Effects of Single Parenting

Limited study has been given to the effects of single parenting. Studies that have been done have focused on divorce and low income status. However, today's single parents arrive at single parenting for a variety of reasons, and the same conclusions can no longer be drawn.

There are numerous questions that researchers have attempted to answer regarding the effects of single parenting:

• Is it significant that a parent is missing? (i.e. Do two parents raise more successful children than does one parent?)
• Is the number of parents in the home more significant that the relationship and parenting skills of the parent?
• How many single parenting families have an extensive support group of family and friends that actively participate in the child's life, and does this extended network help the outcome for children?
• Is the cause of singleness significant in the outcome and well being of the child? (i.e. How do children who had a parent die or had parents divorce compare with those children whose parents simply chose to be single?)

It would be fool hardy to say that the effects of single parenting are always negative when there are so many other variables to consider. Despite these many different circumstances, can conclusions be drawn across the board for all (or most) single parents and their children?

Traditional research has said that a two parent family is better than a single parent home. However, the tide is changing, and while the common theory is that two parents are still better than one parent, psychologists and other professionals are starting to decry the all or nothing generalization. Also, research is starting to shift to focus on factors that can be present in single parent families (like a low income, or an absent father), but the reality is that most kids raised by single parents do not grow up to have significant difficulties in life any more so than kids from two parent homes. Further more, the difficulties cannot truly be solely attributed to single parenting.

What do Barack Obama, Michael Phelps, Lance Armstrong, and actor Benjamin Bratt have in common? They are all incredibly successful and were all raised by single parents.

The common assertion that a boy needs a father is being shown to simply be untrue. According to sociologist, Tim Biblarz from UCLA, the bigger indicator of 'at risk' behavior is socio-economic stability. Research seems to show that children raised in single parent homes that have financial resources do just as well as kids from two parent homes.

Kids from single parent families certainly can have long term problems. However, single parenting, in and of itself, isn't necessarily the cause. In every given situation, there are a host of circumstances that can help guide and shape a young child into a successful adult. Factors include the child's relationship with the residential parent, the child's own personal tendency towards resiliancy, as well as other adults that play a significant role in the child's life.

As it is increasingly more common to choose to be a single parent through adoption or fertility, it's important to identify correctly factors that do contribute to at risk behavior in children. The effects of single parenting alone are not significant-but rather it's single parenting combined with other factors that could lead to at risk behavior in youth.

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