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Challenges and Resilience: A Practical Examination of Single Parenting

A Research Proposal Presented to
The Senior High School Department
San Roque National High School

In Partial Fulfilment of the

Requirements for the Subject
Research in Daily Life1 (Qualitative)

By:

De Leon, Frank Jassen

Gregorio, John Kinley
Valiente, John Charles Kirby
Panlican, Eljude

12 – HUMSS 1

April 2024

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CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

INTRODUCTION

Although the question of whether parenthood is generally beneficial for well-being is

currently being hotly debated in the social sciences, single parents are nearly unanimously

assumed to be worse off than their partnered counterparts. The present research

questions this finding by demonstrating that whether single parents are actually less happy

than partnered parents depends on a country’s cultural norms regarding childbearing

practices. (Starova and Fetchenhauer, 2024)

Adolescents raised by single parents face several issues as compared to those living with

two biological parents or more specifically a standard or intact family arrangement. A very

diverse group, these adolescents raised by widowed, divorced or ever-single parents are

more likely to experience financial difficulties (White, 2004),

This suggests single parenting in itself does not have as many negative behavioral effects

on children as currently claimed by researchers in western society. Researchers who find

positive correlations between single parenting and negative behaviors in children do not

control for events like divorce or separation, which often occur early during the childhood

of single parented-, but not of dual parented children. ( Schmuck, 2013)

Not only do individual family members suffer when a family member passes away, but also

their interactions and relationships with one another. The majority of research on grief has

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focused on intrapersonal experiences. Using a family lens, this systematic scoping

assessment concentrated on parent-child dynamics in bereaved households to determine

existing knowledge and areas in need of further investigation. Preferred Reporting Items

for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR)

recommendations are adhered to by the review. We searched four databases: Psycinfo,

PubMed, CINAHL Plus, and Web of Science. Two themes were combined into the search

phrases: (1) parent loss (20 terms) and (2) parent-child (eight terms). 36 of the 5,419

studies that were found during the search were included in the review. (Jiao Keyuan, 2021)

We looked at children's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems from age 5

to 15 years old in connection to whether or not they had experienced a parental divorce

using data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of

Early Child Care and Youth Development. Teachers and moms reported that children from

divorced households had greater behavioral issues than a group of children from intact

families matched on propensity scores. Both at the final assessment that was available

(age 11 years for teacher reports, or 15 years for mother reports) and at the first

assessment following the parents' divorce, they showed increased internalizing and

externalizing issues. Long-term and short-term rank-order increases in behavioral issues

were also predicted by divorce. Family income acted as a moderator in the relationships

between divorce and behavioral issues in children. (Weaver Jennifer, 2015)

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Results of a study of the long-term effects of divorce among young adults with divorced

parents show that depression is related to the young adult's perception of the parents

rather than the divorce itself. . Especially when the non-custodial parent is "missing," the

young adult is more likely to be depressed. When divorce occurs, the perception of the

non-custodial father has been shown to change in a negative direction, while the view of

the mother (whether custodial or otherwise) remains relatively stable. These results have

implications for intervention (Rebecca L Drill 2021)

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STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study aims to Assess the struggles faced by single parents on everyday life

This seeks to answer the following questions:

1. How do single parents cope?

2. How does a broken family affect a child?

3. What are the mental effect of single parenting?

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION

Identifying the impact of single parenting is the scope of this study. The main goal of this

study is to assess what are the impact on mental health of single parenting. The study is

delimited. This study will focus and limited on what are topic in this study. Other

information or not connected in this study will not be include.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The findings of the study on Impact of Menstruation on the Academic Performance

are highly significant and beneficial specifically to the following:

Teachers. This study will help teacher understand single parents even more, they

will know and realize how hard it is being single parent

Students. This study will be beneficial to students specially to those student with

complete family, they will learn to be greatfull in their parents even more

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Future Researchers. The study will have been beneficial to the researcher to get ideas

and insight about the struggles of single parents and how they cope

DEFINITION OF TERMS

For a better understanding of this study, the following terms are defined in the

context of this research.

Well-being - is a positive state experienced by individuals and societies. Similar to health,

it is a resource for daily life and is determined by social, economic and environmental

conditions (Word Health Organization)

Parenthood - refers to the state of being a parent, involving the responsibilities, duties,

and privileges associated with raising a child or children it can be biological or non-

biological

Responsibility - refers to the state or fact of having a duty to deal with something or of

having control over someone. It involves being accountable and answerable for actions and

decisions, and often includes fulfilling obligations or commitments.

Parenting - is a process that prepares your child for independence. As your child grows

and develops, there are many things you can do to help your child’s development, positive

parenting, safety, and health at each stage of your child’s life.

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CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

RELATED LITERATURE

The study looked at the impact of single parenting on Nigerian children's development.

According to the report, single parents and solo parents don't have partners with whom to

split the cost of child care and other obligations. The study also revealed that the majority

of single parents have financial difficulties. This is due to the fact that most single parents

struggle to provide for their children's basic requirements, which include clothing, food,

school supplies, and other necessities. This also explains why it's so hard for them to keep

their kids in line. The study found that the majority of single parents deal with financial,

emotional, and social issues, which increases the likelihood that their kids will engage in

risky behaviors including drug and alcohol use and criminal activity. (John Wajim, 2020)

Single‐parent families with children with disabilities need greater attention given the

notable increase in their number and their additional difficulties. Single parents in East

Asian countries, especially, may face greater risks than their peers elsewhere, given the

region's unique cultural background. (Kim Hyun Seung, 2023)

Children’s healthy development is important. While governmental public assistance benefits

financially troubled families, it cannot compensate for a lack of social support. Single-

parenthood is a health risk factor for children owing to low-income-associated food

insecurity and stress. No study has investigated the association between single-parenthood

and health status in children from families receiving public assistance. This study aimed to

examine the association between single-parent households and children’s health among

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public assistance recipients in Japan by using linkage data of two municipal public

assistance databases and administrative medical assistance data. (Nishioka Daisuke, 2021)

Although the question of whether parenthood is generally beneficial for well-being is

currently being hotly debated in the social sciences, single parents are nearly unanimously

assumed to be worse off than their partnered counterparts. The present research

questions this finding by demonstrating that whether single parents are actually less happy

than partnered parents depends on a country’s cultural norms regarding childbearing

practices. Using two large-scale international data sets (the European Values Study [EVS]

and the European Social Survey [ESS]) covering altogether 43 countries, we show that

only in collectivist countries and countries with a strong two-parent family norm did

parenthood negatively affect the life satisfaction and the emotional well-being of single but

not partnered (married or cohabiting) individuals. Most notably, the detrimental effect of a

country’s social norm of a two-parent family existed even among single parents who did

not share this norm themselves. (Stavrova Olga, 2015)

Single-parent families have historically faced greater economic precarity relative to other

family types in the United States. We investigate how and whether those disparities

widened after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data on exposure to school and

childcare center closures, unemployment, poverty, food hardship, and frequent worrying

among single-parent families versus two-parent families throughout 2020 and 2021, we

find that the challenges that single parents faced prior to the pandemic generally

magnified after the arrival of COVID-19. In April 2020, one in four single parents was

unemployed, and unemployment rates recovered more slowly for single parents

throughout 2021, perhaps in part due to their unequal exposure to school and childcare

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closures. The expansion of income transfers largely buffered against potential increases in

poverty and hardship, but levels of worrying among single parents continued to worsen

throughout 2021. (Parolin Zachary, 2022)

The education of children in single-parent families is not only a problem that educators

cannot ignore at present, but also a major issue that the whole society cannot avoid. In

view of the current research status at home and abroad, this paper investigates the status

quo of learning motivation of children from single-parent families in Tai'an City, clears out

the actual needs of children in single-parent families, and analyzes various factors that

restrict the solution of the problem. On this basis, it puts forward countermeasures and

suggestions to promote the learning motivation of children from single parent families, in

order to help children from single parent families establish self-esteem and self-confidence

awareness, improve the attention of all sectors of society, establish a coordinated

education mechanism of government, school, family and society, and effectively enhance

the learning motivation of children from single parent families. (Guo Xiaoling, 2024)

RELATED STUDIES

A. FOREIGN STUDIES

We found that attending a school with more children from single-parent families affects

the educational performance of all children negatively, but it particularly harms children

from single-mother families. Furthermore, we have indications that in countries in

which the number of single-parent families is higher, the negative effect of attending a

school with a higher share of single-parent families decreases, except for the US. Lange

(2013)

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Transform family system from two-parent into a single-parent family system need a

variety of adjustment, particularly when two parent divorce. There are several types of

single-parent family system, but most are headed by women. Single parent system

caused by parental divorce may affect children either short or long-term and positive or

detrimental. Short-term effects include behavior difficulties at home and at school that

occurs in association with the initial reaction to parental separation. Long-term effects

may not appear until adolescence or adulthood when individuals become involved in

intimate relationship and experience difficulties in establishing them. Need a strategy

and intervention to children with single parent system Yusuf and colleagues (2020)

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to investigate the experiences of 10

low-income single working mothers selecting child care for infants and toddlers. The

mothers experienced contextual constraints and related issues that contributed to the

child care selection process. Three themes emerged from the data including (a) the

experiences of being single mothers living in poverty making child care decisions, (b)

contextual constraints in choosing child care, and (c) mothers' satisfaction with the

child care they chose. Bruckman (2018)

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to investigate the experiences of 10

low-income single working mothers selecting child care for infants and toddlers. The

mothers experienced contextual constraints and related issues that contributed to the

child care selection process. Three themes emerged from the data including (a) the

experiences of being single mothers living in poverty making child care decisions, (b)

contextual constraints in choosing child care, and (c) mothers' satisfaction with the

child care they chose. Bruckman (2018)

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Families headed by single mothers are increasingly prevalent in the United States.

These mothers face unique challenges that increase their risk of depression. Research

shows children of depressed mothers are at risk of developing psychological difficulties.

Little attention has been paid to emerging adult female offspring of depressed mothers

Sherb and colleagues (2020)

B. LOCAL STUDIES

People classify single parents as a solo parent is separated by their partners and raise their

child dependently. Aside from this, they also manage the household and carry the burden

of supporting the child's development. Thus, despite being one of the predominantly

conservative countries, the Philippines cannot change the constructed perspective that

society conforms to single parents' condition. These perspectives devalued solo parents'

worth and changed the sense of purpose and responsibility in their household. The

hardships that they do are less to be recognized and appear to be downgraded. Further,

this study aims to Thus, this study aims to describe the lived experiences, challenges and

coping mechanisms of single moms during the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Utilizing Interpretative Phenomenology Analysis (IPA) with the 10 participants who met the

criteria. Moreover, the implications of the study were discussed, and recommendations

were suggested.

The study assessed the parenting style used by the gay and lesbian parents in rearing their

children and the impact of these parenting styles to the child’s social development. The

study also characterized the parents and their children in terms of age, educational

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attainment, source of income, income from all sources, religious affiliation, and the child’s

school performance. Villanueva and colleagues (2023)

A single mother is a person who is accountable for raising their children alone because

they do not have a husband or live-in partner. Single mothers claim to have no co-

parenting relationships at all, comparing single parents to those who are married,

cohabiting, or without children, single parents experience the worst work-life balance. A

single parent may feel overwhelmed by the demands of juggling child care, a career,

paying bills, and maintaining household responsibilities. Single-parent households

frequently deal with several extra obligations and possible complications that other families

would not. Baluyut and colleagues (2023)

This study used a snowballing, a non-probability sampling method. Specifically, it gathered

personal narratives on the following: responses of the conversational partners on their

lived experiences as undesirable and beneficial to them, factors in the environment that

posed as challenges and selfissues that they faced while they were in parenting, coping

mechanisms of teachers who are single parents to address the struggles encountered,

motivating factors used by the conversational partners as their strength in facing the

challenges as a single parent. Catalino (2023)

Although single mothers have integrated themselves into society, not much is known about

them or their plight. Single mothers often struggle psychologically, physically, and

emotionally. They face various challenges in society: discrimination, rejection, and even

blackmail from different sectors. As the mothers would be exposed to more challenges and

struggles, their children also get involved. They often use spiritual, social support,

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cognitive, economic, recreational activities and self development as their strategies in

coping with their many struggles. Lee and colleagues (2022)

SYNTHESIS

These struggles by the single parents were proven by baluyut a year ago stating single

parents are being over whelmed by the responsibilities of solo parenting and also has extra

obligations that only solo parenting experience as for Lee he states that solo parents also

struggles psychologically, phyisically and emotionally. He laso added that they faced

discrimination, rejection and even being black malied

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