The new movie 'Daddy's Little Girls' tells the story of a father who fights for shared custody of his daughters with his ex-wife. The movie brings to the forefront an important fact that's often overlooked - a father's involvement has dramatic effects in his kids' lives.

"A just-released Boston College study found that when nonresident fathers are involved in their adolescent children's lives, the incidence of substance abuse, violence, crime, and truancy decreases markedly... The study also found that when teens begin to slide towards delinquency, nonresident fathers increase their involvement in response. The researchers found such involvement to be effective - the impact of father involvement was the greatest on the kids who had previously been the most troubled."

Studies have also determined that father involvement is a greater predictor of juvenile crime than the family's socio-economic status. Read more at PostChronicle.com.

Labels: fathers, influences, parental_involvement