Single-parent family and its effect on child development

The single-parent family is a type of family that can influence the harmonious development of a child. Once the child becomes an adult, the imprint of childhood experiences can propagate into the social sphere, on other social actors. In order to prevent these possible negative effects, both on the individual and on society, it is necessary to have as broad an understanding as possible of the phenomenon of single parenthood. The article analyzes the effects of single parenthood on parents and children, based on the literature and available statistical data, with an emphasis on the implications on child development. An exploratory study based on the case study method supports the theoretical approaches presented in this regard. The analysis carried out took into account the gender structure within the family, through the case study method with several cases. Characteristics considered to be specific to the gender were taken into consideration: obsession for the male gender and hysteria for the female gender, and the way in which the two balance each other was analyzed. In addition, the cases were analyzed from the perspective of the socio-economic opportunities of children from this type of family, in order to visualize the evolution of the quality of life of individuals. Following the analysis, the effects on the child were presented as diverse, multiple and sometimes unexpected.