Social Problem Within the United States

Social Problem within the United States

In 1999 around 16 million children were living in a single parent household with their mothers, and almost 6 million children were living with only their fathers or with no parents at all (Fields and Casper, internet). The European Commission has reported that the percentage of children living with only one parent has grown from 8% to 13% in the last fifteen years. Population projections in the United States estimate that half of the children born in the 1990's will spend some time in single parent households (Amato, internet). These statistics seem unrealistic but if one thinks about it and actually look around and see their friends' families they would have to agree. I live in a single parent household and have for almost four years. I wanted to do some research about a topic that would personally make sense to me. I want to be able to prove all the statistics wrong about single parent households being detrimental to children, by knowing all that I can and preventing it within my home with my brother and I.

Thesis Statement and Preview

Being that single women families are the cause of all ills that afflict America society: poverty, violence, drug addictions and decreasing educational standards. Research devoted to child development within divorced families and the effect on children of problematic relationships among parents, is frequently marshaled by these groups who approach single parenthood as an issue of moral choice. Which leads right into the statement that single parent household can be detrimental to children.

Poverty

"Single Moms" evoke an image of low class, low income, poorly educated women who simply made choices. You know these women. They work at the local diner serving up burgers and fries. They have three children from some drunken worthless bum and have the appearance of being heavily burden by their lives. When you encounter theses women, the first thought that comes to mind is: "I'll never be like her." The majority of single mothers work full time; a little under half have multiple jobs. The national average household income for a single parent woman is $24,000, which offers just a 13% margin above the federal poverty level for a family of four. 41% of single parent household upheld by women live at or just below the poverty line. Children from single parent women headed households have taken over elderly for poverty.

Violence and Abuse

There are many factors that lead into the disadvantages of children being raised in single parent households. Domestic abuse or violence in general is one of them. Of the 70% of women who stated the reason for filling for divorce was domestic abuse, 50% of those children had already experienced abuse or were witness to it (Poussaint). Violence can occur within the family or with child can apply it to the outside world because of the abuse they have seen their parents either place upon the other or endure from the other. Children from single parent households can influence our communities by the amount of violence that is protrude in the surroundings that are place in their daily lives. Low self esteem among teenagers and a feeling that they have no future, which can often make them, feel like anything goes and even to devalue their own life and the lives of others. Such feelings would make them more vulnerable to commit crimes and violence.

Drug and Alcohol Addictions

Children from single parent households would steal or use drugs at the youngest age of ten years old. They would have little to no responsibility, there was nothing stopping them from abusing drugs and alcohol as such a young age. Some do this as the consequences from divorces, they are just angry and confused about life, and they just want to escape. Addictions are created among children because of the lack of support from a second extended family system or a male adult in the immediate family.

Education and School Performance

Single parents monitor their children less closely and know less about where their children are, who they are with, and what they are doing than parents in intact families. Single parents are also less involved in their children's school activities and have lower educational goals for their children. Analysts at The Heritage Foundation looked at data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health, the federal government's