Abstract
Father-absence occurs with unusual frequency among people of African descent in the Caribbean. Yet concern over possibly harmful effects of this condition to children and society which is most obvious in the United States is not informed by scientific findings from this region. The present study yielded no evidence that father-absence retards the aspiration or performance of secondary school students in St. Vincent, West Indies, although twelve different groupings of the available cases were analyzed. Findings from this and some American studies suggest that father-absence is not harmful if it is not strongly condemned by the culture with which youths identify.