Single-father Families Research Articles

Students From Single-Parent Households: Their Issues & Challenges

Single parenthood has been predicted as one of the causes of poor academic performance among school students. Most studies in Western countries reported that children of single-mother and single-father families perform academically lower than children of two-parent families. A phenomenological method of inquiry and analysis was used to explain the challenges and issues faced by students from single-parent households. In-depth interviews were conducted with five secondary school students at Klang Valley. The findings revealed that the students experienced five types of challenges: lack of parental guidance, grief of losing a parent, conflict between divorced parents, financial constraint, and societal perception. In overcoming the challenges, five strategies, which are talking to someone, listening to music, expressive writing, becoming more independent and feeling grateful were employed.

Associations between Gendered Family Structures and Adolescent Stress, Loneliness, and Sadness in South Korea.

While a large literature connects family environments characterized by access to two married biological parents to better child mental health outcomes, we know less about the mechanisms linking family structure to mental health outcomes for children living in other family structures. While essentialist theory suggests that access to both male and female parents will be an important determinant of child mental health, some research directly comparing single-mother and single-father families found no difference in child outcomes by parent gender, suggesting evidence for more structural theories of gender. However, most of this research uses data from Western countries and seldom extends to examining mental health outcomes. In this paper, we used data from a large, generalizable survey of Korean adolescents (the 2021 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey) to compare the mental health of children living in families with two married biological parents, single mothers, and single fathers. Our findings underscore the importance of examining family environments in different contexts.

Gendered Associations between Single Parenthood and Child Behavior Problems in the United Kingdom.

Internalizing and externalizing behavior problems are associated with a variety of negative child outcomes, but these conclusions have been drawn from research that usually compares children in families with two biological, married parents to all other family types. We compare behavior problems across two-parent, single-mother, and single-father families, which allows us to explore competing gender theories as possible explanations for why child behavior outcomes may be different across these three categories. Results from analyses of the UK Millennium Cohort Study suggest that while children in both single-mother and single-father families initially look like they experience more behavior problems than those in two-parent families, controlling for physical and, especially, social resources explains potential differences. Similarly, when single mothers and single fathers occupy similar family environments in terms of physical and social resources, their children report similar behavior. In contrast to findings from the US, children of single mothers who occupy similar family environments as children in two-parent families in terms of resources perform slightly better in terms of externalizing behavior problems than their two-parent counterparts. We conclude that constructivist theories more accurately explain gendered parenting behavior and its consequences for child behavior problems. Environmental factors such as income, parental closeness, and participation in extracurricular activities have a significant effect on child behavior problems.

Childhood socio-economic circumstances and dementia: prospective register-based cohort study of adulthood socio-economic and cardiovascular health mediators.

This study analysed the association between childhood socio-economic circumstances and the risk of dementia, and investigated the mediating role of potentially modifiable risk factors including adulthood socio-economic position and cardiovascular health. We used a 10% sample of the 1950 Finnish population census linked with subsequent population and health registers (n = 95 381). Information of socio-economic characteristics, family structure and housing conditions at the age of 0-15 years was obtained from the 1950 census. We identified cohort members who developed dementia in 2000-2018 using national hospital, medication and death registers. Discrete time survival analysis using logistic regression and mediation analysis applying the Karlson-Holm-Breen (KHB) method were employed. An excess risk of dementia was observed for household crowding [odds ratio (OR) = 1.10; 95% CI 1.02-1.18 for 3 to <4 persons per heated room; OR = 1.19; 95% CI 1.11-1.27 for ≥4 persons], single-father family (OR = 1.27; 95% CI 1.07-1.51) and eastern and northern region of residence (OR = 1.19; 95% CI 1.10-1.28). The effects of single-father family and region of residence were mostly direct with adulthood characteristics mediating 14% and 29% of the total effect, respectively. The largest indirect effect was observed for household crowding mediated through adulthood socio-economic position (47-65%). The study shows that childhood socio-economic circumstances are associated with dementia, and that the underlying mechanisms only partly relate to adulthood socio-economic position and cardiovascular health. Socio-economic and health interventions targeted at families with children may carry long-term benefits by contributing to a lower dementia risk in later life.

Children of Single Fathers Created by Surrogacy: Psychosocial Adjustment Considerations and Implications for Research and Practice.

The existence of single-father families formed by surrogacy is becoming a more visible reality, even though this type of family organization is still perceived with stigma and negative attitudes by more traditional sectors of society, because it raises some concerns regarding the psychosocial well-being of children who are born into single-fathers' families via surrogacy, and in many cases, to gay single men who wish to become fathers. On the other hand, available research on the psychosocial well-being of these children is still very scarce and limited to a handful of Western countries. Hence, it is of utmost importance to examine studies that explore the psychosocial adjustment of these children. In this mini review, I show that all the studies revised demonstrate the good psychosocial adjustment of these children, and that they are as likely to flourish as children born into traditional families, even if they may find themselves exposed to prejudice and stigma. In conclusion, single fatherhood and surrogacy do not contribute to any adverse consequences to the children's psychosocial development and adjustment, and there is no observed evidence to why single men, irrespective of their sexual orientation, should not be fathers via surrogacy. Finally, implications for future research and interventions are also discussed.

Promoting Social Visibility for Single-Father Families Created by Surrogacy

The phenomenon of single-father families created by surrogacy is a social event that lacks visibility. The dominant thinking regarding parenting is framed by heteronormativity, which establishes couplehood of different sexes as the acceptable and biologically grounded way to reproduce and raise children, leading to the lack of visibility of single men who want to be or are already fathers. For these men, there are two main possible paths: adoption or surrogacy. In this occasional essay, we will discuss the importance of creating social visibility for single men who want to become or are already fathers through surrogacy to provide enlightening information about the phenomenon, creating positive models for single gay or straight men who choose this method to fulfill their parenting ambitions. We will begin by establishing some introductory social considerations, followed by some explanations for why single men wish to pursue surrogacy and their experiences. We then provide research results from the field and respective conclusions. We argue that creating social visibility for single parents through surrogacy is a form of social change that could facilitate the deconstruction of traditionalist views of the concept of family.

Family Alliance and Intergenerational Transmission of Coparenting in Gay and Heterosexual Single-Father Families through Surrogacy: Associations with Child Attachment Security.

Parents tend to internalize the coparenting model they experienced during childhood and enact it in their coparenting relationships as adults. These interactive patterns may, in turn, shape their children’s internal working models of attachment relationships. The present study recruited 31 gay and 28 heterosexual single-father families through surrogacy to examine family alliance quality and the mediating role of observed supportive and conflictual coparenting in the association between the coparenting quality single fathers experienced in their families of origin and the attachment security of their children. All single fathers lived in Italy, were cisgender and White, and had a child aged 6–12 years (M = 97.73 months; SD = 20.48; 47.5% girls) who they coparented with nonparental caregivers (i.e., 33 grandparents, 18 babysitters, 8 uncles/aunts). Families did not differ in family alliance dimensions based on fathers’ sexual orientation. Additionally, single fathers who experienced greater coparenting quality in their families of origin demonstrated lower levels of conflictual coparenting, which, in turn, were associated with greater child attachment security. In contrast, observed supportive coparenting did not mediate this relation. The results emphasize the need to reconceptualize the dyadic coparental unit in single-father surrogacy families to include extended family members and nonrelatives.

Bittersweet Metamorphosis: Lived Experiences of Emerging Adult Single Fathers on Parenting in a Rural Community

With the increasing number of single-father family households worldwide, there is a need to conduct substantial research to provide sufficient information about this understudied population. This qualitative phenomenological study seeks to describe, explore and interpret the lived experiences of emerging adult single fathers on parenting. It utilized the purposive and snowballing sampling techniques to select the participants. The data were gathered through face-to-face interviews guided by interview protocol. Lichtman's 3 C's of Data Analysis was employed to generate themes extracted from participants' verbatim transcripts. Five themes emerged from their lived experiences: Providing Care and Nurturance, Rearing One's Child Properly, Dealing with Drawbacks in Single Fatherhood, Receiving Relief from Empathic Hands, and Appreciating Blissful Moments in Solitary Parenting. The findings provided insights that a transformation is required to adjust to their current situation and, most significantly, to change for their children's sake. To conclude, single fathers can truly nurture and raise their children with tenderness, warmth, care, and affection like single mothers and dual-household families. Given the limitations of this qualitative research, quantitative research is suggested for further research to create a comprehensive intervention program for mental health professionals to promote single fathers' quality of life

Documenting Families: Paper-Work in Family Display among Planned Single Father Families

This article extends existing sociological scholarship on doing and displaying family by developing the concept of documenting families. We suggest that documenting is conceptually rich insofar as it showcases the relationship, and tensions, between institutional practices and individual experiences of family display. Drawing on our research with men who became parents without partners, we argue that the process of documenting family is made especially evident in studies of what Finch originally referred to as ‘non-conventional’ family relationships. We explain that documenting sheds light not only on the official and unofficial means through which families are recognised on paper, but also on family practices as work – in this case paper-work – that involves negotiation between different social actors who are generally unequal in terms of their authority and agency to impose situational meaning.

SCHOOL PERFORMANCE OF PUPILS FROM SINGLE-PARENT FAMILIES. A SOCIOLOGICAL SURVEY ON 8th GRADE PUPILS, BIHOR COUNTY

Objectives. Studies have shown that single-parent families face various types of psycho-emotional problems but also the precariousness of economic resources, being among the vulnerable groups with a high risk of social exclusion. The paper presents a series of concrete aspects from a research conducted in Bihor County and it aims to analyze the differences between children from single-parent families and those coming from two-parent families, and those between single-mother families and single-father families, respectively, in terms of school life. Material and methods. The method used consists in a sociological survey based on a questionnaire, applied to a representative sample of 4708 8th grade students from Bihor County, in the 2019-2020 school year. Data processing was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences [SPSS] program, with the aim of calculating the frequencies and correlations between the variables. Results. In terms of school performance, education environment quality within the family, and school-family collaboration, the research found statistically significant differences between single-parent and two-parent students, respectively between families with single mothers and single fathers. Conclusions. The data showed that school performance is strongly influenced by family structure, climate, and functionality. From this perspective, the single-parent family represents a structure with low educational potential; in terms of school performance, the single-mother family describes a structure that favors school performance to a greater extent compared to the single-father family. Keywords: single-parent families, school performance, vulnerable groups, family climate, family structure.

A Study on the Factors Affecting the Adaptation of Single-Father Families: Focusing on Child, Father, and Family Relation Factors

본 연구는 부자가족의 적응에 기여하고, 후속연구에 유의미한 연구 방향을 제시하기 위해 부자가족의 심리&#8901;사회적 적응수준 및 이에 영향을 미치는 요인들 중 자녀, 아버지, 가족관계를 중심으로 각각의 세부요인들을 분류하고 체계적으로 분석하였다. 이러한 연구 목적을 위하여 2000년 이후에 발표된 한국교육학술정보원, 국회도서관(전자도서관), 신라대학교도서관(E-Resource) 에서 검색 가능한 박사 학위논문 및 학술지 게재 논문을 찾아서 분석하였다. 그 결과 최근의 연구 추세를 파악할 수 있었고, 부자가족의 심리&#8901;사회적 적응에 영향을 미치는 세부요인들을 구체화할 수 있었다. 연구 결과를 정리해 보면 첫째, 자녀 요인에서는 성별을 포함한 총 6가지 요인을 중심으로 살펴 보았다. 둘째, 아버지 요인에서는 개인적 요인과 사회환경적 요인으로 나누어 총 5가지 하위요인을 중심으로 살펴보았다. 셋째, 가족관계 요인이 부자가족 적응에 영향을 미치는 요인 중 가장 중요한 요인으로 분석되었으며 6가지 하위 요인을 분석하였다. 부자가족의 적응에 영향을 미칠 수 있는 대부분의 요인을 종합하여 체계적으로 분류하였다는 점에 의의가 있다. 본 연구에서 부자가족의 적응에 높은 영향력을 가진 것으로 나타난 요인들을 중심으로 심도 있는 후속 연구가 이루어지면 의미 있는 결과를 도출할 수 있을 것으로 판단한다.

Parent-Child Discrepancies in Perceived Parent-Child Communication and Depressive Symptoms in Early Adolescents in China.

Although recent studies demonstrated that parent-child discrepancies in the perceived family processes were associated with children’s developmental outcomes, few studies have addressed this issue in different types of families in mainland China. The present study investigated that how discrepancies in parents’ and adolescents’ perceptions of parent-adolescent communication were associated with early adolescent depressive symptoms in a nationally representative sample (N = 15,377) with 7010 father-adolescent dyads (adolescents: Mage = 14.24 years, SD = 1.25 years; 5960 adolescents from two-parent families, 443 adolescents from single-father families) and 8367 mother-adolescent dyads (adolescents: Mage = 14.02 years, SD = 1.18 years; 6670 adolescents from two-parent families, 1362 adolescents from single-mother families) in China. Adolescent respondents completed a measure of depressive symptoms and all informants reported on the perceived levels of parent-adolescent communication. Results indicated that adolescents reported parent-child communication more negatively than did their parents. Father-adolescent discrepancies were also greater in intact families than non-intact families. Polynomial regression analyses indicated that while there was a significant interactive effect of father-reported and adolescent-reported father-adolescent communication in Chinese two-parent families, no significant interaction was found for mother-adolescent dyad. Besides, adolescent-reported mother-child communication interacted with mother-reported communication in Chinese single-mother families only. The findings clarify parent-adolescent discrepancies in parent-child communication in different types of families in China and they have theoretical and practical implications on the role of discrepancies in parents and adolescent children on perceived parent-adolescent communication in early adolescent depressive symptoms.

Sensitivity and rough-and-tumble play in gay and heterosexual single-father families through surrogacy: The role of microaggressions and fathers’ rumination.

Sensitivity and rough-and-tumble play in gay and heterosexual single-father families through surrogacy: The role of microaggressions and fathers’ rumination.

Factors associated with behavioral adjustment among school-age children of gay and heterosexual single fathers through surrogacy.

Thirty-one children of gay single fathers and 28 children of heterosexual single fathers, all born through surrogacy, were compared with 31 children of gay partnered fathers through surrogacy and 30 children of heterosexual partnered fathers through in-vitro fertilization on their perceptions of self-worth and their father- and caregiver-reported internalizing and externalizing behaviors. For children of single fathers, the study also examined associations between aspects related to their surrogacy conception, feelings about their family arrangement, and behavioral adjustment. All children (47.5% girls) were aged 6-12 years (Mmonths = 97.84, SD = 20.50) and living in Italy; all fathers (Myears = 43.79; SD = 6.42) identified as cisgender, reported a medium-to-high socioeconomic status, and were White (with the exception of one gay partnered father). No differences were found across the four family groups in any behavioral outcome, with children demonstrating, on average, high levels of self-worth and low levels of internalizing and externalizing problems. In single-father families, regardless of the father's sexual orientation, children with a weaker understanding of surrogacy, lower satisfaction with their contact with the gestational carrier, and lower comfort with their family arrangement were associated with more externalizing problems. Furthermore, children's female gender and lower satisfaction with their contact with the gestational carrier were associated with more internalizing problems, whereas children's male gender and greater understanding of surrogacy were associated with higher self-worth. Taken together, these findings do not support the commonly held assumption that the combination of surrogacy conception and single fatherhood is detrimental for children's behavioral adjustment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

이혼 후 자녀와 비양육부모의 면접교섭에 양육부모의 동기 요인이 미치는 영향

This study examined whether child support payments, perceived compensation, cost of child rearing, and perceived potential support from former spouse, which are all factors related to custodial parent’s motivation to allow visitation, affect contact between children and non-custodial parents. The types of contact were divided into regular contact, irregular contact, and no contact. A comparison between single-father and single-mother families was conducted to see if motivation factors of custodial parents were different by gender of parents. Using the Living Status of Korean Single-Parent Families Survey, this study analyzed 1,913 divorced custodial parents through multi-nominal logit analysis. The motivation factors that influence regular contact were different by gender of parents. In single-mother families, child support payment was a significant motivation factor, while in single-father families, perceived potential support from former spouse was significant. These results suggest that an intervention strategy to increase visitations takes into account custodial parent’s motivation and gender difference.

The Significance of Family Structure in Internalizing (Anxious/Depressed) and Externalizing (Aggressive/Delinquent) Problems among Chinese Adolescents

The present pioneering study investigated the differences across various types of family structure among Chinese adolescents with proactive and reactive aggression. It aimed at providing frontline social workers and family therapists with inspirations for designing suitable interventions for adolescents with specific subtypes of aggressive behavior from different family structure backgrounds. After completing an online survey including the Reactive and Proactive Aggression Questionnaire (RPQ) and the subscales of the Child Behavior Checklist – Youth Self-report (CBCL-YSR) on aggressive behavior, delinquent behavior, and anxious/depressed symptom, 520 out of 13,338 Chinese adolescents aged 11 to 18 were randomly selected and stratified based on the types of family structure (intact family, single father family, single mother family, stepfather family, and stepmother family). Expectedly, boys elicited more proactive aggression, delinquent behaviors, and aggressive behaviors than girls. Besides, significant cross-structural differences were found between children from stepmother family, who showed more proactive aggression, anxious/depressed symptoms, aggressive behaviors, and delinquent behaviors, and those from intact family regardless of gender. The interaction effects between gender and family structure were significant for reactive aggression, anxious/depressed behavior, and aggressive behavior. An interaction effect showed boys from stepmother families were more reactively aggressive than those from intact families. In addition, more anxious/depressed symptoms were found in boys from stepmother family than those from intact and single mother families. In conclusion, the impacts of family structure on proactive aggression and delinquent behavior are not gender specific, but the impacts on reactive aggression and anxious/depressed behavior are only specific to boys.

Socio-environmental determinants of the delay in the first dental visit: results of two population-based cohort studies in Brazil.

The objective of this study was to describe the timing of the first dental visit and investigate the association of socioeconomic and behavioral factors with dental visit delay among 10/11-year-old children from two live-birth population cohorts with extremely contrasting socioeconomic profiles. Follow-up data (2004-2005) from cohorts of Ribeirão Preto (RP) (n=790) and São Luís (SL) (n=673) were evaluated. Delay in dental visit was defined as not visiting a dentist before the age of 7. Covariates included family socioeconomic characteristics, mother-related health behavior, and child-related characteristics. Prevalence ratios with robust standard errors were estimated. In both cohorts, less than 5% of children had visited a dentist before the age of two and about 35% of them had not visited a dentist before the age of seven. Lower mother’s schooling and lack of private health insurance were associated with the delay in first dental visit for both cohorts. A small number of mother's prenatal care visits and being from a single-father family or a family without parents were only associated in the RP cohort, while having ≥4 siblings and lifetime dental pain were associated in the SL cohort. The association with dental pain probably reveals a preventive care-seeking behavior. Therefore, the percentage of delayed first dental visit of children was very high even among those with the most educated mothers. Further studies are necessary to analyze recent changes and underlying factors related to access to first dental visit after the implementation of the National Oral Health Policy in 2006.

Associations between family structure and adolescents' food habits.

To investigate family structure differences in adolescents' consumption of fruit, vegetables, sweets and sugar-added soft drinks with adjustments for socio-demographic and socio-economic variables. Cross-sectional data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey. Norwegian primary and secondary schools. Adolescents (n 4475) aged 11, 13, 15 and 16 years. After adjusting for covariates, living in a single-mother family was associated with lower vegetable consumption (OR 0·76, 95 % CI 0·63, 0·91) and higher soft drink consumption (OR 1·29, 95 % CI 1·06, 1·57). Living in a mother and stepfather family was negatively associated with fruit (OR 0·71, 95 % CI 0·54, 0·95) and vegetable (OR 0·72, 95 % CI 0·54, 0·97) consumption. Living in a single-father family was associated with lower sweets consumption (OR 0·48, 95 % CI 0·32, 0·72). No significant interactions were demonstrated between family structure and socio-demographic or socio-economic covariates. The study suggests that an independent association between family structure and adolescents' food habits exists.

The association of family structure with health behavior, mental health, and perceived academic achievement among adolescents: a 2018 Korean nationally representative survey

BackgroundAdolescence is a period during which physical, social, and mental abilities are rapidly developed, and during this time the family environment plays an important role. Differences in health behaviors, mental health, and academic achievement by family structure may affect future families, income, and employment. The purpose of the study was to investigate the association of family structure with health behaviors, mental health, and academic achievement in Korean adolescents.MethodData from the 2018 Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey were analyzed. The study sample was comprised of 59,096 adolescents. Logistic regression, t-tests, and a variance analysis of a complex sample general linear model were used to examine the association of family structure with health behaviors, mental health, and academic achievement. The significance level was set at P < 0.05.ResultsNon-intact families (single-mother families, single-father families, and restructured families) had significantly higher odds of smoking a cigarette, drinking a sip of alcohol, internet use, physical activity, and sexual experience, and mental health issues such as depression, suicidal ideation, perceived stress, and poor perceived health status than intact families (two-parent families). Also, non-intact families were significantly related to low perceived academic achievement compared to intact ones.ConclusionThis study showed that family structure is a significant factor in adolescent health behavior, mental health, and perceived academic achievement. Adolescents who experience a transition in their family structure may be more vulnerable to health risks and exhibit lower academic achievement than those in an intact family.

Gay and Heterosexual Single Father Families Created by Surrogacy: Father–Child Relationships, Parenting Quality, and Children’s Psychological Adjustment

The present study examined father-–child relationships, parenting quality, and child psychological adjustment in 35 gay single father surrogacy families, 30 heterosexual single father surrogacy families, 45 gay two-father surrogacy families, and 45 heterosexual two-parent IVF families, when children were aged 3–10 years. In each family, fathers were administered standardized questionnaires and interviews, and participated in three video-recorded observational tasks with their child. Teachers and a child psychiatrist further rated child adjustment. The only differences across family types indicated greater parenting stress in gay and heterosexual single fathers. Irrespective of family type, lower sensitivity and supportive parenting predicted greater father-reported child internalizing problems; whereas lower rough-and-tumble play quality and sensitivity, greater negative parenting and parenting stress, and the child male gender predicted greater father-reported child externalizing problems. In teachers’ ratings, the child female gender was associated with greater child internalizing problems, whereas greater negative parenting, lower rough-and tumble play quality, and the child male gender were associated with greater child externalizing problems. The results confirm that the adjustment of children born to gay and heterosexual single fathers through surrogacy is more a function of family processes than family structure. The results enable practitioners to develop an informed view of the influence of assisted reproduction on the adjustment of children born to single fathers through surrogacy. In this vein, it is empirically unfounded for policymakers to consider children born to single fathers through surrogacy at risk of developing psychological problems, as well as to continue to ban single men from accessing fertility treatments.