How Father Absence Shapes Male Violence Worldwide |
Camilo grew up surrounded by adults, yet without a stable father. His mother moved from one relationship to another, each new man arriving with promises of permanence and leaving with silence. By the time Camilo reached adolescence, he had called five different men “father,” and none of them stayed. What formed inside him was not only grief, but confusion about what authority, protection, and masculinity were supposed to look like.
He is one of the men I met while working in a restorative justice program in Colombia, where individuals convicted of serious offenses are invited to confront the human meaning of the harm they caused. His story emerged not as an excuse for violence, but as a reflection shaped through accountability. In that space, the psychological architecture described in Dangerous Minds became visible, revealing how early abandonment organizes loyalty, power, and later harm (Castell Britton, 2025).
Father absence today reflects a global reality affecting millions of boys. It rarely appears as a single, clear rupture. More often, it takes the form of instability, intermittent presence, and repeated abandonment. Research shows that this kind of inconsistency disrupts emotional security and increases vulnerability to external influences, particularly during adolescence (McLanahan & Sandefur, 1994).
Father absence is often discussed in emotional terms, yet its deeper psychological impact lies in the loss of structure. A stable father figure contributes to the internalization of limits, responsibility, and emotional containment. When that figure is absent or unreliable, boys struggle to develop an internal framework for authority and self-regulation. This does not automatically produce violence, but it increases susceptibility to environments that promise structure quickly.
Camilo learned early that adult men were temporary. Each departure reinforced the idea that authority was unreliable and attachment unsafe. Empirical studies show that inconsistent paternal involvement weakens attachment security and