African American Single Parenthood Essay

There is a plethora of reasons as to why single-parent households are toxic to a child’s future. Single parenthood has problematic consequences for children’s school performance at all levels in their educational career. Children who grew up with only one biological parent are twice as likely

Fatherless homes in the black community is at 57.6% (NCF, 2017). One of many issues of a fatherless home is children have less structure and lack of discipline; i.e. Chicago. The children suffer the most. I believe children need both parents in the household to be complete (“not all”). I believe if women have father’s in their lives (a positive male figure at minimum) it could help their decision in choosing the right mate will help this issue.

About four in every ten children born in America in 2008 were born outside of marriage, and they are disproportionately minority and poor. “Only about 6 percent of college-educated mothers’ births are nonmarital versus 60 percent of those of high school dropouts” (5). Scholars responded to this by studying single-parent families.

All across the globe, there are children growing up in single-parent households, and through some research

Students from single parent homes also have lower academic achievement compared to students with two-parent families (Pong, Dronkers, & Hampden-Thompson, 2003). Single parent households are also at higher risk for child abuse and neglect (Paxson & Waldfogel, 2002). While poverty does not cause abuse or neglect, there is a direct link between the two (Bower, 2003). If neglect or abuse are present in Amanda’s

There was a higher percentage for single black mothers for task-orientation; their children always had books, pencils, and homework complete. So family structure may have an effect on students education, but it is only a small percent.

Family structure is important for developing stability for a child. Its is also a factor in the way a child will themselves feel about the institution of marriage. Likewise, children from ‘non-normal' households are more likely to develop ‘nonnormative' attitudes towards family life. The divorce rates among the impoverished are higher than those of other classes. Higher than that are the divorce rates of African-Americans of the impoverished class. Rector states that "blacks have higher poverty rates, mainly because blacks have lower marriage rates"(Rector, 27 ).

A father’s role in a child’s life is extremely important when it comes to a child’s development. With so much emphasis placed on young black boys needing their fathers during crucial developmental ages, the rate of our young black girls growing up without fathers is staggering and overlooked. What is an absent father? The definition is quite simple; an absent father can be defined as a father who is not present in the life of their child whether it is physically, emotionally, or both. Although the absence of a father is detrimental in any child’s life, the absence of such in a young black girl’s life is even more crucial. The absent father in a black girl’s life leads to, in some cases, promiscuity and teenage pregnancy, poverty, and

In the article on (www.theroot.com) says, “ In the United States, 31 percent of black children have both mother and father in home. 53 percent have only a mother present with 7 percent having a father present and 9 percent having neither parent present.”. Household composition pulls little weight and appears to come as a disadvantage for some service issues, such as a teenage program and incorporated

One of these is financial problems. “In 2002, twice as many single-parent families earned less than $30,000 per year compared to families with two parents present. At the opposite end of the spectrum, 39 percent of two-parent families earned more than $75,000 compared to 6 percent of single-mother families and 11 percent of single-father families” (Davidson).

Research was done using qualitative research. Interviews were conducted with colleagues and interview cited by Moule (2012) interviewed William E. Cross Jr., Ph.D., and a professor of counseling education in the College of Education at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. A web based search was conducted using the main words/phrases, “African Americans Students,” “single-parent” and “disadvantages” interchangeably. These web based search provide with several scholarly journals, eBooks, and peer reviews to use. Commutatively data was measured, analyzed, and then

Harknett and McLanahan (2004) assess the racial disparities in marriage and family formation among diverse ethnic groups to explain the differences in child rearing practices. Their study utilizes data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study composed of 3,700 children whose parents were unmarried at the time of their births as well as the 2000 U.S. Census. Initial interviews were conducted with the mothers after child’s birth and follow up surveys took place during their child’s 30 month follow up. The authors found that race, ethnicity, age,

The overall out-of-wedlock birth rate, which was approximately 8% in the mid 1960s, increased to more than 40% by 2015. Among the black population, the out-of-wedlock birth rate rapidly increased from 25% to approximately 74%. Although these numbers don’t necessarily reflect the absence of a fatherly family influence, it probably does reflect an effort to work the entitlement

African-Americans families tend to have a stronger bond, helping the mother regardless of their marital status. Blacks realize that their apparent lack of education leaves them in a difficult situation, finding it almost impossible to support a family. In 1987 Wilson “argued that the decline in the economic position of many young black men has mad marriage an increasingly unattractive alternative for young black women. As a result, many black teenage girls may conclude that they have little to lose by having an out-of-wedlock birth, and motherhood may ant the same time, offer them some measure of respect and attention.”2 This is not a good thing because, when a family is unable to support itself then they tend to turn to welfare.

While on the other hand, children that are raised by both parents have higher rates of upward mobility. In addition, children who didn’t get to spend most of their childhood with both of their biological parents, usually have lower socioeconomic gains when compared to children who did. Studies also show that nearly a third of households that are run by single mothers in the United States, live below the poverty line.