and usually can only accompany their children to play and study in their spare time. Nevertheless, it does not mean that the father's role in children's cognitive development is not important, but it will be a complement in achieving achievement if a child has motivation from both parents. 

Therefore, researchers found that fatherless conditions during child development have more influence on the development of emotional intelligence than achievement intelligence. Because basically, a process with complete components will produce something maximum. So, fatherless conditions during child development are not something that can be underestimated. 

Conclusion

Father absence in Indonesia is understood as Fatherless or Father Absence.  The phenomenon of fatherless has a significant impact in Indonesia, focusing on the void in fathers' role and involvement in childcare. Father absence can be physical or psychological, caused by various factors such as divorce, death of the father, or marital relationship problems. The separation of the father's residence from the child, even if the father lives with the child, can result in a lack of father interaction and involvement in parenting. The resolution of divorce issues between parents is key to ending the restriction and disproportionate removal of paternal visitation time by mothers. Awareness of parental duties and roles should be maintained, even after the end of the marriage relationship. Extended family support, such as replacing the father's role with another figure, can help meet children's needs and reduce the negative impact of fatherless on children's development.

This research confirms that the role of fathers has a significant impact on child development. There is an urgent need for the involvement of fathers in the aspect of inner sustenance, in addition to physical sustenance. The absence of a father figure, as in the case of fatherless, can cause an imbalance in the emotional development and intelligence of children. This phenomenon provides an understanding that parental care, especially the role of fathers, is a key factor in the formation of children's character. Therefore, children who experience fatherless need special attention to prevent negative impacts such as difficulty forming self-identity, low motivation to learn, and interpersonal problems.