How single parenting affects college students

Growing up in a single-parent family places you at a more educational disadvantage today than it did around 40 years ago, as claimed by a new study. According to a paper published in last week, academic journal Education Next teenagers living in single-parent families had completed fewer 1.32 years of schooling than their friends of two-parent families. For 24-year-olds who lived in single-parent homes, the college completion rate was 26% points lower.

• About half of the educational disadvantage faced by students from single-parent families is due to a low family income. Children who turned 14 years old between 1989 and 1999 they were associated with completing 0.92 fewer years. A vast majority of single parents in college have low incomes. Large majority of the single parents are unable to contribute to the college costs. Unmet demands of the institution are larger in cases of single parenting as compared to students who have both parents.
• Students who go through divorce, separation or death of one of their parents do not always seem to perform well in academics. Also, the risk of not reaching their full potential increases.
• It directly affects the student’s thinking and mental mindset. Studies have always revealed that single parenting makes children more aggressive and rebellious. The reason behind it, as the experts say, is the outcome of anger and limitation that the child goes through while growing up. Thus, children face various limitations which in turn affects their academic performance.
• When the father is absent and the single mother is not able to provide basic needs and supervise the academic performance as well, the child will be withdrawn and backwards. And when the mother is absent the father is not privileged enough the education of the child will face the same problem. In a home where both father and the mother is present, they will be taken care of and socialized in the best possible way.
• Single parent constantly keeps on stressing to find clothes, food and shelter for the family which places them at the risk of becoming detached from their children. Though single parenting nowadays is a common phenomenon, the children lack the potential of flourishing in the sphere of academics.
• Most of the single mothers live below the poverty line. Lower academic achievement is linked with economic disadvantage and increased behavioural problems among children. Poor education performance is the consequence of poor attendance, engaging of bad behaviours and drop out of school due to economic instability and the failure of keeping an eye on the child.