The effects of both early and late father-absence upon school achievement, cognitive development, and emotional development of 27 Australian males between 9 and 12 years of age were examined. Three groups of boys were evaluated in order to ascertain the effects of paternal deprivation. These groups included children experiencing (1) early father-absence (deprivation occurring before age 5), (2) late father-absence (deprivation occurring after age 5), and (3) no absence of father. It was hypothesized that those subjects with absent fathers would manifest significant deficits on mathematics, vocabulary, and language comprehension abilities as compared with those subjects whose fathers were present. It was further hypothesized that those subjects who experienced paternal deprivation prior to 5 years of age would show the greatest deficit on the three achievement measures used. Also expected were significant differences in self-concept, with males undergoing early deprivation showing poorer self-concept than those who were not deprived. Results indicated that the performance of subjects with fathers present was significantly superior on all achievement measures to that of boys whose fathers were absent. However, no significant differences were revealed between the two groups undergoing early and late paternal deprivation, nor were any differences found between these groups on self-concept measures. The possible reasons for these findings in terms of theory and in comparison with similar studies in other countries are discussed. (Author/MP)