Effects of Single Parenting on a Child

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The Effects of Single-Parenthood on Children There have been numerous studies conducted concerning the role of family structure on various aspects of a child’s life. The majority of the studies focus on one specific factor of a child’s upbringing and compare children from various backgrounds to determine whether or not the make-up of the family has any correlation with how well or how poorly the child performs in a particular area. Many of these studies also take into account the age and gender of the child as well as the gender of the parent. Most research seems to focus on the common factors of achievements, namely academic, relationships with others, gender roles, and the amount of money coming into the household. One area of interest for researchers is the achievement of children from single-parent families as compared to those from two-parent families. Researchers Madden and Laurence conducted a study in 1997 that compared the communication skills of preschoolers from single-parent families to those from two-parent families. They found that only “25% of the children from single parent homes were referred for a diagnostic while 44% of children from two parent homes were referred” (5). They suggest that perhaps the major difference is the quality or amount of parental interaction time after the day care day is over since a single parent has no other adult present in the home for end of the day conversations. Madden and Laurence also discovered that day care workers were not surprised by the outcomes, as they had observed similar happenings in the day to day functioning of the children (7). Sociologists Sang Min Lee and Jason Kushner conducted a similar study in 2008 and focused primarily on the gender of both parent and child to determine what differences existed in academic achievement, if any. They note many earlier theorists who believe that children adapt
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