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Single Parenting and Children's Academic Achievement

Although growing up in a single-parent family is frequently viewed as a risk factor for a child, single-parent families are now fairly common. Of children born since 1984, more than 60% will spend an average of 5 years of their childhood in a single-parent family [3; 6; 13]. Moreover, 30% of all children in the United States spend their entire lives with single parents [6]. Many people have questions about the influence of single-parent families on a child's academic achievement and the ways single parents can help their children succeed in school.

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Research on Single Parenting and Academic Achievement

Research on single-parent families has changed over the years. During different periods, research in the area has followed one of two models: the Family Deficit Model or the Risk and Protective Factor Model.

Family Deficit Model. Dating back to the 1970s, the Family Deficit Model views the nuclear or two-parent family as the ideal family structure. According to this model, single-parent families have a negative impact on children simply because they do not have a nuclear family structure [7; 13]. Research using the Family Deficit Model begins with the assumption that single parenting is bad for children, and the results of these studies typically support this assumption. Indeed, some studies using the Family Deficit Model minimize or overlook the influence economics and other background factors have on academic achievement rather than alter this research model [7; 13].

Risk and Protective Factor Model. Developed in the early 1990s, the Risk and Protective Factor Model does not regard single-parent families as irregular [12; 13] because the foundation for the model is that all families have both strengths and weaknesses [7]. Rather than view single parenting as the cause of negative outcomes for children in these families, the Risk and Protective Factor Model...