Effects of Single Parenting on Academic Performance

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THE EFFECTS OF SINGLE PARENTING STYLE TO A CHILD’S ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE
Thesis · March 2020

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.19069.90084
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THE EFFECTS OF SINGLE PARENTING STYLES
Colegio de Los Baños
Lopez Ave., Los Baños, Laguna
THE EFFECTS OF SINGLE PARENTING STYLES TO A CHILD’S ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE
A Research Project Presented to the
Senior High School Department of

Colegio De Los Baños
Chua, Kieffer Ryan
Cruz, Jireh
Del Valle, Carlos Miguel
Gumalo, Dan Christian
MARCH 2020
APPROVAL SHEET
This study entitled “THE EFFECTS OF SINGLE PARENTING STYLES TO

A CHILD’S ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE” prepared and submitted by KIEFFER
CHUA, JIREH CRUZ, CARLOS DEL VALLE, and DAN GUMALO in partial
fulfillment of the Senior High School Department, Humanities and Social Sciences Strand
has been approved and accepted.
MR. KRISTOFFER AARON TIÑA

Inquiries, Immersion, and Investigation TEACHER
Accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Senior
High School Department, HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES, School Year
2019-2020.
MR. BENJAMIN ROSALES MS. RIZZA ESPLANA

Panelist 1 Panelist 2
MR. KRISTOFFER AARON TIÑA

Class Adviser
MR. RICARDO PATALEN

Principal
MS. ALELI TERESA SAN AGUSTIN

School Director
ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors would like to express their sincerest gratitude to the following persons
who never surrender to support and helped to finalize this study.
Our families for always supporting us every step of the way. All the late nights and
sleepovers led to the very paper right here.
Our first panelist, Sir Benjamin Rosales, for being the happy-go-lucky but
informative teacher that keeps our spirits up in the lowest of times.
Ma’am Rizza Esplana, for being the most approachable panelist, she is the
friendliest and our connections surpass the invisible boundary between the teacher and a
student
Sir Kristoffer Tiña for being there since day one, as our class adviser, thesis adviser,
and friend. He has helped us even in the smallest of details that he corrects, and we will
always thank him for that.
iii
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Kieffer Chua was born on the 9th of February, 2001 in Los Banos. His parents were
Kerwin Chua and Leonor Chua. He was the first born child of Kerwin and Leonor.
He first studied in Los Banos Faith Christian School from Kindergarten until 1st Grade,
when he moved to Maquiling School incorporated from 2nd to 5th Grade, he then moved on
to study in Science and Technology School of Los Banos at 6th Grade.
He then moved to Los Banos National High School where he studied for a year before
moving back to Science and Technology School of Los Banos to finish his Junior High
School education.
He currently studies at Colegio De Los Banos, with many hopes for his seemingly
bleak future.
iv
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Jireh Cruz was born on the 3rd of January, 2002 in Makati City. He was born to the
ever so loving Rogelio Cruz Jr, and Lilibeth Elimanco-Cruz. He has a smaller brother
named Julian Cruz.
He was first taught in Los Baños Faith Christian School from Kindergarten all the
way to 5th Grade, where he moved to Colegio de Los Baños to finish his Elementary
Education.
In junior high school, he was able to get into the Pilot section of Los Baños National
High School-Batong Malaki, where he met most of his current friends, and learned the
most about himself. It was here that he learned that he had the ability to write and play
music, create films from scratch, and win awards in the different social science fields.
He now studies at Colegio de Los Baños once again to finish his senior high school
days, and dreams of being a world-renowned director one day.
Jireh E. Cruz
v
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Carlos Miguel Del Valle was born on the 26th day of February, 2002 in Lucena
City. His father left him when he was 8 years old but he was raised by a strong-independent
woman which inspired him to make this study about single parents. He has a sister and
brother named Christine and Carl.
He graduated valedictorian when he was in Sixth grade and Salutatorian in 10th
grade in Jehovah Shammah Christian Community School, Where he developed his passion
for music and writing.
Now, he studies at Colegio de Los Baños to finish his Senior High School and
currently taking Humanities and Social Sciences. He was Crowned Mr. CDLB 2019,
dreaming to be a performer artist someday.
Carlos Miguel G. Del Valle
vi
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Dan Cristian V. Gumalo was born in the 3rd of December, 2001 in San Pablo
City, San Pablo, he was born to his stay at home mother, Marife V. Gumalo, and to his
then OFW father Edchel P. Gumalo. He was raised with a distant father and a rather harsh
environment leaving his mother to care for him for most of his years.
He moved up from 6th grade in Lopez Elementary School, after only studying
there for one year; as he had to move schools due to financial reasons, and he graduated
from Los Baños National Highschool-BM, and now studies at Colegio De Los Baños to
finish his Senior Highschool education.
Dan Gumalo
vii
DEDICATION
I dedicate this study to all the people in my life who had to go through life as a
single parent, to my Aunts and Uncles who have nobody to help them make it through, but
still being able to push forward and provide for their children. Nothing can be as difficult
as having to raise a child alone, I thank my parents, who, despite the fact that I have been
less than good a son, they still support.
Kieffer Chua
viii
DEDICATION
I dedicate this study to the people who will benefit from this. The families that are
held by only one pillar instead of two, to them, I say stay strong. Independence is always
an option, and this is only a minor challenge. I believe in all of you and your abilities, and
I am proud to know that even when alone, you stand strong and far higher than the others.
Jireh E. Cruz
ix
DEDICATION
I dedicate this study to my mother who has been my inspiration since the day we
proposed a research study. Being a single parent is never easy, you must fulfill the absence
of your partner emotionally and even financially. I believe that behind a strong single
parent, there must be a child who support and understand, the same way that the parent
stands behind their children. To my mother, thank you for all the love and support. You
will always be my inspiration.
Carlos Miguel G. Del Valle
x
DEDICATION
I dedicate this study to every other child who wonders why their parent is treating
them in that way, also to my family who for better or worse raised me, and to any parent
be it single or not hoping to be a great parent to their child.
Dan Gumalo
xi
ABSTRACT
This study revolves around the idea of single parenting and how the parents are able
to uphold the responsibilities of two parents at once, and the factors that both hinder, and
empower them and their child. Specifically, the researchers want to see how the children’s
academic performance is affected by the factors and the parenting styles. The researchers
decided to make this study in order to benefit the single parents that are confused in what
methods and factors work in the development of the child.
The study concluded that parenting styles should not be classified strictly into four
types but should be in a spectrum in order to compensate for multiple traits shown by one
parent. There is also the conclusion that parenting styles do not affect the general average
of the students.
xii
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
The 2017 census of the Philippine Statistic Authority stated that 14 million homes
are headed by a single parent. The amount could have changed by now. Whether increased
or decreased, there is still a lot of children raised by one parent alone.
Single parenting is the act of raising or caring for a child whether financially,
physically, or emotionally solely on one’s own means. This means being the breadwinner
and managing the house all alone. It is also important to clarify that all single parent
families are broken families, but not all broken families have single parents. Broken
families could denote losing a child, losing both parents, a sibling, etc.
There are bound to be differences between the common nuclear family and the
single parent headed family. First and foremost is the fact that there is less manpower to
divide the same amount of labour required to care for a child. Earlier, it is said that a single
parent must be a breadwinner and a housekeeper at the same time. Then another problem
is making sure that there is time spent with the child while also maintaining stability of
one’s self.
Cruz et al. (2019) conducted a qualitative research in response to the studies that
focused only on the effects to a child of a parent’s singlehood (Mabuza, 2014). The
researchers produced interesting results in their phenomenological study involving the
discovery that parents noticeably have authoritative parenting styles which are merged with
other parenting styles, meaning that there is a possibility for parenting styles to be on a
spectrum rather than a fixed table. However, data collected in the qualitative study only
came from four respondents which are all single mothers. In this study, the researchers aim
to quantify the previous study and create stronger data which can generalize the experience
in the perspective of the children.
There is no perfect way to parent. No one is a perfect parent. But the effectiveness
of a parenting style may help the parents make their child reach the full potential. This in
1
turn could make the Philippines have competent citizens that could help in the increase of
the economy and society. The researchers aim to contribute in the nation’s progress by
strengthening this very basic unit of society which is family.
In Colegio de Los Baños (CDLB), there are 11.15% or specifically 145 senior high
school students in CDLB that are children of single parents. The reason for the chosen
locale and respondents comes from the fact that the population of a school is not only
composed of students from one particular sector, but from different walks of life. With this
diversity, one can take into account other factors well.
The aim of this study is to contribute knowledge which may help parents, students,
psychologists and therapists, and future researchers. The study achieved this by identifying
the demographic profile of the respondents, the parenting style their parents utilized, and
the determinants of their academic achievement in relation to parenting style.
Statement of the Problem
This research generally aims to answer how the parenting styles used by single parents
affect the behaviour of students towards their academics. Specifically, this study aims to:
1. What is the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of:

1.1 Gender
1.2 Age
1.3 Socioeconomic Status
2. What is the parenting style most commonly utilized by single parents?
3. How do the students perceive their parent’s parenting style?
Objectives
Generally, this study aims to discover the possible outcomes of parenting styles
used by the single parents in raising their children in relation to their behaviour towards
their academics. Specifically, this study aims to:
1. Tabulate the demographic of the single parent’s family in terms of:

1.1 Gender
1.2 Age
2
1.3 Socioeconomic Status

2. Identify the parenting style most commonly utilized by the single parents
3. Understand the perception of the students towards the parenting styles of their
single parents
Significance of the Study
This study aims to benefit the following:
Students. They are the subject of this study and will also be the major beneficiary of the
study because the information could be used to potentially trace parental reasons behind
certain behaviours towards academics.
Single Parents. The parenting styles might help these parents achieve the goal of having
the closest way to “perfect parenting.” These could also be a way for parents to further
understand their children.
Psychologist/Psychiatrists/Therapist. In cases in which they are faced to help

parents/children in their development as a family, this study could be used as a reference
to help them choose the style they could prescribe to the family.
Future Researchers. If there will be future researchers who are interested in studying
about single parents, parenting styles or children’s behaviour towards the parenting styles,
this study is a potential reference for their own study.
Hypotheses
The researchers believe that:
1. There is a correlation between the parenting styles of a single parent to a child’s

behaviour towards his academic performance.
2. The most common parenting style utilized by single parents will be authoritative.
3. The perception of students towards their parent’s parenting style will be positive.
Definition of Terms
The following terms are operationally and conceptually defined for the clear
understanding of the readers:
3
Academic Performance- The standing of a student in his/her studies. This could be traced
through grades.
Authoritarian Parenting-A parenting style wherein the child has high demands to be met.
Authoritative Parenting-A parenting style in which a child has demands to meet, although
not as high as that of an authoritarian, but not as low of a permissive.
Behaviour-The actions, mind-set, or perceptions of a student towards a certain thing, in

this case, studies and parenting.
Broken Family-A broader term for families which lack one or more members compared
to that of a nuclear family
Living Condition-The status of a child at home (socioeconomic status, emotional stability,

etc.).
Nuclear family- The traditional setup of a family involving a mother, a father, and the
child/children.
Parenting Style-A parent’s strategy used to develop or care for a child.
Permissive Parenting Style- A parenting style with more freedom for the child met with
little demands.
Single Parents- A person who cares for his/her biological child alone.
Uninvolved Parenting Style-A parenting style wherein there is nothing given to the child,
nor is there anything expected from them
Scope and Limitations
This study on the effect of a single parent’s parenting style to the behaviour of
children towards their academics was conducted among the senior high school students of
CDLB that are children of single parents in the academic year of 2019-2020. This study
excludes students whose parents have a live-in partner or a member of their extended
family present in their household. There are 145 students in CDLB being raised by single
parents.
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CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter includes a thematically organized presentation of previous discussions

and findings from relevant materials.
Introduction
In the Philippines, the Philippine Statistical Authority estimated a total of 3 million

single parents. 2 million of which are single mothers. This number came from 2015. In
2017 however, that number peaked a total of 14 million. The sudden increase in a span of
two years is alarming because this means that there could be a potential crisis caused, or
with single parenting.
In the contrary, the Philippines issued a law in 2000 that gives benefits to single
parents. This law is known as Republic Act No. 8972 or An Act Providing for Benefits and
Privileges to Solo Parents and Their Children, Appropriating Funds Therefor and for Other
Services. Simply put, under this law, the parents who have been proven eligible for the
program will receive benefits such as livelihood, self-employment development,
psychosocial, medical, educational, and housing services (Philippine Information Agency,
2018). Along with this, the Department of Social Welfare Development held its first solo
parents’ summit in 2018 with the goal of giving awareness to single parents, and creating
ways of advocating the already existing law (DSWD, 2018). This means that despite the
current lack of attention on single parenting, the government is still trying to find a way to
give these solo parents a chance at a normal life.
In terms of in-depth studies, there is a miniscule amount of studies on single

parenting, let alone parenting styles in the Philippines. An example is this study by Zabala
(2016) discussed about the phenomenological make-up of solo parents or single parents in
regions 2 and 3 in the Philippines. The researcher utilized a qualitative case study method
on 10 qualified samples. The study aimed to identify and be familiarized with the lifestyles,
experiences, challenges, psychosocial behaviour, coping mechanism, and aspirations of the
single parent’s children. Zabala concluded that the respondents who were in their late teens
and were about to graduate from their courses seem to be independent and supportive
5
towards younger siblings. Their coping mechanisms include a strong religious affiliation,
and a close connection with peers and family. The majority of respondents also claim to
agree that academics are important and worthwhile. In line with our study, this could mean
that the researcher’s hypothesis wherein they assume a positive feedback towards both
parenting style and academics is possible. Although there is one major problem: the study
is qualitative. The ten respondent sample size isn’t enough to represent an entire
community of single parents. In this study however, the researchers decided to quantify the
study, making it easier for generalization and assumptions to be accurate.
Another local study has been written by Semorlan in 2013 about young Muslim
adults and their single mother in Zamboanga. The research aimed to study the perspectives
of young Muslim adults and their mothers towards surviving the difficulties of having only
one person head the family. Using a qualitative structure and interviewing ten samples,
they have concluded that the men have higher educational attainment than women, those
with higher educational attainment had a better outlook in life, having extended family play
a role in raising children, remarriage as a solution towards the family’s financial crisis,
overseas opportunities as another method of earning, and the fact that the parent is able to
influence their child in terms of their perspective in life. Similar to Zabala, the problem is
the inability to generalize and make assumptions due to the small sample size, although
since it is a qualitative study, the correlation of a high educational attainment to a more
positive outlook in life is reliable, although the researchers are studying the outlook
towards academics, rather than the academics’ effect on the outlook of a person.
Parenting Styles
One could see that the growth of the child is heavily dependent on the parenting as
compared to other factors such as environment and peers. Simply put, parents play a large
influential role in shaping the behaviour of the children. Basically, good parenting affects
the psychological and behavioural doing of the children, wherein the children raised with
good parenting has a high chance of doing the proper actions dictated by the current norms
of society. Unfortunately, there are cases in which the parent does good parenting but still
receives negative behaviour from their children (Sarwar, 2016). Despite this, one could
easily say that parents are the ones who give identity to a child at home. There will always
6
be a case of indoctrination that comes from parents because they are the primary role
models. An example would be a child who was strictly raised and mannered by their
parents, could have a pleasing behaviour when interacts. At some point, the children’s
psychological capacity could play a role of moulding their identity themselves from their
experiences outside their home. Eventually, situations like this contribute to the
development of the child.
The former of the chapter discusses mostly on the situation of the nation in terms
of the presence of studies and its actions towards a growing crisis. But a major part of this
study is not just about being a single parent, but also how a single parent cares for their
child. It is essential to determine what classifications of parenting there is in order to easily
state what is and what is not effective and which causes what.
Four of the parenting styles that are created courtesy of Diana Baumrind and
Maccoby and Martin. It is essential to define these parenting styles first in order to give a
clear image of what parenting styles exist and what they are classified as.
Diana Baumrind, a child psychiatrist, formulated in her 1967 journal Child Care
Practices Anteceding Three Patterns of Behaviour, a typology in which she described three
types of parenting styles: Authoritative, Authoritarian, and Permissive. It is commonly
mistaken that there are four parenting styles that Baumrind created. In fact, Cruz et. al’s
2019 study has made the same mistake. Upon further readings, it was actually Maccoby
and Martin in their study Socialization in the Context of Family who added the Neglectful
parenting style.
An easy way to understand the four types of parenting is to show it in a table.

Hoskins (2014) created a table that shows the demand made by parents to their child/ren
and responsiveness of a child towards the parenting style
High Responsiveness Low Responsiveness

High Demand Authoritative Authoritarian
Low Demand Permissive Neglectful
Table 1.1 Hoskins’ table of parenting styles
7
The table above simplifies the explanations of each parenting style. But in depth
discussion is necessary in order to really understand the essence of studying such a topic.
First up on the list is the authoritative parenting style. This parenting style involves
a give and take type set-up wherein there are demands, but these demands are explained to
the child to prove it being reasonable (Baumrind, 1966). This parenting style leads to
positive effects such as having necessary psychosocial skills, cooperation with others,
academic success, and the ability to be independent (Clyde et al., 1995) Aligned with
Clyde’s study is the fact that this parenting style has so much positive effects, that Lema
and Manyama conducted a 2017 study that shows how Tanzanian children develop better
psychosocial skills compared to those children raised under authoritarian parents.
The researcher’s very own study last year also showed that three out of the four
respondents showed signs of authoritative parenting and claimed that their children respond
well and are raised well. This is a good indicator of what would be the most common
parenting style utilized by the single parents whose children are in Colegio de Los Banos.
Next up is the authoritarian parenting style which according to Baumrind (1966) is

a parenting style that is firmly rooted by a highly set standard, normally by a higher
authority such as a god, and wherein that standard must be met. The parents are claimed to
also highly respect tradition and work ethics, to the extent of even strictly enforcing
housework. As Cruz et al. (2019) said, it is simply just strict parenting. Although Baumrind
(2017) stated that authoritarian parenting does more harm than good, Kordi (2010) stated
that more study on this sector is required because her study showed that Asian children
were autonomous, achievement-oriented, and self-controlled, all of which are positive
traits.
Far from the preceding parenting style, we have the permissive parenting style
wherein Baumrind (1966) says that parents are accepting of the child’s behaviours. The
parent is treated as a resource that the child may utilize, and the parent has little demands
in the household. Hoskins (2014) says however that this is a bad idea for this parenting
style leads to a higher chance for substance abuse, misconduct, and less active in school
related activities.
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Lastly, the neglectful parenting style. As coined by Martin and Maccoby (1983),
neglectful parenting style is where the parents simply have no connection with their
children. There is absolutely zero demands to be met, and there is no response to the
parenting style. Knutson et al. (2004) studied on the effects of neglectful parenting on
children and found out that the neglectful parenting turned into a mediator wherein this
causes a social disadvantage.
Parenting Style’s Effect on Academics
Leung et al. (1998) wrote a study discussing the effects of parenting styles on
academic achievements. Their study consisted of samples from Hong Kong, United States
of America, and Australia. The study showed that Australians do not utilize
authoritarianism towards their children as much as American and Asians do. There is a
positive relationship between academic authoritarianism and academic performance, but
no relationship between academic authoritativeness towards academic performance. This
contradicts Baumrind’s (1971) statement that rebukes the authoritarian parenting style. But
as Kordi (2010) said, further study is needed to clarify this.
However, it is surprising that academic authoritativeness shows no relationship

towards one’s academic achievement. This is contradicting to Gupta’s 2017 study that said
that a democratic parenting style has a positive effect on one’s academics, democratic
parenting style being defined as between being an authoritative and being a permissive type
of parent. This conflict could possibly come from the fact that Leung’s study is cross
cultural and although involves Asians, only Hong Kong citizens and American-Asians
were included. Gupta’s did not state where his respondents come from, but assuming it not
being mentioned, it could mean that they come from the city Gupta works at. The point is,
the effectiveness of a certain parenting style towards academic performance could also
have other factors such as culture and tradition. The researcher’s study intervenes through
focusing on a small locale only giving a more concentrated result.
According to John (2008), good parenting is when the children are able to meet the
demands of the specific culture in which they live in and that parenting style has a big
factor in the development of the child. But he could not conclude on one single parenting
style that works for all situations because ”Societal changes have made it more difficult to
9
rely on parenting techniques from the past.” The constant and everlasting changes in the
world whether through technology or the lack thereof, or a sudden political change, a parent
may decide to change his or her parenting style. The development of a child is so dependent
on what parenting style is utilized, that a sudden change in parenting style may lead to
culture shock, or even just utilizing authoritarianism on children may cause an identity
crisis within themselves.
Juvenile Delinquency
Sarwar (2016) discussed some cases of the children committing law breaking
acts. The author made the term “Juvenile Delinquency” to specify the children who commit
crimes at the stage of their life because they are looking for their identity. Parenting has
big impact for such cases like this it is the time where children find the attention and care
they need from their parents. It can be safe to assume that since children have a phase of
questioning and seeking attention and care that if the parent uses the neglectful parenting
style, it could be a reason for the children to seek attention somewhere else causing them
to be engaged in negative activities such as crimes.
Being too strict or giving much freedom to a child may lead a child to become
delinquent as well (Andal et al., 2016). At some point, too much freedom would give a
child the power to do things; even against the law. A big factor is their surroundings, one
example is their peers. A child could create himself an identity without the means of the
parents because he will find his self-validation from someone else. On the other hand, being
too strict of a parent drives the relationship of both parents and children into having an
unstable communication. It instils fear onto the child and creates this emotional boundary
given that parent is not being considerate enough to their child.
Andal et al. (2016) stated that as the adolescent grows older, he or she has
the curiosity to explore and try new things. By exploring new things, parents should take
place in knowing the concerns and feelings of their child. Lack of attention is one of the
reasons why children end up committing crimes. As stated earlier, if a child does not get
the attention and validation from their main care-takers, albeit the parents, they will attempt
to find it somewhere else. Unfortunately, there are cases wherein that place where they find
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what they seek is in crime. This is why parents should be responsible in guiding their child
when in adolescence.
The reason this is included in the study is because juvenile delinquency has
been linked to bad parenting. This research aims to spread awareness towards teens and
parents about academics, parenting, and the risks of being a bad parent. In turn this could
lessen the amount of delinquents by even a tiny percentage.
Socioeconomic Status and Parenting Styles
Technically, the socioeconomic status of the family is the family’s capacity

in sustaining the needs of the particular member of the family. But besides the ability to
provide necessities for the home, a family’s socioeconomic status can also affect one’s
mind set and manner of discipline. According to Timmerman (n.d.), socioeconomic status
is a major contributor in the parenting and the development of the child. It was stated in
their study that poor parents tends to expect more obedience and use physical punishments.
Those physical punishments could create a negative perception towards the parents, thus
bringing the child to have negative ideologies and a build-up of hatred and/or anger if the
parent would not explain the actions and commands, or be more considerate. This could
stem from the fact that poorer people lack the educational attainment to understand further
or be aware of how to parent and what certain actions a parent does affect a child in a
certain way. The lack of awareness could create a wall that separates the parents and
children.
However, despite the fact that socioeconomic status does indeed affect
someone’s mentality, it is not the solely one’s socioeconomic status that will decide what
particular parenting style must be used in order to attain the concept of good parenting
(Timmerman, n.d.). There are parents that despite of having a low socioeconomic status,
can still manage to raise their child properly. In cases like this, socioeconomic status will
only contribute to the physical and social development of the child. It would be the society
that will serve as the missing pieces on the identity of the child whereas the socioeconomic
status gives an incomplete identity and just gives a certain background to the child and how
one is primarily judged by the society.
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What matters in this study however is the differences in parenting among

groups that differ in different areas of socioeconomic status (Hoff et al., 2002). Technically,
there would differences in parenting which are constructed by the different practices and
cultures that each socioeconomic status have. For example, still under Hoff’s study, middle
class mothers would talk about causality to their children more than working class mothers.
The parents with higher educational attainment tend to speak their language with a wider
vocabulary, thus influencing their children to have a wide vocabulary as well. Lower class
parents are more controlling than their higher class counterparts. This means that one’s
socioeconomic status could dictate the parenting style, and in turn dictate the child’s
behaviour.
Parent-child relationship
According to Sudhakar et al. (2016), academic achievement is a vital factor

for children, with the influence of the parents for pursuing a higher education. Parents are
the first teachers at home. The response of the parents towards the performance of the
children in school is also a contributor for the development of the child. It is essential to
feel the moral support of the first teacher at home to keep the children’s motivation in
pursuing academics.
The parent-child relationship comprises of behaviours, feelings, and

expectations that are unique to a particular parent and particular child (Sudhakar et al.,
2016). The behaviour of the child is either moulded by his or her parent or by the society.
But it is important to note that the behaviour of the child is aligned with their feelings. A
parent who uses neglectful parenting style is one who gives an unpleasant experience for a
child due to the lack of attention and care, thus building a bad caricature of the parent. The
bad mental image painted in the child’s head may force the child away from their parent
even more. In the contrary, an authoritative parent may set some boundaries for a child,
but the attention that an authoritative parent gives, along with the fact that the parent listens,
will in turn make the child feel more positive about their parents, making them aware that
the parent is a safe space for them to confide in.
In addition, a parent-child relationship includes parental attachment,

monitoring, communication, and involvement (Ramirez, n.d.). According to Ramirez
12
(n.d.), children who get parental support and encouragement to their parents are less likely
to rebel against their parents. This kind of situation creates a mind set where the children
think that their parents really care about them, which could make them feel motivated to
study knowing that the parent is actually supportive of them, rather than discouraging. As
the child turns into an adolescent, the safe space created by the parents could help them to
get away with the pressure that they think they have to carry alone. This is where
communication comes in. Communication is key when one wants to avoid any possible
misunderstandings that could sometimes end in a conflict. It is essential to invest time
especially in the stages of adolescence where, as mentioned earlier, the child is finding his
or her identity, and seeks approval, validation, and attention from their parents. Basically,
parents should be the one to shape the identity before the society does. The experiences of
the parent could be used as an advice and instrument to get the trust of the child.
Conclusion
In conclusion, parenting is far more complex than what we make it out to be. In a
few words, it is caring for a child. In a more specific manner, it is the ability to mould a
child, whether biological or not, into what society dictates you to mould the child into,
using the resources at your expense. The risk of creating a child that turns into a deviant
from societal norms would ultimately mean the failure of parenting. Unfortunately, there
is no “one size fits all” parenting style. Every child is different and every parent is different
and the situations they live in are different. This is why there are four different parenting
styles and although authoritative is promoted by many as the best parenting style, there
may be certain situations where one must adjust to a different parenting style.
Last year, Cruz et al. conducted a study on the parenting styles of single parents in
Los Banos, Laguna. They interviewed four single mothers of different backgrounds and
compared their situations, and the way they parented to come up with four results: First,
out of the four interviewed, three of them showed mostly authoritative parenting, and only
one had a mostly authoritarian parenting style. Second, the community they live in does
not play a big role in whatever parenting style the parents decide to use. Third is that it is
not always the child that adjusts to the parenting style of the parent, but the parent’s
parenting style also adjusts to the child. This could arise through negotiations or sudden
13
changes. Lastly, the ways that the parents have coped with their situation as they
transitioned into single parenting includes ignoring the problem, taking care of one’s self,
and having a strong support system.
The problem with last year’s study is that it is a qualitative study. Not that a
qualitative study is bad, but a qualitative study focuses on the depth of one’s experiences
so this means this type of study will explain a case-to-case basis, ultimately leading to a
smaller sample size. A small sample size means one cannot make assumptions or general
conclusions, but rather specific ones. Another is that there is a bias towards parents because
they are the respondents. This is evident especially when asked if the parenting style they
use appears effective to their children where all four respondents responded that indeed
their way of doing things is effective.
Other gaps in the studies cited in this chapter include the locale not being anywhere
near Los Banos, Laguna, and the inconsistencies among studies on what parenting style
affects a child in what way. The inconsistencies may be caused by cultural differences, but
that is for a whole new study.
In this study, the researchers would like to update the study made last year by
quantifying the study, thus creating the ability to make general conclusions. This study
would also focus on the perspective of the children this time around enabling everyone to
see what children really perceive towards each parenting style. It would also make clear
about what parenting style affects a child in what way, given the locale, the environment
they study and live in, and their socioeconomic status.
14
CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
The aim of this chapter is to set out the methodological approach undertaken to
identify the different parenting styles of single parents and their effects on a student’s
academic performance. This chapter represents the aim of this research and the
methodological approach adopted. It presents the sample which was selected and set out
the method used for data collection along with the process of data analysis.
Research Design
This study utilized the quantitative approach wherein it is defined by Apuke (2017)
as a study that is aimed to generate predictions and infer correlations and causations. It
normally contains a larger sample size and wider variation as opposed to the qualitative
method. Another noticeable difference is while qualitative collects data that are normally
testimonial or in forms of literature, quantitative studies collect statistics.
Respondents of the Study
The respondents of this study involved 48 students in Colegio de Los Baños who
are raised by a single parent. This number and the section in which they were assigned was
discovered through a preliminary survey per class.
Research Instrument
This study utilized a peer-reviewed survey questionnaire in order to collect the

necessary data for the study.
Research Procedure
The researchers envisioned their study to follow this format: first they gave a letter
of consent to the institution where they conducted their survey. Once approved, the
researchers went room to room, calling the attention of children currently being raised by
single parents. The students who were called was then given a survey form to fill out,
wherein when the data was collected, sifted through, and organized, the chosen statistical
treatment was then used to derive the final outcome of the study.
15
Sampling Method
The sampling method used was the purposive heterogeneous sampling method
wherein because it is essential for the study to get specific respondents whose demographic
fits the study, the researchers were not able to utilize a random sampling method. Although
with a heterogeneous sampling method, the researchers are able to get maximum variation
while still maintaining the criteria needed for the respondent. The researchers, however,
would have rather utilized all 145 students who claimed to be children of single parents as
respondents in order to give more accurate results and be able to represent a portion of the
group a little better.
16
CHAPTER 4
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
In this chapter the researchers discuss the outcome of the survey and the analysis
of the collected data. Unfortunately, despite the preliminary survey, only 48 out of the 127
who claimed to be raised by a single parent were willing to participate in the study. This
led to the first conclusion that the lack of respondents must be considered by the future
researchers. The small sample size could lead to major inaccuracies that may not reflect
the happenings of the majority of the population.
AGE DISTRIBUTION OF THE GENDER DISTRIBUTION OF

RESPONDENTS RESPONDENTS
2% 2%
2%
4% 9% 6% 8%
48%
21%
44%
54%
15 16 17 18 19 20 22 NA MALE FEMALE NA
Figure 1. (Right) Age Distribution of Respondents
Figure 2. (Left) Gender Distribution of Respondents
The figure on the left shows the demographic of the respondents based on age, the
most frequent of which is 26, composing 54% of the total data. The figure on the right
shows a more even distribution with only a 4% gap between males and females, with 8%
not wishing to disclose their genders.
17
GEDNER OF THE REMAINING PARENT
17%
83%
Father Mother
Figure 3. Gender of Single Parents
The figure above now shows the demographic of the respondents in terms of
remaining care takers. A staggering 83% of the respondents are being cared for a mother.
Although this is to be expected, the data shows the possible mentality and stereotypes about
single parenting, which, unlike what Pleck (2012) stated, is almost synonymous to single
mothers, but not as associated to single fathers, although the data shows they exist. Many
factors could be linked to this other than stereotypes and stigmas despite the law in the
Philippines giving a provision wherein it states that
“In case of separation of the parents, parental authority shall be exercised by the
parent designated by the Court. The Court shall take into account all relevant
considerations, especially the choice of the child over seven years of age, unless the parent
chosen is unfit” (E. O. 209., Art. 213).
Before the researchers talk more about parenting styles, the results collected has
supported the idea in which the researchers talked about the need for a spectrum in contrast
to the currently existing objective classification of the parenting styles.
On the next page, the results of the survey will be given, the highlighted cells being
the highest score in terms of rating what parenting style a parent has, and as seen, there are
cases in which 2-way or even 3-way ties occur. This shows that there must be a change in
18
the attitude towards parenting styles in which no one must confine one parent to one
specific style alone as the human mind, along with time, can be dynamic, and change
depending upon the situation. The ties will also explain why some graphs may add up to
more than 48 respondents.
R AUTHORITARIAN AUTHORITATIVE PERMISSIVE NEGLECTFUL

1 7 9 8 7
2 8 9 7 6
3 8 9 9 6
4 7 6 10 7
5 5 11 12 3
6 6 8 7 3
7 11 6 6 7
8 7 10 8 5
9 8 11 8 8
10 9 8 9 7
11 7 9 8 6
12 9 8 7 7
13 3 5 8 9
14 5 12 9 6
15 7 7 9 3
16 10 8 7 3
17 9 11 8 8
18 7 8 8 8
19 6 9 10 3
20 7 10 11 3
21 9 11 8 3
22 9 11 8 4
23 7 8 7 4
24 11 10 10 3
25 9 10 6 6
26 8 8 8 6
27 9 9 9 6
28 8 9 6 4
29 9 11 8 6
30 7 12 11 6
19
31 6 9 8 6
32 8 9 9 3
33 7 7 7 8
34 6 11 10 3
35 7 10 8 3
36 8 8 11 4
37 8 10 8 4
38 12 6 6 7
39 11 8 6 7
40 7 9 9 6
41 4 10 8 6
42 8 7 8 6
43 10 10 9 6
44 7 8 8 6
45 12 11 12 6
46 7 10 8 3
47 9 10 9 3
48 8 10 7 3
Table 2. Table of Results from Parenting Style Questionnaire
R: Respondent
Blue Cells: Highest rating given by the respondents to their parents, showing the most
prominent parenting style displayed by a parent.
20
DISTRIBUTION OF REMARKS PER

PARENTING STYLE
20 19
15
12
10
10
7
6
5 3
2
1 1
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0
EXCELLENT FAIR POOR VERY POOR
AUTHORITARIAN AUTHORITATIVE PERMISSIVE NEGLECTFUL
Figure 4. Distribution of Remarks per Parenting Style
The figure shows the rating the students gave to their parents about how they care
for their child and support them in their academics. The ratings are then grouped according
to the parenting style of the respondents’ parents and the data shows that the most excellent
form of parenting style is to be an authoritative parent, with 19 respondents rating their
parents excellent and authoritative. On the other hand, the worst parenting style, being the
only one rated Poor, is the authoritarian parenting style, with one respondent claiming their
authoritarian parent to have poor parenting.
DISTRIBUTION OF PARENTING STYLE ACCORDING

TO GENDER
30 26
25
20
15 13
10
10
5
5 3 3
1 0
0
FATHER MOTHER
Figure 5. Distribution of Parenting Style According to Gender
21
The figure above shows not just the gender, but the parenting style of the parents
and how much of each there is. There is a trend to be noticed here, that being that most
parents, despite their gender, chose to be authoritative, second to that is the permissive,
then authoritarian, then neglectful.
RESPONDENTS' AVERAGE GROUPED BASED ON PARENT'S

GENDER
100
90
80
70
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
FATHER MOTHER
Figure 6. Respondents’ Average Grouped Based on Parent’s Gender
The grades shown on the table are the general averages and both the mother and
father show a constant movement in the grades with no overlap of data between the two
and not too many stagnations on the father’s side. However, the data shows that despite
one respondent getting a 79 while cared for a father, it is almost as common to get a grade
of 85 and above as compared to that of those cared by their mothers, which could mean
that there is no effect on the grades of the students when it comes to the gender of their
parents.
22
THE DISTRIBUTION OF PARENTING STYLES ACCORDING TO

GENERAL AVERAGE
100
90
80
70
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
NEGLECTFUL PERMISSIVE AUTHORITATIVE AUTHORITARIAN
Figure 7. The Distribution of Parenting Styles and their Child’s General Average
In this next figure, however, there are multiple stagnations that can be seen in the
authoritative area. In fact, it is seen here that the frequency of a child getting a grade higher
than 90 is much more common in the authoritative parenting style than that of other
parenting styles. Despite the cluster of respondents in the 85-90 area, the data begins to
separate at above 90, with more presence being shown from respondents coming from
authoritative parents. In fact, the highest a respondent in this study got with a neglectful
parent is 90, although this should not be generalized as again, the sample size is still too
small. Despite the number of students getting 90 and above with authoritative parenting, it
must be noted that the lowest general average seen in the data collected can be found on
the authoritative style (79 G.A.).
23
INCOME AND PARENTING STYLES

12
10
0
5999 10999 15999 20999 25999 30999 35999 40999 22000
1000 6000 11000 16000 21000 26000 31000 36000 40999
Figure 8. The Income of the Parents and their Corresponding Parenting Styles
Most of the participants of the study come from the Php1000-Php5999 range as
seen in the graph above, after which, there is a constant decline in population as the income
range increases. Despite authoritative parenting leading in most of the ranges, permissive
parenting took the lead in the Php11000-Php15999 range and the Php31000-Php35999
range. This could signify that income is not a factor in choosing a parenting style as this
would mean that there would be a visible shifting depending on the income range, but none
was to be seen.
THE DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME ACCORDING TO

GENERAL AVERAGE
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Figure 9. Correlation of Income to the General Average of a Student
24
As in the previous graph, there seems to be no correlation as well with income and
the general average of a student as there is no visible upward or downward trend as the
income of the household increases.
The research was not completely quantitative, it also had qualitative features too,
just to see what the students would say about things they couldn’t reflect through a survey.
The first question asked whether or not their parents were supportive in terms of academics,
in which most of the respondents said yes. There were some that said no, and some that
said sometimes due to their parents being busy with work. The second question asks about
what the parents make the students feel. Common answers include pressured, good, and
proud. The last question however is what has a lot of variation. The researchers asked if
there is a way that they would want their parent to help them in their academics, and while
some left the question unanswered, some said they wanted an
“…increase sa allowance” or help in math because “di ako fan ng math.” One
respondent stated that they wanted help but could not have it because their parent was busy
with work. This proves the role strain that single parents have to face as there is no one to
help the remaining parent be hands-on with the child as the breadwinner earns for the
family.
In conclusion, first, single mothers are still more common than single fathers.
Second, the most commonly used parenting style is authoritative, followed by permissive
parenting. Third, that students perceive excellent parenting more in authoritative parenting
more than any other style. Fourth, the need for a spectrum basis in terms of classifying
parenting styles has been proven despite the small sample size, with 8 respondents getting
ties in the results. Fifth, gender does not play a role in the academic performance of a
student, but parenting styles do. Lastly, income does not seem to affect academic
performance or parenting styles, but it does affect how the parents handle time.
25
CHAPTER 5
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This chapter summarizes, and concludes the entirety of the research. This chapter
also gives the recommendation of the author to the other researchers.
Summary
Single parenting continues to be a growing phenomena in society, to the point that

the 2017 census of the Philippine Statistic Authority stated that 14 million homes are
headed by a single parent. Despite that, not many studies exist of it. This study works on
a small scale level and tries to discover the possible outcomes of parenting styles used by
the single parents in raising their children in relation to their behaviour towards their
academics, identify the parenting style most commonly utilized by the single parents, and
understand the perception of the students towards the parenting styles of their single
parents. There is a total of 48 respondents from the 127 that first answered they were cared
for by single parents. The researchers used surveying as the research instrument and the
Leichart’s scale as the statistical treatment.
Conclusion
The researchers came to multiple conclusions in this study. The biggest one being
that a small sample size is not enough to create a generalizable conclusion. Despite this,
there were cases of parents showing multiple parenting style characteristics, which brings
us to our second conclusion: there should be a spectrum. The current set of classifications
made by Baumrind assumes that parents can only have one specific set of styles and does
not consider the possibility of multiple parenting styles. The data shows some parents
showing traits of not one definite parenting style only, but a mix of different parenting
styles.
In the objectives, the second specific objective mentioned is to identify the most
common parenting style utilized by the parents of the respondents. Out of the 48
26
respondents, 31 respondents claimed to have authoritative parents. That is 64.5% of all the
respondents.
The researchers’ last objective is to see the perception of the parenting styles of the
parents. Those that said they had excellent parents mostly had authoritative parents, with
19 respondents saying so. Same goes with fair parenting, with 12 of the respondents saying
that their authoritative parents had fair parenting, followed by 10 respondents who had
permissive parents. This is in line with Lema and Manyama’s 2017 research where there
were very positive results in the children.
However, the general objective of the paper is to discover the possible outcomes of
the parenting style. The data shows that the general average of the students does not seem
to be affected by the parenting style. There is a random scatter of general average no matter
the parenting style.
This data, although should be taken seriously, should not be taken as a general
answer because as mentioned, the sample size is small.
Recommendations
The researchers recommend the following actions:
1. Repeat the study on a much bigger sample size

2. Establish a spectrum system instead of a classification system for the parenting
styles
3. Study the specific aspects of parenting/that could affect parenting (Finances, Place
of Residence, etc.)
27
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Aunola, K. & Nurmi, J.K. (n.d.). The role of parenting styles in children’s problem
behavioural. Child Development, November/December 2005, Volume 76, Number
6, 1144 – 1159.
Blank, M. (n.d.) The mother’s role in infant development: a review. University of

Cambridge.
Boylu, A.A & Ozturk M.S. (2014). Investigation of Economic Activities of Single Parent
Families. Sosyoekonomi Vol.23.
Eisen, A., Sussman, J., Schmidt, T., Mason, L., Hausler., L., Hashim, R., (2011) Handbook
of child and adolescent anxiety disorders. D. Mckay & E.A. Storch (Eds.)
Separation Anxiety Disorder, NJ, USA.
Figueroa, A., Ono, Y., Saito, K. & Soutullo, K. (n.d.). Separation anxiety. IACAPAP
Textbook of child and adolescent mental health Chapter F. 2.
Garcia, A. & De Guzman, M. (2017). Parenting styles, gender differences in. The SAGE
encyclopedia of psychology and gender.
Hart, C., Mandleco, B., Robinson, C., & Roper, S. (1995). Authoritative, authoritarian, and
permissive parenting practices: Development of a new measure.
Heijden, M., Schmidt, A. & Wall, R. (2007). Broken families: Economic resources and
social networks of women who head families. The history of the family.
Hoskins, D.H. (2014). Consequences of parenting on adolescents outcomes. Societies.

Volume 4.
Kotwal, N. & Prabhakar, B. (2009). Problems faced by single mothers.
Parade, S.H., Leerkes, E.M., & Blankson, A. N. (2010). Attachment to parents, social
anxiety, and close relationships of female students over the transition to college.
Journal of Youth and Adolescence.
Peterson, R. & Green, S. (2009) Families first: Keys to successful family functioning
family roles. Virginia cooperative extension, 350-393, 2.
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Richter, D. & Lemola, S. (2017) Growing up with a single mother and life satisfaction in
adulthood: A test of mediating and moderating factors. PLoS ONE, 12.
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International Applied Journal.
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29
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THE EFFECTS OF SINGLE PARENTING STYLE TO A CHILD’S ACADEMIC

Thesis · March 2020

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Colegio de Los Baños

Lopez Ave., Los Baños, Laguna

THE EFFECTS OF SINGLE PARENTING STYLES TO A CHILD’S ACADEMIC

A Research Project Presented to the

Senior High School Department of

Chua, Kieffer Ryan

Del Valle, Carlos Miguel

Gumalo, Dan Christian

This study entitled “THE EFFECTS OF SINGLE PARENTING STYLES TO

MR. KRISTOFFER AARON TIÑA

MR. BENJAMIN ROSALES MS. RIZZA ESPLANA

MR. KRISTOFFER AARON TIÑA

MR. RICARDO PATALEN

MS. ALELI TERESA SAN AGUSTIN

Carlos Miguel G. Del Valle

Background of the Study

Statement of the Problem

1. What is the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of:

1. Tabulate the demographic of the single parent’s family in terms of:

1.3 Socioeconomic Status

Significance of the Study

This study aims to benefit the following:

Psychologist/Psychiatrists/Therapist. In cases in which they are faced to help

The researchers believe that:

1. There is a correlation between the parenting styles of a single parent to a child’s

Behaviour-The actions, mind-set, or perceptions of a student towards a certain thing, in

Living Condition-The status of a child at home (socioeconomic status, emotional stability,

Parenting Style-A parent’s strategy used to develop or care for a child.

Scope and Limitations

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter includes a thematically organized presentation of previous discussions

In the Philippines, the Philippine Statistical Authority estimated a total of 3 million

In terms of in-depth studies, there is a miniscule amount of studies on single

An easy way to understand the four types of parenting is to show it in a table.

High Responsiveness Low Responsiveness

Next up is the authoritarian parenting style which according to Baumrind (1966) is

Parenting Style’s Effect on Academics

However, it is surprising that academic authoritativeness shows no relationship

Socioeconomic Status and Parenting Styles

Technically, the socioeconomic status of the family is the family’s capacity

What matters in this study however is the differences in parenting among

According to Sudhakar et al. (2016), academic achievement is a vital factor

The parent-child relationship comprises of behaviours, feelings, and

In addition, a parent-child relationship includes parental attachment,

Respondents of the Study

This study utilized a peer-reviewed survey questionnaire in order to collect the

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

AGE DISTRIBUTION OF THE GENDER DISTRIBUTION OF

Figure 1. (Right) Age Distribution of Respondents

Figure 2. (Left) Gender Distribution of Respondents

GEDNER OF THE REMAINING PARENT

Figure 3. Gender of Single Parents

R AUTHORITARIAN AUTHORITATIVE PERMISSIVE NEGLECTFUL

DISTRIBUTION OF REMARKS PER

AUTHORITARIAN AUTHORITATIVE PERMISSIVE NEGLECTFUL

Figure 4. Distribution of Remarks per Parenting Style

DISTRIBUTION OF PARENTING STYLE ACCORDING

Figure 5. Distribution of Parenting Style According to Gender