Broken Family Structure Leads to Educational Difficulties for Children UNITED STATES, January 16, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The U.S Center for Marriage and Family released a study in November 2005 that shows broken family structures consistently lead to education difficulties for children. “When it comes to educational achievement,” the study says, “children living with their own married parents do significantly better than other children.” The report found that children from non-intact families (children living in a situation other than with their own married father and mother) have significantly higher rates of difficulty with all levels of education, from pre-kindergarten through to primary, secondary, and college-age levels. Each year a child spends with a single mother or stepparent “reduces that child’s overall educational attainment by approximately one-half year” suggests the report. The study, a comprehensive review of recent academic research on the relationship between family structures and children’s academic performance, compared education outcomes from children growing up with their own married parents to children in non-intact family structures such as divorced, single, remarried or cohabiting parents. Family structure was consistently found to be the deciding factor in a wide range of child behaviors that directly influence academic performance, including emotional and psychological distress, attention disorders, social misbehavior, substance abuse, sexual activity and teen pregnancy. Children from non-intact homes had higher rates of stress, depression, anxiety and low self-esteem, particularly as teenagers. The study found that preschool children from broken homes were three times more likely to suffer fr... ... middle of paper ... ... a study of young people from low- income black homes with varying family structures, Clark (1983) finds that the parents of high academic achievers set firm but not harsh rules, seek information about their children's academic progress, enhance literacy skills through activities such as reading and word games, and model an optimistic, assertive approach to life. In Clark's study, the two-parent and single-parent families that had these attributes produced higher achieving students, while the two-parent and single-parent families that lacked these characteristics produced less successful students. Similarly, Goldenberg (1989) describes how assertive parent involvement may significantly influence student achievement. Over the course of Goldenberg's case study, the children who improved their reading skills received encouragement and/or home tutoring from their parents.
For a positive future, it is only common sense that a generation of healthy children must be raised. A stable family unit and personal attention seem logical ways to rear successful young people. Yet statistics show that in 2003, approximately 37,000 marriages and 21,000 divorces occurred in Kentucky; other states showed very similar ratios, such as Ohio, with about 73,000 marriages and 40,000 divorces (NVSR, Pg. 6). Clearly, many students already have “broken homes” as obstacles, but the homogenous
...istics, 1999). McBride, Brent A., Sara K., Sullivan, and Ho-Ho (2005) reported about the achievement levels in a adolescent who grows up with a father, “A study of 1330 children from the PSID showed that fathers who are involved on a personal level with their child schooling increases the likelihood of their child's achievement. When fathers assume a positive role in their child's education, students feel a positive impact.” (p. 201-216). Children who do not grow up in a two parent homes, are more likely to fail and repeat a grade in school. It is also important to note that children who grow up in single parent families are less likely to have parents involved with the school, 62% of children with two parent homes have parents that are involved in school, while children from single parent homes have half of them involved in school (Nord, Winquist, West, 2001).
This would lead to higher grades, test scores, school attendance, decreased use of drugs and alcohol, and lower rates of suspension and dropping out (What Research). With his parents not around to support him, he lacked the necessary moral compass, decision making, and social skills needed to succeed not only in school, but in the world. Many kids have the same parental situation as Holden, also with similar results. -----Family participation in education was twice as predictive of students ' academic success as family socioeconomic status. Some of the more intensive programs had effects that were 10 times greater than other factors” (What Research). Increased parental involvement could be the first step to breaking the cycle of poor education and poverty. Poor students are at a much higher risk of not having parental involvement, which draws a clear parallel to these students and Holden
Gennetian, Lisa A . “One or Two Parents? Half or Step Siblings? The Effect of Family Structure on Young Children 's Achievement”. Journal of Population Economics , Vol. 18, No. 3 (Sep., 2005), pp. 415-436. Published by: Springer . Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20007969. Web. November 10, 2014
Thornton A. 1991. Influence of the marital history of parents on the marital and cohabitation experiences of children. Am. J. Sociol. 96:868 94
...ook at their parents' level of education and their relationships with their parents to determine whether parental education was a predictor of academic success. They found that though maternal education was a motivator for children's academic performance, overall, parental education was not a big factor. The involvement and relationship between the parents and children were a bigger indicator of success or failure.
Over the past decades, the patterns of family structure have changed dramatically in the United States. The typical nuclear family, two married parents with children living together in one household, is no longer the structure of the majority of the families today. The percentage of single-parent families, step-families and adopted families has increased significantly over the years. The nuclear family is a thing of the past. Family situations have tremendous influence upon a child’s academic achievement, behavior and social growth.
On most occasions, divorces leads to children shifting from one district school to another leading to emotional disruption since they require emotional adjustments. After divorces, when there are second families, there are the unique problems of step families (Howe, 2012). Children may not be comfortable with step families since they may treat them unequally compared to their own children. Research has shown that most children suffer silently under the care of step parents. Subsequent marriages are less likely to work out than first marriages and hence it may require further adjustments to the lifestyles of the children. Studies that even though the subsequent marriages may work for the parents, the same success does not always trickle down to the children and hence they end up getting a raw
The students who do not have the parent support and role models as young children are less likely to succeed in life. Children from single parent homes are more likely to use and abuse drugs (Hoffmann “The Community Context of Family Structure and Adolescent Drug Use”) as well as twice as likely to commit suicide and/or have a psychiatric disease (www.webmd.com). One of the ways that teachers can reach and influence these students is through afterschool programs. 57% of students from single parent homes are enrolled in some form of after school program from grades 1 through 5 (Working Families and Afterschool A Special Report from America After 3 PM: A Household Survey on Afterschool in America 2). Children often learn their social skills from watching their parents interact with others. Later in life, these may influence the jobs that they are offered and received as their potential employer evaluates how they communicate in an interview or in their interactions with others. Raymond
In conclusion, the authors have come to the same assumptions that many other researchers have also come to. That assumption is that children who are raised in a perpetual household or parents who are just cohabiting are not as high danger statistics as those who were raised in an unstable environment. Do not be fooled, there are many other reasons to be apprehensive a child’s wellbeing in families that are not as stable as most homes. This is one reason why we have departments such as child protective agencies that are looking out for the best interest of the child. Just because someone has a child does not mean that they will automatically become great parents. We all see the tragic stories of abused children everyday where the system has failed that child and/ or family as a
For many years, children growing up in a single parent family have been viewed as different. Being raised by only one parent seems impossible to many yet over the decades it has become more prevalent. In today’s society many children have grown up to become emotionally stable and successful whether they had one or two parents to show them the rocky path that life bestows upon all human beings. The problem lies in the difference of children raised by single parents versus children raised by both a mother and a father. Does a child need both parents? Does a young boy need a father figure around? Does the government provide help for single parents? What role do step-parents and step-siblings play? With much speculation, this topic has become a very intriguing argument. What people must understand is that properly raising a child does not rely on the structure of a family but should be more focused on the process
Dawson, D.A. (1991) Family Structure and Children’s Health and Well Being National Health Interview Survey on Child Health, Journal of marriage and the Family
The Family structure has changed significantly in the last fifty years. With higher percentages of marriage ending in divorce, and higher rates of childbearing out of wedlock, single parent families are increasing rapidly. “Seventy percent of all the children will spend all or part of their lives in a single-parent household.” (Dowd) Studies have shown that the children of these families are affected dramatically, both negatively and positively. Women head the majority of single- parent families and as a result, children experience many social problems from growing up without a father. Some of these problems include lack of financial support, and various emotional problems by not having a father around, which may contribute to problems later in life. At the same time, children of single-parent homes become more independent because they learn to take care of themselves, and rely on others to do things for them.
As children, we depend greatly on our parents to satisfy our basic needs, for guidance, nurturance and for help in shaping our emotions, behaviors and relationships. For children, the family is a highly valued context for understanding and interpreting their development as individuals. As Bjorklund and Pelligrini (2001) have asserted, we are a “slow-developing, big-brained species”, the relatively large size of our brains demands a prolonged period of immaturity, therefore requiring a great deal of support and nurturance from parents (DeLoache, J., Eisenberg, N., Siegler, R. 2011). However, an adaptive consequence to this extended immaturity is our high level of neural plasticity and our ability to learn from experience. Growing up in a stable environment can undoubtedly reap successful development for children on many levels, just as living in an unstable environment will certainly allow for undesirable consequences. Despite great individual differences, research from psychologists such as Erik Erikson and Sigmund Freud, among others allows us to organize and understand the affects of long lasting parental conflict on child development and family. Research has allowed a strong shot at understanding child development, allowing parental conflict to be observed and connected with the development of children across many aspects. It is largely the differences between socioeconomic status, culture, race, gender and level of conflict, support and resiliency, which directly affect children and other relatives over time.
Throughout history a one-parent household has been deemed as a nontraditional family, but in today’s society it seems more and more common with every day. Although the reason and causes vary, each year the number of children raised by a single parent increases. Most people don’t seem to realize how much this can change a child’s future. The impact of childhood experiences simply set the disposition of adulthood and the rest of their lives. There is not one sole factor that affects child development, but one very important one is the role and relationship created with one’s parents. How a child is parented and raised leaves a lasting impression on them, commonly for a lifetime. You can see how this might alter a child, being that one parent is missing. Child development based off of living in a one-parent household is very circumstantial because each child and each parent are different individuals. But one thing is for sure; all areas of child development can be affected due to a missing parent, including social, cognitive emotional, and physical areas. I sat down with Dr. Carlos Antoline, a children’s school psychologist to see what the real impact of growing up in a one-parent household has on child development.