To understand the psychology behind deadbeat behavior, we need to examine many factors that can influence a father’s decision to provide or withhold financial provision. These factors can be divided into three broad categories: individual, social, and economic, all previously discussed.

Black men’s mental health matters. While Americans Africans experience similar rates of mental illness as other Americans in general, there are contextual differences. Black adults living below the poverty line are more than twice as likely to report serious psychological distress as U.S. adults who enjoy greater financial security, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health. Depressive symptoms among people of African descent are more disabling, persistent, and treatment-resistant than they are among European people. There's so much more to this, and I will try to share so that the myth is debunked.

Anxiety can trigger depression and other behavioral physical and mental health issues. It is especially hard if you are dealing with other personal, work, relationship, or family-related issues. It is okay to ask for help.

Police brutality toward men of color (particularly Black men), as exemplified by the murder of George Floyd (yes, we’re still talking about these brothers, and it should be a continued conversation in America) under a White officer’s knee, highlighted the particular range of mental stressors men of color experience. All men suffer mental health and police brutality. Yet in the community of men of color, mental health goes underreported or undiagnosed, unacknowledged, or, most importantly, untreated.

We should place less emphasis on whether men of color are resistant to therapy and more on understanding the contexts in which they already feel comfortable talking about their feelings and traumas.

The Deadbeat Dad Stereotype: Myth or Reality. So, why do some fathers behave this way?

Anxiety can trigger depression and other behavioral physical and mental health issues. It is especially hard if you are dealing with other personal, work, relationship, or family-related issues. It is okay to ask for help.

“One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and one who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty."

Children growing up in low-income and now many middle-class families face challenges that children from more advantaged families do not. childhood, and the association between these patterns of poverty in early and middle adulthood, are devastating.

Far too many are still in denial and want to push back relating to the disparities in wealth—and that which leads to poverty is a real thing! Just because you haven't lived in poverty doesn't mean it doesn't exist. No, it isn’t about victimhood; I’m simply pointing out facts about childhood trauma and poverty. Intergenerational economic mobility is a key indicator of the degree of equality of opportunity in every society. Researchers also find that the intergenerational correlation between incomes and earnings varies widely by race.

Anxiety can trigger depression and other behavioral physical and mental health issues. It is especially hard if you are dealing with other personal, work, relationship, or family-related issues. It is okay to ask for help.