Father presence, as a paradigm, is a rich and complex construction of father roles, family functioning, and fathers' relations to children's development driven by functional, psychological, and affective aspects of parenting extending beyond physical and fiscal boundaries. This review critiques extensively the voluminous father-absence literature and presents related paradigms. Diversity issues, specifically ethnicity, which are often excluded in typical reviews of father absence, are integrated throughout the review. The thesis of this review is that the father-absence research is constrained by its simplistic and narrow perspective on parenting influences as well as its adherence to a stagnant cultural ideal (M. Lamb, 1987) that weakens purported linkages to child outcomes. Although few empirical studies make the linkage between child outcomes and a more multifaceted notion of father presence, they are powerful and compelling works. The review asserts that within the context of caring and nurturing relations, fathers can offer unique contributions to the development of healthy children in a variety of family types. (Contains 133 references.) (Author/KB)