In contemporary society, single parenthood has become common. Marriages between two couples are no longer popular. In this case, several children are born and brought up by single parents. When a child is brought up by a single parent, they often lack parenting values and traits from the other gender of the parent that is missing. Due to burden of parenting being left to one side of the gender, they end up experiencing gender related issues. Recent studies indicate that children raised in single-parent households experience more gender-related issues than children raised in two parent households. It is important to understand whether or not this claim is true and in establishing the link between gender related issues and single parenthood. This paper seeks to analyze this claim with the aim of developing a better understanding of the claim with reference to two empirical articles.
According to Jang, Zippay and Park, most parents are struggling to maintain a work-life balance. In their article “Family Roles as Moderators of the Relationship Between Schedule Flexibility and Stress”, the authors suggest that most parents are dedicated to their work so much that they forget their parenting roles hence leaving their single being raised by the single parent available at home. The article was located by searching the following key word “gender roles” and the article was the first to appear upon the search. It is credible as it is published by a recognized journal “Journal of Marriage and Family” a reputable journal source that publishes empirical articles on marriage and family. The study conducted in the article involved single parents as participants giving their responses on the relationship between gender related issues and single parenthood. The study explored the role of negative work-family spillover in the relationship between schedule flexibility and employee stress and the roles of gender, family workload, and single parent status.
Questionnaires involved in the study incorporates questions on whether single parenting contributes to gender related issues and how lack of work-life balance affects single parents and children raised in single parenthood households. Results from the study indicate that stress from work is often spilled over to family and gender roles which causes gender related issues for children raised in single parenthood households. It also reveals that women were the most affected gender by work stress hence children raised by a single mother are often at a greater risk of experiencing gender related issues. One of the strengths of the article is that it explores the link between work-stress and single parent status in relation to how it influences gender related issues experienced by children raised by single parents. There are a few articles that have studied this matter, most of the literature only focus on the relationship between single parenthood and gender related issues experienced by children brought up by single parents. However, one of the limitation of the study conducted in the article is that it is general, it studies the influence of work stress on other factors such as roles of gender and family workload.
I-Jun Chen et al., in their article “The model of children’s social adjustment under the gender‐roles absence in single‐parent families,” explore how children raised by single parents have trouble with social adjustment due to gender-roles absence in single parenthood households. The article was located by typing the phrase “single-parent families” and it was suggested as one of the first articles in the search. The source is credible as it is credited and supported by the Programming Foundation of Ministry of Education Humanities and Social Science, a body responsible for reviewing empirical articles and other literatures in China. The study conducted in the article involved 458 pairs of single parents as participants. Questionnaires used in the study tested the relationship between gender roles by single parents and social adjustment of children raised in single parent families. Results from the research reveal that male children raised by single mothers adopt some of the female traits from their mothers while female children raised by single fathers are more likely to develop some masculine traits. One of the strengths of the study is that it explores the impact of single parenting on both male and female children. However, one of the limitations one of the limitations of the study is that it only focuses on one gender related issue hence limiting its scope.
The two articles support the claim that children raised in single-parent households experience more gender-related issues than children raised in two parent households. The sources develop a better understanding of the relationship between single parenting and the gender-related issues experienced by children in single parent families. Results from studies conducted in both articles indicate there is a direct correlation between gender related issues experienced children brought up by single parents and single parenthood households. It is evident that a child raised by a single parent is more likely to experience gender related issues such as difficulty in social adjustment as compared to children brought up by both parents.
Bibliography
Chen, I‐Jun, Hailun Zhang, Bingsi Wei, and Zeyao Guo. “The model of children’s social adjustment under the gender‐roles absence in single‐parent families.” International Journal of Psychology 54, no. 3 (2018), 316-324.
Jung Jang, Soo, Allison Zippay, and Rhokeun Park. “Family Roles as Moderators of the Relationship Between Schedule Flexibility and Stress.” Journal of Marriage and Family 74, no. 4 (2012), 897-912.