CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATIONS
5.0 Introduction
The main objective of this study is to find out the sociological analysis of
marriage and single parenting. The specific objectives of this research are to
examine the prevalence of emotional behaviors in children and single parent as
against a comparable sample of children and dual parent family; to examine the
socio-economic status of children and single parent as against a comparable sample
of children and dual parent family; to examine the prevalence of deviant
behaviours in children and single parent as against a comparable sample of
children and dual parent family; to examine the cognitive level in children and
single parent as against as comparable sample of children and dual parent family
and to find out the children’ academic performance of single parents as compared
to those of two parents.
5.1 Summary of the Study
Based on a synthesis of research on single-parent families, Biblarz and
Raftery (2010) state, “social science research has produced evidence both for and
against the ‘pathology of matriarchy’ view” .They indicate some studies find
inferior outcomes for children in single -parent families, whereas other studies find
children from single -parent households perform similarly, or even better in
specific instances, than children from two -parent households.
Research has found two –parent families benefit children in a myriad of
psychological, social, and academic ways (Amato & Keith, 1991; Demo &
Acock,1996; Dornbusch et al, 1985). Maternal behaviors ineffectively explain
these differences because single mothers’ parenting practices cross the spectrum
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from permissive to demanding and from responsive to rejecting (cf. Florsheim,
Tolan, & Gorman-Smith, 1998; Dornbusch et al., 1985; Steinberg, Mounts,
Lamborn, & Dornbusch, 1991; Taylor, Larsen - Rife, Conger, Widaman, &
Cutrona, 2010).Other explanations focus on the poverty (Adams, Milner,
&Schrepf,1984, p. 143; Biblarz & Gottainer, 2000; Demo & Acock), stigma
(Adams et al. ,1984; Dowd, 1997; Ladd-Taylor & Umansky, 1998), and conflict
(Kinard & Reinherz, 1986; Strohschein, 2005) concomitant with single-mother
families.
Some limitations of this study should be addressed. First, as discussed in the
supplementary analysis above, future research should pay more serious attention to
the role of extended family system in explaining the well-being of children in
single-parent families with longitudinal data that have information on the timing
and duration of co-residence, and outcomes of well-being measured at several time
points. Another important aspect of family that may condition the effect of living
with a single parent is sibship configuration. The presence of older siblings, for
instance, may help children go through emotional difficulties associated with
parental divorce and the death of a parent.
Secondly, family structure was identified as of the time of the survey
conducted. Some studies have raised questions about these kinds of “window”
measurements of family structure at a given point in time in that they may not
reflect the entire childhood experience and thus may offer misleading results
(Wolfe et al., 1996; Ginther & Pollak, 2003).
A better approach would be to look at the effect on the change in children’s
outcomes of a change in family structure from one type to another (e.g., Sandefur
et al., 1992; Wu, 1996). Furthermore, in order to better understand the role of
household income in mediating the effect of single parenthood, models should take
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into account a change in household income before and after family change (Pong
& Ju, 2000; Wu, 1996).
The research design used for this research work is a descriptive survey
research, the respondents the residents of Ogun Waterside area of Ogun State. A
total of 100 respondents were randomly selected from the residents of Abeokuta
South Local Government area of Ogun State for this research. The research
instrument used was the questionnaire which was validated by research experts and
supervisor. The instrument was self-administered and collects after administration.
The research findings were analyzed using simple percentage and Chi-square, the
methodology was duly considered.
5.2 Conclusion
Negative outcomes are not inherent to the single – parent family structure. In
order to explore some of mechanisms through which the effect of single parent-
hood originates, this study examined the extent to which differences in
socioeconomic conditions accounted for variation in educational outcomes among
children from different types of family. The result for educational aspiration shows
that lower household income is an important factor for accounting for the
difference in the likelihood of aspiring to four-year university education between
children with a single parent and those with two parents. Compared to educational
aspiration, the explanatory power of household income for the difference in student
disengagement seems to be rather weak.
The relative insignificance of parent-child interaction for single-mother
families reflect the fact that once other control variables, particularly parental
education, are held constant, differences in the four indicators of parent-child
interaction between children with a single mother and children with two parents
are substantially reduced or even disappear. In the Korean context, single mothers
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seem to be involved in monitoring and supervising children’s education and other
activities as much as parents in intact families, once parental education is held
constant.
Some limitations of this study should be addressed. First, as discussed in the
supplementary analysis above, future research should pay more serious attention to
the role of extended family system in explaining the well-being of children in
single-parent families with longitudinal data that have information on the timing
and duration of co-residence, and outcomes of well-being measured at several time
points. Another important aspect of family that may condition the effect of living
with a single parent is sibship configuration. The presence of older siblings, for
instance, may help children go through emotional difficulties associated with
parental divorce and the death of a parent.
Secondly, family structure was identified as of the time of the survey
conducted. Some studies have raised questions about these kinds of “window”
measurements of family structure at a given point in time in that they may not
reflect the entire childhood experience and thus may offer misleading results
(Wolfe et al., 1996; Ginther & Pollak, 2003).
A better approach would be to look at the effect on the change in children’s
outcomes of a change in family structure from one type to another (e.g., Sandefur
et al., 1992; Wu, 1996). Furthermore, in order to better understand the role of
household income in mediating the effect of single parenthood, models should take
into account a change in household income before and after family change (Pong
& Ju, 2000; Wu, 1996). For example, children of widowed single mothers achieve
similar to children in two-parent homes, and better than children of divorced
single-mothers do (Biblarz & Gottainer, 2000), showing experiences of poverty,
stigma, and conflict differ.
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Research should distinguish between “adaptive and maladaptive aspects of
single - mother family functioning” (Florsheim et al., 1998, p. 1437).
Investigating the adaptive nature of households should connect to sociocultural
factors. One child may perceive another child’s risk factor as neutral (Luthar,
Cicchetti, & Becker, 2000, p.550; Masten et al., 1995). Moreover, expected risks
may protect in other cultural contexts (Cabrera & Garcia Coll, 2004; Fagan, 2000,
p.592; Landale & Oropesa, 2001).
5.3 Recommendations
Based on the findings of this study, these are the recommendations:
Children of single parenthood should be encouraged on the three basic
dimensions of self-concepts, namely; sense of belonging, sense of worth and
sense of competence. They need a positive identity or an enhanced self-
concept for the overall adjustment.
Marital disunity is a major cause of single parenting. Therefore, to avoid
this, parents should tolerate, accommodate, appreciate and understand each
other in marriage. Forces of disunity should be ignored, de-emphasized, if
not eliminated. Both parents should try to stay together for the sake of good
upbringing of their children. Whenever there is problem in the home, the
couple should try and see the counsellor for a help or otherwise, settle the
problems within themselves amicably.
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5.4 Suggestions for Further findings
In spite of the sociological investigation of marriage and single parenting in Egba,
the subject matter seemed scarcely researched. In the light of this, further research
can be carried out on:
Comparative investigation of adjustment between widowed single parents
and divorced single parents.
Sociological analysis of single mothers and single fathers based on their
children’s academic performance.
Sociological analysis of maladaptive behaviours between children of single
parents with mature siblings and those with no siblings.