The Negative Effects on Children Living In a Single Family Household - Research Paper Example

Impact of Single Parent Family on Children Impact of Single Parent Family on Children Introduction The traditional family system which comprised of a mother and a father along with their children is on a decline due to increase in the rate of divorces. Due to this, the number of children residing in a single family household is on a rise. According to Mark Mather a total of 18.1 million children were living in a single parent household which was being taken care by a mother (Mather, 2013). Increases in single parent family households have negatively impacted the children living in these households, these negative impacts include: lower educational attainments, criminal behavior and emotional issues.

Body One of the consequences that have been experienced by children living in a single parent family household is that children in such families fail to perform well in their educational sphere. This is because when one single parent is running the entire household, they are able to provide less amount of support to their children in shape of emotional as well as monetary support. The educational opportunities that are available to a child of single parent family are much lower than their counterparts.

Douglas B. Bowney conducted a research on the educational performance of children living in single father or mother led family households and figured out that those children who were living in such households were not performing as good as the children living in two parent families (Downey, 1994). Due to lack of support in single parent family, children are not provided proper supervision and guidance. Their parents are mostly out at work in order to meet the financial needs and when they come back to their home, they tend to rest because of their hectic working schedules.

Children in single parent families even fail to differentiate between right and wrong as the parents are not home to inform them about behaviors that are accepted by the society and behaviors that are considered as deviant. According to Stephen Demuth and Susan L. Brown’s research, children who are born and raised in a single parent household are at a higher risk of committing criminal activities as compared to those who live with two biological parents (Demuth, 2004). Another issue experienced by children living in households of single parent is that they experience ample amount of emotional issues.

Children who experience child abuse and divorce are at a higher risk of developing behavioral as well as emotional issues. These children tend to exhibit aggressive behaviors and may even experience higher amount of stress and depression because they have experienced their parents fighting with each other and then getting a divorce. According to Fine, children who reside in a single parent household tend to experience double the amount of emotional issues as compared to their counterparts (Bomar, 2004, p.486). Conclusion Increase in divorce rates and individuals choosing to live without their spouses have increased and due to this the number of children residing in single parent family have even increased and this condition is negatively impacting the educational achievements of children, these children are even at a higher risk of committing anti-social behavior and are at a higher risk of developing cognitive and behavioral issues.

ReferencesBomar, P. J. (2004). Promoting health in families: applying family research and theory to nursing practice (3rd ed.). Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders.Demuth, S., & Brown, S. L. (2004). Family Structure, Family Processes, And Adolescent Delinquency: The Significance Of Parental Absence Versus Parental Gender. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 41(1), 58-81.Downey, D. B. (March 01, 1994). The School Performance of Children from Single-Mother and Single-Father Families: Economic or Interpersonal Deprivation?. Journal of Family Issues, 15, 1, 129-47.Mather, M. (n.d.). U.S.

Children in Single-Mother Families - Population Reference Bureau. Home - Population Reference Bureau. Retrieved May 24, 2013, from http://www.prb.org/Publications/PolicyBriefs/singlemotherfamilies.aspx