Abstract
According to the National Statistical Service of Greece, single-parent families, which emerged after divorce, in 2011 occupied an important place among other family types, endangering a large number of children to display behavioral problems and poor school performance. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of divorce on preschool children. Specifically, we studied the behavior problems and academic performance of children from single-parent families compared with children from nuclear families according to teachers’ views. The research sample consisted of 314 students from various urban and suburban parts of Greece, for which their 118 preschool teachers completed the “Pupil Behavior Rating Scale” (PBRS) and a questionnaire with demographic characteristics and data of themselves, their students and their students’ parents. The results of the research showed statistically significant correlations between 1) the type of family and occurrence of behavioral problems and 2) the type of family and school performance of the two student groups (single parenthood-nuclear). According to the findings of the present study, it appears that the family pattern affects the emotional development and school progress of children. For this reason, bearing always in mind that each family is unique, they are of particular importance: the assurance of a structured family environment (quality relationships of the members), the regular communication with parents built upon relationships of respect and trust, and finally, the social support and assistance of competent institutions to single-parent families.
Highlights
During the last two decades an important literature amount has developed internationally (Amato, 2001; Babalis, 2011), in order to examine the effect of family structure on the personal and social well-being of the child
Α) Pupil Behavior Rating Scale (PBRS) For the measurement of behavioral problems, teachers completed for each student in our sample the “Pupil Behavior Rating Scale” (Xatzixristou & Hopf, 1991), which consists of 11 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale, where higher scores indicate fewer problems
The scale measures three dimensions: 1) School adjustment, which refers to behaviors that are associated with learning and support it 2) Interpersonal behavior, which concerns students’ social skills Intrapersonal behavior, which is associated with psychological factors
Summary
During the last two decades an important literature amount has developed internationally (Amato, 2001; Babalis, 2011), in order to examine the effect of family structure on the personal and social well-being of the child. The emergence of alternative family types, such as single parenthood, raises questions as to the quality assurance in the psychosocial development of the child. According to Eurostat (2013), the number of divorces from 0.6 per thousand inhabitants that was recorded in 1990 in Greece, has risen up to 1.2 in 2009. This increase is attributed to the implementation of the legislative framework on “automatic divorce” as well as to a variety of other factors of psychosocial, economic, religious and sociological nature, since the single-parent family is a multidimensional phenomenon with social, economic and political aspects (Xatzixristou, 2009)
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