The father's absence during a the critical growth periods of children may lead to their turning to drugs and crime when they become adults, new findings show.

The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre in Quebec said that the absence of a father during the growing years leads to impaired social and behavioural abilities in adults.

The scientists, who conducted the study on mice raised only by their mother, found that they were more aggressive and had abnormal social interactions.

"Although we used mice, the findings were extremely relevant to humans," said Gabriella Gobbi, senior author and an associate professor at the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University.

"We used California mice which, like in some human populations, are monogamous and raise their offspring together," Gabriella Gobbi added.