Julian Edwards

English 102

Dr. Wynne

3/17/17

Literature Review: Single Parenting

Today, any single parents in the world are possibly some of the best multi-taskers in the world.

With the excess amount of work they do every day, they sometimes may be underappreciated.

Being a parent on your own means you are someone who has a child or children that depend on

you and multiple young African-American adults around the world are single mother or father

parents raising their offspring the best ways they can. With the divorce rate as high as it is, more

and more children are growing up in single-parent families. Numerous adversities that may take

place are such as a shortage of economic support, educational and passionate effects of the

youngster, restricted health coverage and parents working extensive hours with multiple jobs.

With some research I have conducted a few questions focusing on single parenting which

include, what is single parenting?, who is available to help single parents?, and what the effects

on parents raising their children on their own?. These questions listed eventually helped me find

a few possible positive or negative outcomes for current single parenting.

 First, with the question of what is single parenting, a single parent is an separated

individual who accepts most or all the day-to-day responsibilities for raising a child or children.

Usually a single mother is more often the main caregiver in a single-parent family structure due

to death of the partner, divorce, or unplanned pregnancy. A key characteristic of single-parent

families is the limited resources available to them. (Kavas 58). Which is why there is diversity of

hardships for a single parent that could take place such as a lack of financial support, academic

and emotional effects of the child, limited health insurance and mothers working long hours with

one or two jobs. According to Burden's research, single mothers and fathers receive lower

salaries, work longer hours at combined job and home responsibilities, and experience greater

job-family role strain and lower levels of physical and emotional well-being than parents that are

not separated. (Kavas 61 ). Many single parents must work long hours to put food on the table,

and may cannot form a bond with their child like planned to.

With my second research question, what are the effects on parents raising their children on their

own, many parents are affected both positively and negatively while raising a child by

themselves. (Borup 55). Some parents struggle to find a job to support them and their child.

Being able to save your energy and time is vital as bringing up a child alone will require you to

play two roles that of both the parent and the provider. (Nelson 24) But there are positive

benefits on having children and raising them by yourself, as a single parent. According to a

researcher, Julianne Holt-Lunstand, stated While caring for children may include daily hassles,
deriving a sense of meaning and purpose from life's stress has been shown to be associated with

better health outcomes,"(Fox News). Additionally, mothers tend to take care of themselves in a

healthy way because they must care of their children. Another positive benefit from becoming a

single parent is changing your personality when raising children. (Alloy 7) Many single parents

learn how to be unselfish because being a single mother is a 24/7 jobs and requires them to put

their childrens need before theirs. They also learn that having children can make you learn

unique things about yourself, as well as increasing patience and love for them.

My third research question includes who is available to help single parents in need. There are

few great organizations such as the Extended Family organization a nonprofit charity established

exclusively for the purpose of offering financial assistance to single parents and their children.

According to Mark Carmer, Founder and President of Extended Family, he states, We assist

single parents who are truly alone and have no assistance from the other parent. These single

parents are employed and working hard for their families, but find its still not enough. (Cramer

8) Extended Family believes that single parents are the people who should be supported the

most.

Work Cited Page

 Alloy , Lauren . "Single Mother Parenting Benefits ." Child Psychology (2016 ): 7-10

EBSCOHost . Web. 28 Feb. 2017 .

Borup , Inna . "Life Satisfaction Among Children in Different Family Structures: A

Comparative Study of 36 Western Societies." Children and Society 26 .1 (2012 ): 51-62 .

EBSCOHost . Web. 3 Mar. 2017 .

"Children of Single Mothers: How Do They Really Fare?" Psychology Today.

HealthProf, 16 Jan. 2009. Web. 16 Mar. 2017.

Kanvas , Serap . Women's Studies International Forum 40 .11 (2013 ): 56 -67.

EBSCOHost . Web. 2 Mar. 2017 .

Nelson , Patricia Tanner . "Single-Parenting Families ." Winter 1986 24.4 (2005): 23-25.

Joe. org. Web. 1 Mar. 2017.

Whitaker , Philip Ingrid . "Single Parenting in the African American Community:

Implications for Public Policy and Practice." Journal of Human Behavior in the Social

Environment 24.2 (2014 ): 239-40 . EBSCOHost . Web. 25 Feb. 2017 .

"10 Hidden Benefits of Having Children." Fox News. FOX News Network, n.d. Web. 5 Mar.

2017.

Cramer, Mark. "Single Parents and Their Kids Need Your Help... Because as a Parent You Don't

Get a Mulligan!" Extended Family - A Charity Assisting Single Parents in Financial Need. N.p.,

2014. Web. 17 Mar. 2017.