Previous research on the presence and absence of fathers and on single mother families has garnered contradictory findings in terms of effects on children. The current study compared three samples of women on a series of mental health measures in order to compare the long-term psychological effects of having abusive fathers, nonabusive fathers, and absent fathers. Participants were 185 women who reported a nonabusive father figure, 200 women who reported an abusive father figure, and 40 women who reported an absent father figure; all participants were recruited for interviews following group treatment meetings. Interviews assessed mental health problems, parent-child conflict, and experiences of partner abuse. Results of multivariate analysis of variance and pairwise post hoc comparisons indicated that women with absent father figures had lower mean levels of anxiety, depression, and trauma symptoms than women with abusive father figures. No significant differences were discovered between the women with absent father figures and the women with nonabusive father figures. One important implication for policy and practice is that is it better to have no father than to have an abusive father. Future research should focus on the positive effects of strong mother-daughter bonds for women with absent father figures. Tables, references