...Effects of Single Parent Homes on Children Abstract Throughout the world, there are numerous children being raised in single parent homes. This paper is a summary of the increase of children raised by single parents and the effects it has on them. Single parent homes will consist of households with at least one child under the age of 18 and only one parent as a result of divorce, death, or parents having never been married. The effects on cognitive, social, and emotional development of these children will be compared to that of children raised in two-parent homes. Effects of Single Parent Homes on Children The American family dynamic has seen a drastic shift in the past few decades. The nuclear family structure, consisting of a father, mother, and children, has been rapidly decreasing as more and more children are being raised in single-parent homes. Divorce, parental death, or couples having never been married are some common circumstances leading to single-parenthood. Being a single-parent and sole provider for children can be a difficult and overwhelming task. Having to single handedly juggle all the responsibilities of career, maintaining a household, and raising children is hard on not only the parent but it takes a toll on the children, as well. When compared to their married-couple counterparts, the effects on cognitive, social and emotional development of children raised in single parent homes is made apparent. They are placed at a disadvantage and their...
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...Single parent home Ashley Reid Psy Topic proposal Capella University August 11, 2013, Year “Seventy percent of all children will spend all or part of their lives in a single parent home.”(Dowd)The family structure has changed significantly in the last fifty years with higher percentages of marriages ending in divorce, and higher rates of childbearing out of wedlock. In this study the writer will show that the children of these families are affected dramatically both negatively and positively? Problem Statement Children being raised in single parent homes have a higher chance of poverty, delinquency and high school failure. Background of Study The US census bureau reported that 30 percent of children live in a single parent home. Are children that are raised by one parent verses both parent receiving the short hand of the deal? Children with single parents were twice as likely to have psychiatric disorders, attempt suicide, and abuse alcohol, and three to four times more likely to use narcotic drugs”.(The Lancet,25 January 2003.) In 2009 the New York Times found that the time spent with a single parent during the formative preschool years seems to have particularly bad effects on a boy’s education,” (Shelia Fitzgerald Krein,, 2009.) Single mothers who work outside the home appear to provide greater incentive as role models for their daughters than there sons, The role-model influence in the case of the girls appears to compensate for the loss of the mother’s...
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...For many years, children raised in a single parent family have been viewed as different. More recent, children growing up in a same-sex family have been viewed as different, and both considered as non-traditional (Duncan “Being a Successful Parent”). Being raised in a nontraditional family seems unmanageable to many yet over time it has become more established. In today’s society, several children have grown up to become emotionally stable and successful whether raised in a traditional or non-traditional family. The problem is in the difference of children raised in traditional families versus children raised in a non-traditional family. Are non–traditional families just as good as or better than traditional families when raising a successful child? Should good parenting and an individual’s parenting skills be more of a concern than the family’s structure when raising a successful child? With many assumptions, this topic has become a very interesting argument. What parents must understand is properly raising a child is more important than the structure of the family. Children of non-traditional families can be just as progressive with emotional, social and behavioral skills as those of a traditional family....
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...Are Single Parent Homes a Dysfunctional Model of Family? According to a recent study from CBS, the United States has the highest divorce rate of any country at 45%. Due to this high rate of divorce, many families find that there is an imbalance of family roles in these newly created single parent households. Being a single parent has its own set of challenges for the individual and creates challenges for the family such as, spending smaller amounts of time with your children, having an excessive work load and disrupting the wellbeing of the children. Often times, single parents find that they are unable to spend as much time with their children. This can be caused by having to share their time with the parent no longer living in the home, multiple children living in the home, and the custodial parent having to either take on a new job or an additional job. In a divorce one parent is awarded custody of the children and the non-custodial parent is often granted visitation. This visitation can be multiple times during the week, once a week, a few times a month and so on. While this time is important for the child and non-custodial parent, it is time that the custodial parent is missing out on with their child. Being a single parent to multiple children brings on a set of different challenges by not being able to spend as much one-on-one time with each child. After all, the single parent is only one person. The single parent may find that they are either entering the...
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...whom was born out of wedlock, and has no contact with him. In spite of his apparent intelligence and with no formal education, he is not able to get a decent job. He works here-and-there doing manual labor, but he is going nowhere. He considers himself a failure and suffers from depression. Bill has tried to locate his father to ask him why he did not want him, and why he had abandoned him. Unfortunately, he said he has not been able to find him. Every question I asked him about his life’s mistakes led him to say “I did not have a father to guide me.” Unfortunately Bill is repeating his father’s behavior pattern for he has also abandoned his own child (William Jones). Non-resident fathers are fathers who do not live with their children in the same...
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...Divorce and the Destruction of the Family Ron Swanson Western Washington University The Destruction of the Family Throughout history, societies that valued traditional marriage and sexual abstinence were able to remain fundamentally strong and have flourished. Once a society decides to abandon these simple principles, destruction inevitably follows. J. Unwin (1934) wrote, “In human records, there is no instance of a society retaining its energy after a complete new generation has inherited a tradition which does not insist on prenuptial and postnuptial continence” (Unwin, 1934, p. 174). In today’s society, family and marriage are not defined by the traditional definition handed down through several millennia of history; rather the definition has been warped, and a new unstable version of the family has been accepted by our society. Traditional marriage is by its nature, the foundation of the family. The family is the building block of society, and marriage is the basis of the family. The devaluation of the conventional family, and more specifically, the destruction of traditional marriage by divorce, can have no other outcome but the destruction of our society. There are many reasons to evaluate why we have arrived at this state in our society: the growth of consumerism and commercialism, influence of Hollywood over our lives, the decline of religiosity in the United States, the decline of the social order and neighborhood relationships. All of these reasons are legitimate...
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...divorced or they never marriage but have children. In my opinion, two parents are better than one. Not only are children with two parents better off emotionally, financially, medically, etc., than children of single parents, children of married parents fare better than children of unmarried parents living together. The children of happy marriages are much healthier in the term of mental than the children of divorced parents or the children of single parents who were never married. In an article from Rhona Mahony, she writes that: “Researchers interview 60 recently divorced couples who are experiencing such trouble with their separation that they have sought counselling from a professional psychologist. One -third of the parents have generally adequate mental health. An additional 15 percent of the men and 20 percent of the women have severe mental illness, such as paranoid thinking or manic-depressive disorder.” (www.stanford.edu ) She also argued that: “The researchers discover that after the divorce, many of the children in those families have trouble in school and struggle with intense feelings of anger and sorrow.” (www.stanford.edu) It can be seen from the research that not only parents have mental illness but also children. In addition, Mohony refers to Second Chances (Wallerstein), which reports on children from divorced families. The appendix describes the unusual...
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...A single parent is a parent who cares for one or more children without the assistance of another parent in the home. Being a single parent may occur for a variety of reasons: divorce, adoption, abandonment, or even death. Single parent families suffer from multiple problems including the decline in income and educational level, which consequently lead to economic, social and psychological complications (Essa, 1995). According to research, children of single-parent families suffer from a decline in the level of education when compared to children who are raised in an intact family. Children in single-parent households were twice as likely to drop out of school (Al-Zufairi, 2000). Children from single-parent households were also more likely to take jobs at the bottom of the occupational grade with lower incomes and also have a higher rate of unemployment. The children in single-parent households also suffered economic deprivation, prenatal care and had a higher rate of moving from home to home, which could negatively affect their development. Broken families earn less money, suffer from low educational levels and often pass these conditions on to their children, which often effects other generations. A single care giver will usually develop a sense of loneliness and tension, especially when he/she needs to make important decisions concerning the family. Certain conditions such as mental disorders, special needs and physiological conditions often increase the worry of raising...
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...A single parent is a parent with one or more children, who is/are not living with the child's/children's other parents. The definition of single parenthood may vary according to local laws of nations or provinces. Single parenthood may occur as a result of loss (death of spouse, separation, divorce, abandonment by one parent), or by choice (single parent adoption, donor insemination, egg donor/surrogate motherhood, choosing to carry to term an unexpected pregnancy and raise the child on one's own). More than 25% of children in the U.S. live with only one parent (U.S. Bureau of Census, 1997). Research about the welfare of children in single-parent families varies. Many factors influence the outcome of how children fare: parent's age, education level, and occupation, family income, family's support network from friends and extended family members (including the absent parent if available). Further, outcomes in families where single-parenthood is chosen is higher, as the single parent is typically older, has established employment and social supports, and has considered the pros and cons of raising a child alone. Statistically, children in single parent homes fare worse than those with two parents. In the United States, family structure contributes to five characteristics of a child's well being. These include lower birthrates and higher death rates among infants when there is just one parent. Also, the number of children ages 15-17 in school and in good health is much lower...
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...Single parenting in the 21st century is vastly different than it was in years past. Done away are the days of the traditional American family with two parents, two children, and a dog, as the only model of a family. The American dream has evolved. Now it is socially acceptable to choose to be a single parent. There are many circumstances that would lead to a decision by mothers and fathers to choose single-parenting as an option or a result. Various circumstances, such as adoption, divorce, death, and incarceration can result in becoming a single parent. Children growing up in single parent households can and have become responsible citizens in his or her adult lives. Today, society recognizes the reality, that single-parent family households is considered to be as normal as two-parent family households. With the prevalence of mixed families, single parents are on the rise, if not for a small period of time between marriages. When married couples decide to divorce, the newly single parent may start a new family; thus creating mixed or extended families. In addition, the divorce rates in the United States are over 50 percent, making it less likely for two parents to raise a child. Also, with the increase of affluence in the United States, prior to the economic bust, raising a child above the poverty level has become much more of a likelihood. A vast number of African Americans were left destitute and in poverty at initiation of the Vietnam War. As many African American...
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...delinquency. Many of these causes include economic background and status, influence of peer (groups), repeated exposure to violence inside and outside of the home, images portrayed in the media and the easy access to firearms. Although all of these matters, alone or combined, can turn any child into a juvenile delinquent, parenting is one of the primary causes. Parents are live-in examples for juveniles whom learn by example. There are other sources children can be influenced by, but parents are the most important source simply because they are the primary caregivers, role models and first leading examples for children. Families are one of the strongest socializing forces in life. The images parents and family members portray determine what young children learn to be right or wrong and take as lifelong morals and standards. Parents and family life have a great deal of influence over children and basically mold and shape them into adults. Many if not all parents know that parenting is a complex task with no easy answers or solutions. No child comes with an owner’s manual or parenting tips on how to raise children. Parents learn how to raise their children from how they were raised and things they have experienced in life. Parents with more than one child learn from the way they raised their previous children. Parenting is like trial and error, trying different parenting styles until one is found that they feel is best fit for raising their young ones. According...
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...COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE REPRESENTATION OF FAMILY IN THE TELEVISION SHOW WEEDS Name Instructor Introduction For some time now, different faculties on human psychology, sociology and cultural studies have been investigating the effect of media artifacts in influencing and dictating ideologies and perceptions in the societies that consume them. Contemporary findings indicate that media artifacts such as television shows, movies, and books, directly influence the behavior of individuals within their different social groups and determine the type of interpersonal relationships one forges with other people, relative to their role in their lives. In addition, media affect the expressions of social class and socio-economic stature through the encouragement of the consumer culture and individualism. This paper analyses the television series Weeds, seeking to highlight how the portrayal of a single-mother family mirrors the literature on single-parent families in terms of perceived structures, financial challenges, academic achievement of children and the emotional and psychological health as well as the challenges specifically affecting single mothers. Weeds is an eight-season television show depicting the character of Nancy, a recently widowed woman who struggles to a means of mitigating the growing financial problem she faces following the death of Judah, her husband. She eventually opts to expand small her marijuana retailing enterprise to make ends...
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...I believe that children should be raised in a stable nurturing home by either both parents, mother and father or by a single parent. I feel that if it is a loving home where each parent is taking part in raising the child it is beneficial to the child. On the other hand if both parents argue all the time than it is not beneficial for the child’s upbringing. In having just one custodial parent the child is better off because the one parent will be able to provide a better stable social environment. Few parents decide on becoming single parents other reasons why someone might become a single parent are the death of one partner, abandonment or adoption of a child by a single person out of his or her choice. An unstable home where the parents are constantly fighting and arguing will lead the parents to choose divorce. Divorce does not impact the child as negatively as when both parents choose to stay together for the sake of the children. Researchers agree that around the time their parents separate almost all children go through a period of distress. Within two to three years, most children have recovered. The great majority of children of divorce are not impaired in their development. (Skolnik) One in four children is being raised by a single parent. There are approximately 13.6 million single parents in the United States today, and those parents are responsible for raising 21.2 million children. Most single parents are employed, which is contrary to what people think that they...
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...conditions and a negative home life. Some behavioral issues are a direct cause of mental health problems, but for this study, we will not look at the mental health issues that cause behavior issues. A growing body of research has examined the cause of youth violence, among peers and parental relationships. The world we are living in today is full of violent images; from video games to movies, even much of today’s music can promote a violent message. There are other external influences that can also influence many children’s behaviors; such as impoverishment, inferior living conditions, inadequate housing, which often leads to illicit activities; such as drug and alcohol abuse and other criminal activities. In this research study, we will try to answer several questions the effects of violent images, or video games may have on our youth today. We will also examine if coming from a broken home has any direct correlation on the behavior of the child or children? This paper will examine several studies on this subject in the hopes of discovering the possible solutions to the questions raised in this paper. * Do violent images, video games, etc. influence children’s behavior? * Does coming from a broken, or abusive home, etc. influence children’s behavior? * Do children raised in a typical two parent household have an advantage over those raised in single family households? * Can coming from an urban area influence bad behavior in children? In the first study I...
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...Single Family Homes, the Causes of all Evil? CRJ 1800 Single Family Homes, the Causes of all Evil? When carefully studying youth delinquency the easiest thing to do is group all delinquent youths under one common denominator. Unfortunately for Jennifer Roback, it is impossible to find a common link that truly is a route cause because there are always too many other variables at play that may or may not be full known to the researcher. To suggest that living with a single parent, or in the case of this article, a single mother; those children raised in such households have very little chance at living inside the constitutes of the law. While it may seem that the previous wording used here is strong, the point she is making is that single mother families do not work and that children with absent fathers are doomed to be criminals, or at least have almost no chance to be a productive member of society. While there are countless examples of people you and I both know people that are well adjusted, successful individuals raised in single mother households, the slant on this article is so strongly negative that it would seem the very thought of associating with such people could be a detriment on ourselves. In fact, taking this article as cold hard fact, could transform all ideas about development as a child in general for instance; Roback states that, “The basic self-control and reciprocity that a free society takes for granted do not develop automatically. Conscience...
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