Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Researchers:
Alday, Diether E.
11 STEM-JSJ Angeles
Marcelo H. del Pilar National High School
Mrs. Rosita Elopre
March, 2017
Acknowledgments
The researchers would like to express their indebtedness and gratitude to our
Almighty God who helped us achieved this research paper. We thank you for giving us
del Pilar National High School (MHPNHS) Raised by a Single Father” want to express
their gratitude to the following for giving them valuable information and sources,
Our deepest thanks to our family who supported us morally and financially and
To Mrs. Rosita Elopre, our teacher in Research in Daily Life 1. We are truly
grateful to your advices and lessons for us to learn more about this subject. And also, for
the full support that we received from you to finished this research paper.
To the people we interviewed, the high school students in Marcelo H. del Pilar
National High School who raised by a single father. We want to express our gratitude to
you, for trusting us, for sharing your experiences and helping us in our research paper.
To our friends and classmates who supported and believed us that we will made
this research paper. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and ideas about our topic.
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Table of Contents
Page
Title Page i
Acknowledgement ii
Abstract iv
2.1 Introduction 7
2.5 Synthesis 17
2.6 Conclusion 18
iii
Chapter Three: Methodology 19
3.1 Introduction 19
3.4 Instruments 20
3.8.3 Plagiarism 22
3.10 Conclusion 22
4.1 Introduction 24
4.2 Participants 24
iv
4.3 Reflection 25
4.6 Conclusion 32
5.1 Summary 33
5.2 Conclusion 34
5.3 Recommendations 36
References 37
Appendices 40
Appendix A 40
Appendix B 41
v
Abstract
This study is concerned with the impact of being raised by single fathers to high
school students from Marcelo H. del Pilar National High School in line with the first five
stages of Erik Erikson’s (1963) theory of Psychosocial Development. The study intended
to find out the effects of parenting of single fathers in the psychosocial development of
respondents were selected with the use of snowball sampling technique. Altogether five
structured interviews were conducted for the analysis so as to collect relevant data. The
data collected were analyzed using deductive thematic analysis. The findings from the
study revealed that the fourth and fifth stages of Erikson’s were the most impacted and
strong inferiority and were often accused of being a member of the third sex. The results
of this study have provided strong support for the key role of single fathers in their
behavioral aspects. It also has demonstrated strong positive relationships between the first
five stages of Erikson's (1963) Psychosocial Development Theory. Future researches can
vi
Chapter One
Introduction
Children’s mind, personality, attitude and well-being are mostly shaped by their
parents. Being the core foundation of child development, the lack of parental presence
whether by one or both affects their growth and perception and may cause psychological,
recognize the ‘self’ as essentially a social entity. The quality of relationships that children
theories of children’s development and wellbeing can provide child and family social
workers with a powerful framework within which to analyze, assess and practice.
The population of single fathers- albeit smaller than that of single mothers- is
slowly growing and now faces challenges in dealing with understanding the behavior of
their children.
With most books, support groups and programs being tailored for single mothers,
single fathers do not have much reference to rely on. Even society, employers especially,
study. However, researches which focus on fathers, generally considered only how
1
fathers influence their children's development. Further, the developmental outcomes of
The presented circumstances piqued the researchers’ interest. With some of their
schoolmates being the children of single fathers, the researchers decided to look further
As of 2012, there are estimated 13.9 million Filipino single parents who support
and carry the responsibility and obligation of raising their family, especially their
On the other hand, according to a study from the United States of America, there
has been a rise with the number of single father households to about ninefold since 1960,
from less than 300,000 to more than 2.6 million in 2011. (Livingston, 2013) Furthermore,
single fathers in the US were raising three or more children younger than 18 and about 44
percent were divorced, 33 percent were never married, 19 percent were separated, and 4.2
Death of mother, wins the custody, abandonment, adoption, desertion, and unfit
mother is the common reason why a father become a single parent to raise his child on
2
his own. The changing roles of men and women in today’s society are providing men
Children of single parents face challenges every day, ranging from emotional,
social and financial stability. This has been a new focus of psychiatry and psychology in
order to understand the impact of single parenthood on children. While current studies are
often focused on the psychological effect to children of single mothers and studies about
single dad is very rare, this lead the researchers to focus on the psychological effect to
Erik Erikson’s (1963) first four psychosocial stages (trust, autonomy, initiative,
and industry) occur during childhood, ideally being successfully resolved by the age of
11 years. These stages serve as the foundation for the fifth stage of Erikson, identity crisis
in adolescence. It is during these stages that parents play a very vital role in their
children’s development.
A. Central Question
B. Sub-Questions
3
3. What are the factors affecting their development?
This study is meant to provide meaningful significance for policy makers and
other
individuals and groups in general and single fathers and their children in particular. This
will also help intensify understanding about the overall experiences of children raised by
single fathers especially that they are not usually being given attention. Above all, it will
pave way in igniting further researches and mobilizing resources which brings practical
utility by ultimately answering questions which are related to the two overarching values
of humanity that is; considering socio-economic needs as a universal human need which
This study is focused on the children of single fathers. The study aimed to
understand more of how a family consisting of a father and his offspring can affect a
The researchers looked for at least 5 students who are currently studying in
Marcelo H. del Pilar National High School (MHPNHS) who were raised by single
fathers. The researchers decided to get their population from high school students
because they are not children anymore and at the same time they are not adults yet. More
4
specifically, they are at the age of adolescence where they are at the peak of emotional
and mood changes. The study focused only on psychological, emotional, behavioral, and
social effects of being raised by a single father and not other effects.
The effect of other factors like the reason of the loss of the mother, the gender, the
which affects the child’s overall personality including his/her actions and words
Child rearing - the work of taking care of children until they are old enough to
insecurity
father’s
the
5
Psychiatry - branch of medicine focused on the diagnosis, treatment and
prevention
Psychology - study of behavior and mind, embracing all aspects of conscious and
and behavior
Social justice - is the fair and just relation between the individual and society.
6
Chapter Two
2.1 Introduction
The parents are the once responsible for developing a child’s behaviour. Their
parents are those who children will look up to. In relation with the psychosocial
development theory of Erik Erikson, parents are the once accountable for a child to feel
love, warmth and safety to gain trust; to guide a child in making choices to have
autonomy and to encourage a child so that he/she will not have inferiority. However, a
loss of a parent can affect these developments. With most studies focusing on children of
single mothers, the researchers chose to focus on the children of single fathers.
entitled ‘14 m Filipinos are single parents’ there are estimated 13.9 million Filipino single
parents who support and carry the responsibility and obligation of raising their family,
Psychosocial Development
In 1963, Erik Erikson, an ego psychologist, proposed a theory that suggests that
there are eight stages of psychosocial development, starting from infancy to adulthood.
7
The theory proposes that every stage represents a crisis through which a person
experiences and it determines whether the outcome will be positive or negative to the
The first stage is Trust vs. Mistrust, this starts during childbirth and ends after the
child reaches the age of 1. The infant builds up the feeling of trust from the interactions
and associations which induces familiarity by receiving warmth and love from familiar
figures. Thus, the lack of this will produce mistrust. Next is the Autonomy vs. Shame and
Doubt, this stage happens around the ages of 18 months up to approximately 2-3 years of
age. This is the stage where the child cultivates a sense of control over his/her bodily
skills and independence. The guardian of the child should give the child the freedom to
explore their own limitations in a failure-tolerant environment. The success of this stage
leads to feelings of independence while the failure will lead to lack of confidence and
doubt. The third stage, Initiative vs. Guilt, begins at the pre-school years, around 3-5
years old. This is the stage where the child will try to gain control and power over their
environment by doing activities and completing tasks. The children will produce a sense
of guilt if their ingenuity is terminated. The next stage is Industry vs. Inferiority which
occurs between the ages 5 and 12. This is the stage where a child’s peers play a
significant role and the stage where a child’s self-esteem and confidence will be
developed. The success of this stage will produce a sense of competence while failure
results in feelings of subservience. The fifth stage occurs during the teenage years of a
person. This stage is called Identity vs. Role Confusion. The child will explore what they
want to be as an individual and will experiment with their self. This stage revolves
mainly around one’s sexuality. If this stage became a success, the individual will develop
8
a strong personality with a proper sense of life. The next stage is Intimacy vs. Isolation,
this starts during the age of 19-40 years of age. The conflict in this stage is where the
individual will try to establish a romantic partnership with other people. The seventh
stage is Generativity vs. Stagnation, occurs between the ages of 40-65. This is the stage
where the individual will try to cultivate things that they can leave on this world, to put it
simply, they will try to build their own legacy. Success will induce the feeling of
satisfaction. The last stage is Ego Integrity vs. Despair, this takes place when someone
reaches the age of 65 and beyond. This is the stage where one will reflect upon his/her
life. Success at this stage will lead to one’s acquiring the sense of wisdom and
Social Interaction
interactionism. It claims that both individuals and society cannot be separated far from
each other for two reasons. One being that they are both made through social interaction.
The second reason is they cannot be understood in terms without the other.
people's interactions can create the illusion of a shared social order despite not
understanding each other fully and having differing perspectives. (Boundless, 2016)
the context and is typically an individual’s family, neighbors, friends or peers. Social
9
interactions are sometimes referring to as non-market interactions to emphasize the fact
that these interactions are not regulated by the price mechanism. (Scheinkman, n.d.)
Social interactions are the acts, actions, or practices of two or more people
mutually oriented towards each other's selves, that is, any behavior that tries to affect or
take account of each other's subjective experiences or intentions. This means that the
parties to the social interaction must be aware of each other--have each other's self in
mind. This does not mean being in sight of or directly behaving towards each other.
Friends writing letters are socially interacting, as are enemy generals preparing opposing
war plans. Social interaction is not defined by type of physical relation or behavior, or by
Thus, even when no physical behavior is involved, as with two rivals deliberately
ignoring each other's professional work, there is social interaction. (Rummel, 1976)
The basic insight of sociology is that human behavior is shaped by the groups to
which people belong and by the social interaction that takes place within those groups.
We are who we are and we behave the way we do because we happen to live in a
particular society at a particular point in space and time. People tend to accept their social
us to see society as a temporary social product, created by human beings and capable of
perspective (which has been called the "sociological imagination"), people see the world
through their limited experience of a small orbit of family, friends, co-workers. The
10
sociological imagination allows us to stand apart mentally from our limited experience
and see the link between private concerns and social issues. It permits us to trace the
connection between the patterns and events of our own and the patterns and events of our
Self-esteem
The self-esteem is concerned with how one evaluates and feel about oneself.
Cavanagh and Fomby (2012) point out that people who like and accept themselves tend
to have more satisfying and productive lives and better relationships. The ability to accept
and like ourselves is rooted in the feedback we get from other people early in our lives
(Moime, 2009). The parents or caregivers are the ones responsible for building and
reinforcing a positive self-esteem amongst the children which eventually helps in the
psychosocial development of the children. It becomes difficult for the single parent to
build and reinforce a positive self-esteem amongst the children when in fact the parent
Relationships
Moime also emphasizes that the family is a training ground for having
relationships. If a child has failed to have a sound relationship with the parent it was most
likely that the child would never have any sound relationship with anyone.
According to Jaffe (1994) on the other hand the relationship between parent and
child should be warm, inviting and interesting. Children need to have responsive parents
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to whom they are securely attached. Even when a parent is single it does not change the
role he/she has to play as a parent. The single parents too have to extend parental
One of the challenges of parenting is teaching children to get along with each
Single parents
Being a single parent is tougher when it comes to mean because men aren't raised
to nurture and be empathetic. In fact, Western society does its best through a culture of
shaming, bullying, crass images of masculinity and dismal media portrayals of fathers to
teach men that they’re just not going to be successful parents (According to Dave Taylor
Single fathers
father is a “tough job”. “We don't tote babies around when we're little, we aren't the one
hired to babysit the twins down the street when we're in our teens, we're instead pushed to
physical activities, sports, video games and other activities that emphasize the
testosterone factor rather than help us learn how to balance it with the more traditionally
first year of my single parenthood was damn hard. I had always been the disciplinarian in
our household, the one who actually had - and enforced - rules and behaviors. Suddenly
life was about a lot more than just being the drill instructor and I didn't know how to
handle it. A crying toddler? A grumpy daughter because a boy snubbed her? A boy
12
devastated because he failed to make the winning shot? All new because I couldn't rely
on mom to be the sympathetic parent.”, Dave said as to emphasize the struggle of being a
single father.
According to International Business Times, about 18% of singles parents are fathers.
And 21% of that number is living below the poverty line. In contrast, among children
living with both parents, only 13% are counted as poverty stricken.
households with minor children in the United States are headed by a single father, up
from just over 1% in 1960, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Decennial
Census and American Community Survey data. The number of single father households
has increased about nine-fold since 1960, from less than 300,000 to more than 2.6 million
in 2011. In comparison, the number of single mother households increased more than
fourfold during that time period, up to 8.6 million in 2011, from 1.9 million in 1960. As a
result, men make up a growing share of single parent householders. In 1960, about 14%
of single parent households were headed by fathers, today almost one-quarter (24%) are.
In this report, fathers include those men who are ages 15 or older, who are the
head of their household, and who report living with their own minor children (biological
children, step-children or adopted children). Fathers who are living in a household headed
by someone else are excluded from the analysis, as are fathers whose children are not
living with them. The term ‘single father’ includes men in a variety of family
circumstances. About half (52%) are separated, divorced, widowed or never married and
13
are living without a cohabiting partner; some (41%) are living with a non-marital partner;
and a small share (7%) are married but living apart from their spouse.
fathers are raising their children solo. The U.S. Census Bureau said that 18 percent of the
population living with a single parent is men. Among these fathers, 11 percent are raising
A journal entitled “Children and Housework in the Single Father Family” (1985)
stated that it became increasingly common to gain sole or joint custody of their children
following a marital breakup. To prove the statement, a statistical analysis by the U.S.
Census Bureau was shown. “In 1982, the number of separated and divorced fathers with
sole responsibility for their children was close to 600,000, almost triple the number that
had their children alone in 1970. Despite this marked increase, single father-headed
families represent less than 2% of all families with children under the age of 18”.
According to livestrong.com, having only one income earner in the home puts
single parent households at risk for poverty, finds research compiled by the University of
Washington's West Coast Poverty Center. Living in poverty is stressful and can have
many emotional effects on children, including low self-esteem, increased anger and
frustration and an increased risk for violent behavior. Besides financial constraints, other
abandonment, sadness, loneliness and difficulty socializing and connecting with others.
14
Effects vary from child to child, however, and the individual parenting style of the single
of children's living arrangements during the past few decades of the 20th century.
Research on single fathers also increased and changed in nature. This article is a review
of the research on single fathers and their families from the 1970s until recently, focusing
single-father families evolved from qualitative studies focused on the well-being of single
among single fathers. Research also moved from descriptive studies to those testing
gender and microstructural theories. This article also summarizes the main findings on
Sexuality
"One psychoanalytic hypothesis for the connection between poor early father-son
development, the boy perceives the father as rejecting. As a result, he grows up failing to
fully identify with his father and the masculinity he represents...”(Nicolosi, 2004)
15
Some studies have suggested that parent shaping as a socializing factor has little
impact on a child's sex role development (Lytton & Romney, 1991; Maccoby & Jacklin,
1980). Other research, however, suggests that parents are the primary influence on gender
role development during the early years of life (Santrock, 1994; Miller & Lane in
single fathers raising children alone following separation and divorce showed that as
children got older, they participated more in housework, that fathers raising teenage girls
received more help from them than fathers raising teenage boys, and that fathers may
expect less from children in the way of participation in housework than had been found in
a study of two-parent families. The fathers, who were members of Parents Without
discussed are the fathers’ use of outside help and daughters as mother substitutes.
In the study conducted by Harris, Cavanagh, and Elder 2002, youth living with a
single father have more school problems and take part in risky health behaviors more
The researchers used data from the 1990 wave of the National Education
Longitudinal Study. Downey said they compared teens on a variety of measures that past
researchers had suggested might be affected by whether the children lived in single-
mother or single-father households. For example, some researchers have argued that
16
fathers are generally the disciplinarians in families, so children in single-mother
Dufur in 1998, children in single-father families exhibit worse behaviour, and are slightly
disadvantaged in terms of cognitive skills compared with children living with a single
mother. They also added that adults who grew up in a single-father household obtain
approximately one-half year less of education than their counterparts who grew up in
single-mother households. These findings are inconsistent with the claim that women and
According to a study conducted by Lori Kelch on May 21, 1997, Single parent
fathers are a growing population. Not only is the number of single fathers increasing, but
it is rising more rapidly than the number of single mothers. For the father to gain custody
of his children, it needs to be the child's choice or he needs to prove the mother
incompetent. Family problems and strengths arise in everyday life for these single
parents. Fathers have learned to cope as a single parent, a homemaker, and an employee.
The father/child relationship is much better than before the divorce, and both father and
The findings of Mabuza, Thwala and Okeke in 2014 revealed that some children
of single parents do not have good relationships with their siblings due to the situation at
home. Since some children stayed in one single parented household they did not have
good relationships as siblings. This was caused by the fact that they were many children
and they were of different surnames thus causing the mother to have favourites amongst
17
the children. The children who were not favourites mentioned that this affected their self-
esteem. From the focus group discussion it emerged that most parents did not have
quality time with their children as a result they did not know exactly what was going on
in their children’s lives. Some children mentioned that they had developed hatred towards
their irresponsible parents. This was bound to have negative effects on the psychosocial
2.5 Synthesis
Studies and literature obtained showed that the population of single fathers are
growing and this of course will be directly proportional to the population of their
children. As a whole, children of single parents do not have good relationship with their
siblings and what more with other people, they build hared from their parents’
related studies on single fathers said that most researchers thought that children raised by
single mothers will show worse behaviour for the fathers are mostly the disciplinarian.
However, eight years after the said speculation it was found that children of single fathers
are the one who have worse behaviour and lower cognitive skills than children of single
mothers. The discrepancies in the data strengthens the need for studies focusing on
2.6 Conclusion
As presented, studies and literature about the social effects of being raised by a
single father on children is lacking especially local studies and literature. However, the
18
Chapter III
Methodology
3.1 Introduction
In the recent years, single parent family studies focuses on the single mothers
because it is the common cases that most single parent family have. There are many cases
of single mothers and there are only few studies about single fathers. This study can help
the society, especially the ones who are children of single fathers. And also, the number
of single fathers are increasing. This study can inform and help the single fathers in terms
of their condition. Past research suggests that children who experience multiple
transitions in family structure may face worse developmental outcomes than children
raised in stable two-parent families and perhaps even children raised in stable, single-
parent families.
The aims of the study were to find out the psychological, emotional, behavioral,
and social effects on high school student raised by a single father. The study can also be
basis for other research related to this topic. This study will contribute to the society to
further understand the difficulties of having a single father.The study provided more
knowledge about the life of having a single father and it may raise the change of
19
The research has a qualitative research design for a phenomenology research. The
respondents. The data that was collected through interviewing and had a qualitative way
3.4 Instruments
The instruments used in the study were: papers to take down answers of
respondents, a copy of questions that will be asked to the respondents, and a recorder. A
structured interview was conducted which is divided unto the stages of psychosocial
development.
The researchers intended to ask the principal of Marcelo H. del Pilar National
High School (MHPNHS) for permission to ask the advisers of all Grade 11 sections for a
record of their students to determine the number of pupils who were raised by single
fathers. Then after determining the quantity of those students who matches the
qualification, the researchers will use homogenous sampling to pick 5 students who will
However their research teacher disapproved of this and told them to use snowball
sampling. The number of grade 11 students raised by a single father known through this
sampling technique is insufficient so the research teacher told them to get from other year
20
levels instead to get a total of five respondents. The samples gathered were not
homogenous.
The researchers chose the respondents from the students of Marcelo H. del Pilar
National High School (MHPNHS). The respondents should be the students who are
The researchers analyzed their collected data by comparing the results of their
interview to the results of other related studies. The researchers used deductive thematic
analysis since coding and theme development were directed by existing concepts or ideas
which is the Psychosocial Development Theory of Erik Erikson. The researchers also
quoted, narrated and compared the results from previous studies to determine the
maintaining the confidentiality of data, keeping the anonymity of data, and plagiarizing
21
confidentiality and anonymity of data cannot be upheld when further discussion of the
information belonging to the respondents are pressed in a presentation. Also, the chance
of plagiarizing other literature is present for the fact that many interpretations,
calculations and analysis were conducted in the past six years in foreign countries.
individual has been disclosed with and the expectation that it won’t be revealed to others
without consent.
between the results and individual participant is also impossible. Individuals can’t be
asked for any personal information that could give their identity. Individual’s responses
3.8.3Plagiarism
22
The study was limited to students of Marcelo H. del Pilar National High School
who are raised to single fathers. This only included children of single fathers who are
separated by their wives, wives have been dead, but never remarried or do not have a new
partner. Or in short, those fathers who are really on their own in providing the needs of
their children. Furthermore, the study only covered the psychosocial development of the
children and not other factors that may have been affected.
3.10 Conclusion
a structured interview among 5 respondents who are raised by a single father in Marcelo
H. del Pilar National High School (MHPNHS). Also to prevent ethical errors, the
researchers set limitations to the study while using snowball sampling for the population
23
Chapter IV
4.1 Introduction
This chapter discusses the information, theme that was gathered through the
process of interviewing. The general information from the five (5) participants is
included in this chapter as well as the answers of the participants to all the questions
asked by the researchers. Their psychosocial development was checked through questions
4.2 Participants
Mathematics (STEM) strand. They left their mother because she is cheating.
Mathematics (STEM) strand. Her mother left them because of financial problems.
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4.3 Reflection
The five participants were asked questions which was divided to the stages of
Enough Love
Trust vs.
Mistrust
Not enough
attention
Independence
Autonomy vs.
Shame and Doubt
No
overprotectiveness
Aggresiveness
Initiative vs.
Psychosocial Guilt
Development Helpful
Industry vs. No
Inferiority confidence
Jealousy
Other
Opening up
Findings
Future plans
25
Trust vs. Mistrust
As stated in Erik Erikson’s theory a child should receive warmth and love to do
so (Erikson, 1963), here Participant 1 developed a strong sense of trust. The same goes
for Participant 5. While Participant 2, have issues in the trust they give. Her statement is
“I feel that the love my father gives me is enough… I ask assistance from my
- Participant 1
“I turned out to be very foolish at things. I give trust so easily… There is a time where
I and my brothers thought that he's working too much and doesn’t give us enough
attention…”
-Participant 2
A child will have autonomy when they let him/her face challenges on his/her own.
Both participants developed autonomy. Being a child of a single father honed them to
-Participant 1
26
“I have lots of experiences when it comes to life situations but when I get in
there I could say that I can get out but with lesson learned and a wisdom to face
another tomorrow… I didn’t experience a normal childhood; problems are all over…I
- Participant 3
- Participant 5
The children will feel guilt when a negative outcome came from his/her initiative.
The participants didn’t develop a strong sense of initiative from the start due to the
negative consequence of their actions. Though other than family members, other parts of
the society may also have contributed to this outcome. (Erikson, 1963)
“When I was in elementary, almost every day I had fight with boys…My father
is often aggressive when we have done something wrong he shouts or sometimes hit us
-Participant 2
“He hits us when his angry and of course it affects the way me and my siblings
act.”
-Participant 4
27
“Oo meron[ time that my father is aggressive]. Natakot [ako], kasi ayaw mo na
-Participant 5
“Yes I do our house chores, daily doing them like what a mother should do.”
-Participant 2
-Participant 3
-Participant 5
When children are ridiculed when they didn’t meet their parent’s expectations
they develop a sense of inferiority. The participants developed inferiority due to this.
(Erikson, 1963)
class…My father doesn’t set many standards for me to reach though I feel very inferior
28
-Participant 1
“I have inferiority where I am not confident being me…he set standards for me
-Participant 4
This is the stage were gender roles and sexual identity is developed (Erikson,
1963). It is to be stated how participant 1 and 2 admitted being called boyish in their
“I am called boyish by my friends and told to ‘act like a girl’. But I am straight
-Participant 1
where we carry sacks and big plastic bags. My father told be to ‘act like a girl’ very
-Participant 2
-Participant 5
29
Other findings
Jealousy
-Participant 2
“I cannot related that much [when my friends talk about their mothers]
-Participant 3
-Participant 5
Opening up problems
“Hindi, kasi hindi kami nakakapag usap ng madalas saka hindi ako nag-oopen
ng problema sa kahit sino… Okay naman, kaso minsan sa kaibigan lang ako nagsasbi
-Participant 5
Future plans
college.”
30
-Participant 1
The lives of the children of single fathers are mostly normal however they feel
inferior to their peers and they developed initiative through other ways like how
participant 2 developed the initiative of acting like a mother to their family. Like most
teenagers they also are now identifying their roles in the society.
They tend to be less outgoing and they are less confident. The female respondents
tend to be boyish and one actually became a lesbian. One of the male respondents is
called on to show feminine traits. They tend to be independent and they feel jealousy
The main factor affecting their development is the loss of their mother. Since their
fathers tend to be busy in work they develop a different sense of trust. They sometimes
receive the aggressiveness of their father without the soothing presence of a mother.
The effect of single parenting of single fathers is that the children still develop
though there are negative effects due to the lack of love single parenting can bring. How
a father’s disciplinarian behavior can make their child have a sense of guilt though due to
their situation it can lead to the child’s initiative to fulfill roles that are originally for their
mothers. Due to not reaching expectations from their parents and other members of
society the children felt inferior to their peers. However, the children are the once
responsible for identifying their roles and it is good that their parents support them in this.
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4.5 Comparisons with other research
The research study reflects and negates some of the previous studies results. The
research results are in line with Geoffrey Greif’s study in 1985 where it is stated that
usually the children becomes the mother’s substitute. Also it is parallel to the first result
of Downey in 1990 where the fathers are mostly disciplinarians and makes the children
disciplined. So it does not correspond that children of single father have worse behavior
(Downey, et. al. 1998) even though participant 2 actually admitted having fight with boys
when she was in elementary; she was disciplined and taught to be independent. The
results are also similar to Mabuza, Thwala and Okeke’s study in 2014 where single
parents tend to not have quality time with their children. However, it negates the part
where the children of single parents have bad relationship with their siblings. The
children of single parents in the researchers’ study have good relationship with their
siblings.
4.6 Conclusion
psychosocial development was affected by having only a father to raise him/her. The
overall factor that affected them is the loss of their mother though it has negative and
positive effects on them- their psychosocial development, their behavior, and their life.
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Chapter V
5.1 Summary
their children following the marital breakup, though this family group still represents
only a small percentage of the total number of families. This lead the researchers to
investigate and study the major effects to children, especially to teenagers that is being
information from them. And as the researchers analyzed the results, they found out that
there are positive and negative effects on the psychosocial development of a child being
respondents, they divided the interview questions into the stages of psychosocial
In the first interview questions, about the Trust vs. Mistrust, the answers of the
participants were mostly about having issues in the trust they give. In the Autonomy vs.
Shame and Doubt, all of the participants developed their sense of autonomy. They can
easily handle things independently. In the Initiative vs. Guilt, the researchers found out
that the children developed guilt first but learned formed initiative to fulfill the roles they
need to because of their situation. In the questions about Industry vs. Inferiority, they
33
developed the inferiority upon them when they didn’t meet their parent’s expectation.
While in the Identity vs. Role Confusion, the participants developed their gender roles
and sexual identity. Most of them are straight though called ‘boyish’ or ‘girlish’ and one
admitted to be a lesbian.
The lives of the children of the single fathers actually are mostly the same as
others have but they feel less value than others and they developed initiative like acting
like a mother. They also became less outgoing and not confident of themselves.
The main factor affecting this is the loss of their mothers. And also, the less time
5.2 Conclusion
This research studied the experiences and challenges faced by high school
Qualitative data were collected through interview with teenagers raised by single fathers.
The interview revolved around Erik Erikson’s first five stages of Psychosocial
Development Theory which helped the researchers to fully understand the impact of
Identity Confusion which occurs during adolescence, from about 13-19 years is found the
most influenced and had the greatest impact in this study. And adolescence being
34
recognized as a critical period of emotional conflict and confusion has a profound
Analyzing and interpreting the qualitative data collected, it is found that almost all
the respondents reported that they are called “boyish” for girls, and “feminine” for boys
who were raised by single fathers. Therefore, being raised by only their father during
their childhood years had greatly influenced the way they look into their identity or
gender role, although, only one respondent said that she really is a lesbian, while others
only said they were accused of being members of the third sex. It is also found that most
children of single fathers have definite plans for their future and their fathers do not
This research also revealed that teenagers who are raised by single fathers are
more likely to feel inferior over other people, most of them are not confident to speak up
in school and tend to be quiet. Even though, only a few of them reported that their father
aggressive and anti-social, but in this study, it refutes the stereotype, respondents were
found to be more independent and disciplined, they are the ones who took initiative in
doing household chores and motherly things like taking good care of their younger
siblings. They also reported that their fathers tend to be aggressive when they have done
something wrong which lead the respondents to be more careful of what they are doing.
Sharing or confiding to their father is also a major problem for the respondents,
oftentimes; they keep their problems to themselves and only confide to their friends if
35
they cannot really handle them. Therefore, teenagers raised by single fathers tend to face
This study also draws heavily on the first stage of Erikson’s Psychosocial
Development Theory, Trust vs Mistrust. It is found that most teenagers raised by single
fathers developed a strong sense of trust but almost all of them are afraid of being left out
and tend to overthink about being attached to people. They also tend to envy those who
The results of this study have provided strong support for the key role of single
emotional, social and behavioral aspects. It has demonstrated strong positive relationships
between the first five stages of Erikson's (1963) Psychosocial Development Theory.
Finally, and perhaps most important, the findings establish the usefulness of
5.3 Recommendations
randomly selected and larger in size. Research designs should be more structured to
emphasize and further evaluate the impact to children of being raised by a single father.
Future researches can also consider including the impact to the single fathers themselves.
36
References
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Appendix A
Psychosocial Development of Students from Marcelo H. del Pilar National High School
(MHPNHS) Raised by a Single Father
Name of interviewee_______________________________________
Signature of interviewee____________________________________
Date______________________
6. I have explained the project and the implications of being interviewed to the
interviewee and I believe that the consent is informed and that he/she understands the
implications of participation.
Name of interviewer________________________________________
Signature of interviewer_____________________________________
Date_____________________
40
Appendix B
1. Was there is time where you felt that the love your father is giving you is not
enough?
2. Can you establish relationship with your peers without any problem? If yes, do
you often worry that they will let you down and leave you at the end?
3. How do you feel when your peers talk about their mothers?
4. Do you have trouble talking or to female adults? Or is it the other way around?
5. When you face problems, do you ask assistance from your father?
1. What can you say about your skill to handle your own problems? Can you handle
3. Were there stories you family shared to you unto how you first walked? When did
2. Were there times you took the initiative in doing house chores?
3. Was there a times when your father became aggressive when you did something
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D. Industry vs. Inferiority
1. Can you communicate and socialize with your peers effectively? Do you think
4. Did your father set standards you need to reach? Do you feel inferior when you
2. Are you inclined to have a relationship with the same sex? Opposite sex?
42