Family is the backbone of all children and children are supposed to grow in a family setting where both mother and father plays their respective roles in providing them a sense of security and stability but when it is done single handedly it becomes quite difficult to perform up to the expectations. In recent years, there has been a sudden rise in the phenomenon of single parent families in India due to multiple factors including the influences from western society. The present article is an attempt to review the available literature on single parent families, their causal factors, strengths as well as its weaknesses. Furthermore, the positive and negative impact of single parenting on adolescent’s physical, psychological, emotional, behavioral, educational and social wellbeing is also discussed in detail. Besides, this paper suggests few strategies for single parents so that they can easily manage and cope up with the difficulties they face in such situations which might be helpful in improving the wellbeing of their adolescent children.
Growing up in single-parent families and the criminal involvement of adolescents: a systematic review
