Single-Family Structure

Elbiss Gerigourian

April 25, 2015

Family: Definition, History, & Emergence

What is family?

A family is a household unit that is based on blood, meaning shared genetic heritage,
and law, meaning social recognition and affirmation of the bond including both marriage
and adoption (Witt, 2013, p. 155).

Family is one of the main social institutions that carries out the role of biological and
social reproduction. Biological reproduction refers to having children and social
reproduction refers to teaching of culture and survival essentials.

Historically, families have formed from Paleolithic times and has always been an
important agent of historical and social changes (Wiesner, 2013).

Families are emerged from marriages.

SoftChalk (2015) defined marriage as a legally recognized social contract between two
people, traditionally based on a sexual relationship and implying a permanence of the
union.

Functions of Families
Some of the main functions of families are:

Reproduction: Bearing children and replacing dying family members.

Socialization: Teaching the culture of the society and appropriate social

behaviors.

Protection: Meeting the economic and security needs of the young children.

Regulation of Sexual Behavior: Teaching children of the current norms of the

society in terms of sexual behaviors.

Affection and Companionship: Providing warm intimate relationship and

building up the childrens self-confidence and self-esteem.

Provision of Social Status: Inherited social status such as race and gender.

Types of Families
American Academy of Pediatrics (2015) had identified the following types of families:

Traditional/nuclear Families: A married couple and their unmarried children

live together.

Single-parent Families: Children live with one of their parents.

Cross-generational Families: A grandparent lives with the family.

Adoptive-foster Families: The children are either adopted or accepted is foster

children in families.

Never-married Families: The parents have not married.

Same-sex Parent Families: Both parents are of the same sex.

For the purpose of this study, we will examine the single-parent families in terms of
their functions and challenges.
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Single-Parent Families

In single-parent families only one of the parents is present to take care of the
children.

How has the single-parent families changed over time?

According to a research done by Casey and Maldonado (2012), The United States has the
highest rate (27%) of single-parent families.

According to the
U.S. Census Bureau (2012),
the single-parent household
has been increased for about
10% since 1980 (Figure 1).

In the United States, 87% of

the single-parents are
mothers (Witt, 2013, p. 166).

Figure 1: Single-Parent Households

From 1980 to 2008
35.00%
30.00%

27%
24%

25.00%

20.00%

29.50%

19.50%

15.00%
10.00%
5.00%
0.00%
1980

1990

2000

2008
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Causes of Single-Parent Families

Some of the main causes for single-parenting are:

Divorce: In divorced families, one of the parents have the primary custody of
the children. The custodial parent has the main responsibility to raise the
children; however, the other parent can still be involved.

Death: An unforeseen single-parenting due to the loss of one of the parents.

Teen pregnancy: Usually teenagers who become pregnant end up becoming

single-parents.

Adoption: Sometimes people would like to have children without having any
intimate relationship with a partner; therefore, they adopt one or more
children.

Donor insemination: In this case also individuals would like to have their own
children without going through any relationship with opposite sex.

Who Are the Major Participants in Single-Parent Families?

What Are Their Roles and Statuses?

The major participants of single-parent families are the primary parent who has the
custody of the children and the children.

The role of the single-parents are to provide physical, emotional, and sociological needs of
the children while maintaining their individual role in society as a professional.

The role of the children is to gain academic and social knowledge and play their specific
role in their own families to help their single parents.

Challenges of Single-Parent Families

Some of the main causes for single-parenting are:

Economic hardship: Decreasing from two household

incomes to one can have heavy negative impact. This
impact can be even worse in families that only the
father worked and now the mother is left with the
child/ren with no income. In Minority, Single Parent
Families and Poverty, Dr. Smith (2011) from the
University of California, Berkeley clearly describes
some of the poverty challenges that single-parent
families face.

Quality of parenting: Quality of parenting decreases in

single-parent families compared to married families.
There are fewer rules, less constructive discipline, and
less emotional support for the children. The quality of
parenting is one of the best predictors of childrens
emotional and social well-being (Amato, 2005).
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Challenges of Single-Parent Families (Continued)

Exposure to Stress: Children living with single-parent families are exposed to

more stress than those living in two parent families. The stress can be caused
by the family economic, conflict between the parents, lack of the presence of
one of the parents, or losing contacts with the friends and family members.
Some of the stress impacts are reduced school grades, emotional distress,
aggressiveness or withdrawal.

Child care: Taking care of children for just one parent can become cumbersome
due to lack of assistance from the other parent.

Task overload: The custodial parent becomes overwhelmed with various tasks
that the other parent used to take care of. This can result in fatigue in the
single-parent.

Changes in Children's Behavior: These various challenges can negatively

influence the childrens behavior. The children might have a higher rate in
antisocial behavior, anxiety, rebellion, and aggression.

Single-Parenting and Social Acceptance

Historically, traditional two parents families have been accepted by the

society. These families were considered as socially healthy. Therefore, the
society would look down upon the single-parent families since it was against
the norm of the society.

However, recently the number of single-parent families has been increased

dramatically over the years, consequently, society has been accepting the
concept of single-parenting.

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Single-Parents Perception of Single-Parent Families

Single-parents might hold different perceptions about single-parenting.

They might feel inferior and rejected: This feeling might have been stronger
when the concept of single-parenting was not accepted by the society.

Feeling independent and strong: Regardless of various challenges that singleparents might face, they feel independent and strong, because they are able
to run their families all by themselves.

The single-parents consider their families as an alternative option and not a

deviant family structure.

Single-parents also believe that the quality of parenting children in singleparent families is higher than dual-parent families because there is just one
parent and one method of child rearing.

The single-parents argue that they are more involved in their childrens lives
than dual-parent families because it is only one parent mainly present in the
childrens lives.
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Stable Features of Single-Parent Families

Single-parent families still carry out most of the basic functions of regular families
such as:

Socialization

Protection

Regulation of Sexual Behavior

Affection and Companionship

Provision of Social Status

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Functionalist Theory & Single-Parent Families

Functionalists perspective if family (nuclear families): Functionalists argue that

families are an important social institution which plays a crucial role in promoting
solidarity and stability of the society. Functionalists believe that families are the
basic building block of the society in which they function harmoniously by
performing: reproduction, protection, socialization, regulation of sexual behavior,
affection and companionship, and providing social status. Parenthood is a curial
social role because one of its tasks is the socialization of children, which is
essential to maintain any culture (Witt, 2013, p. 175).

In functionalists place an emphasis on role (specially the gender role) of each

family member in promoting stability in the society. However, in sing-parent
families since one of the parents is mostly absent from the family, the roles within
the family members shift. This can create a problem in balancing the roles and
responsibilities. Another, issue is reproduction. Single-parent families might stop
growing in number of family members. Providing protection and teaching children
the social culture can become cumbersome for just one parent.

In summary, functionalists might view single-parent families as a challenge in

playing our roles effectively and efficiently in our societies.

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Conflict Theory & Single-Parent Families

Conflict theory views family as a social institution that contributes to social

inequality. Within a family the power and resources are not distributed equally
which promotes conflict and disharmony. In addition, a familys social position
helps determine a childs opportunities in life as a result of power, property, and
privilege that is passed from generation to the next (Witt, 2013, p. 175).

Conflict theory might view a single-parent family as an example where conflicts

and disharmony was created due to unequal distribution of power and privileges
between the two parents. Consequently, the conflict resulted in single-parent
families.

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How to Improve Single-Parent Families

Resource management:

Assisting to find a job with a higher pay or find a second job

Assisting with child care: To provide free or subsidized child care

Assisting with self-care: To help the single parents to spent some time for themselves for
exercise, relax, and refresh

Social networking: To create a support network where the single parents can get
together to socialize, to share, and learn from each other.

Help the single-parents to make for the missing parent: Taking the children to the
activities that usually the missing parent would do.

Promoting emotional health: Help the single-parents and their children to recover
from the emotional hurts caused by the family structure.

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Does Single Parenting Works Better in Some Societies?

Some single parents believe that single parenting works better for them for the
following reasons:

No more conflict between the couples

No more authority issues

No more physical or emotional abuse

They can raise the children however they want

The bond between the parent and the children is stronger

The single parent gains more self-confidence and self-esteem

The single parent becomes exposed to more social networks

The single parent becomes more independent and mature

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References:

Amato, P. (2005). The Impact Of Family Formation Change On The Cognitive, Social,
And Emotional Well-Being Of The Next Generation. The Future of Children, 15(2),
75-96.

Casey, T., & Maldonado, L. (2012, December 1). Worst Off Single-Parent Families
in the United Sates: A Cross-National Comparison of Single Parenthood in the U.S.
and Sixteen Other High-Income Countries. Retrieved April 25, 2015, from
http://www.legalmomentum.org/sites/default/files/reports/worst-off-singleparent.pdf

Different Types of Families: A Portrait Gallery. (2014, March 28). Retrieved April 25,
2015, from http://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/familydynamics/types-of-families/Pages/Different-Types-of-Familes-A-PortraitGallery.aspx

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References:

Smith, S. [INTELECOM Intelligent Telecommunications] (2011, January, 28).

Minority, Single Parent Families and Poverty. Retrieved on April 25, 2015 from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wbBjt-5wG4.

Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2012. (2012, January 1). Retrieved April
25, 2015, from
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s1337.pdf

Wiesner, M. E. (2013). The family: A world history. Choice, 50(6), 1112. Retrieved
on April 25, 2015 from
http://ezproxy.woodbury.edu:880/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/
1315530579?accountid=25364.

Witt, J. (2013). SOC (3rd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

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