CT Daily has previously shown how a positive relationship with a mother can affect a child. A Concordia University study now reveals the link between a father’s presence and a child’s intellect and well-being.

Researchers evaluated 138 children and their parents when the children were 3 to 5 years old and again when they were 9 to 13 years old. The researchers found that fathers who exhibited hands-on parenting had children with less behavior problems and higher intellectual abilities, regardless of the family’s socioeconomic status.

“Regardless of whether fathers lived with their children, their ability to set appropriate limits and structure their children’s behaviour positively influenced problem-solving and decreased emotional problems, such as sadness, social withdrawal and anxiety,” said researcher Erin Pougnet in a Concordia press release.

The study also found that when a father was absent from a child’s life, the impact was especially noticeable on girls. Girls whose fathers were absent during the middle portion of their childhood were reported to have “significantly higher levels of emotional problems at school” than those whose fathers were present.