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Gender & Behaviour 2018 ISSN: 1596-9231

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The Effects of Single Parenting on Raising Teenagers: A case study of the Hasani

Dakari village Vhembe district in Limpopo province, South Africa.

Mudau TJ, Ncube D. & Lulamani Evidence Mukansi

Institue of Gender and Youth Studies,

University of Venda, Thohoyandou,

South Africa.

Abstract

The study focused on the effects of single parenting on teenagers’ development with a bias

on the challenges faced by single parents in upbringing their teenagers in the Hasani

Dakari village, Vhembe district in Limpopo province of South Africa.Literature reveals that

single parent household families have become a common phenomenon in the world,

inclusive of South Africa. The spotlight was on how parents cope with the burden of raising

teenagers on their own who are normally defiant and wayward in terms of behaviour. A

qualitative approach was used in executing this study and the population comprised of

single parents with teenage children in the Hasani Dakari village, Vhembe district in

Limpopo province of South Africa. A sample of five (5) single mothers and five (5) single

fathers were purposively sampled to participate in the study. Data were collected through

one-on-one interviews and were (data) qualitatively analysed and narratively presented.

The study found that many single parents are failing to adequately fend for their teenagers

due to lack of healthy financial resources, have un- healthy relationships with their

teenagers who are delinquents and poorly perform at school. It was further found out that

many teenagers from single parents are into substance abuse hence many parents are

stressed and depressed due to the unfavourable behaviour of their teenagers. The study

recommends that parents seek counselling services from professional counselors and that

the government should double the child support grants for children from single parents.

Keywords: single parenting, teenagers, financial difficulties, educational difficulties,

unmarried

Introduction

In a normal household set up children are raised in families that have two parents (mother

and father) who are their guide if not role models. It has however become common that

many households have a single parent, responsible for the welfare of the children including

their behaviour. In America, since the 1960s, there has been a marked increase in the

number of children living with a single parent. The United States of America Census

(2012) reports that 19.5% of families are single parent households caused by an increase in

births to unmarried women and by the increasing prevalence of divorces among couples.

The single-parent hood phenomenon has become a global issue as literature reports its

prevalence in the U.S.A (Vespa et al, 2013), Kenya (Stella et al, 2016), Hong Kong,

(Cheung & Park 2016), Australia (Summerfield, etal 2010), New Zealand (De Langea, etal

2011& Andal, et al 2016), Swaziland (Mabuza, et al 2014) and Zimbabwe (Kang’ethe and

Mafa 2014). Vespa et al, (2013) reports that in most single-parent house hold, fathers are

the absent parent and the majority are single mothers, the majority of single mothers in the

United States are African-American and poor

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_United_States_Census

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The absence of either parent especially the bread winner exposes children to a myriad of

socio-cultural and economic challenges as single parent mothers normally struggle to fend

for their children as compared to single father households. Single motherhood exposes

women to poorer socioeconomic and health outcomes (Stella etal 2016), Many single-

parent households in Australia rely heavily on both social security payments and child

support (Summerfield et al (2010).

The behaviour of children from single-parent household is normally questionable especially

that of teenagers, and the blame has always been put on the single parenthood. Heuveline et

al (2014) argue that in the United States of America children growing up in two-parent

households do better than those in single-parent households on a number of outcomes,

educational achievement in particular. Living in a single-parent family in New Zealand is

negatively related to children’s educational performance compared to living with 2

biological parents (De Langea, et al 2011). Children in single-parent homes are more likely

to be delinquent; hence the absence of one parent is a major predictor for juvenile

delinquency (Andal, et al2016).

Mabuza, et al (2014) noted that in Swaziland, single parenting influences the cognitive,

social and emotional development of children and children from divorced families and

single parenting households were likely to have academic problems. They (Mabuza, et al,

2014) also found that single parents have less time for their children that severely impact on

how those children performed at school.

In South Africa many children are being raised and taken care of by single mothers, while

fathers ran away from their responsibilities. Observations and some studies have shown that

children from single parent homes are faced with many problems such as increased

psychological distress, health and behaviour problems, deviant activities and high rate of

poverty in the society (Mavhungu 2013). Laftman (2010) found that when it comes to the

description of one’s household as not satisfactory or “not well off” children in single-mother

households tend to report this more often than their peers living with two original parents.

This study assesses the effects of single parenting on raising teenagers in the Hasani Dakari

village Vhembe district in Limpopo province, South Africa with a view to propose

strategies to solve the negative effects.

Purpose and Objectives of the study

The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of single parenting on raising teenagers

in the Hasani Dakari village, Vhembe district in Limpopo province, South Africa hence the

following objectives guided the study:

• To explore the challenges that single parents are facing in raising teenagers.

• To investigate the relationship between single parents and teenagers.

• To find out how single parents discipline their teenagers.

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• To propose strategies to solve the challenges encountered by single parent in raising

teenagers

Research Design and Methodology

According to Mabasa (2010), a research design refers to all issues involved in planning and

executing a research project, from identifying the problem through to reporting and

publishing the results. An explorative design was used to investigate the effects of single

parenting on raising teenagers at Hasani Dakari village. Exploratory studies make

preliminary investigations into relatively unknown area of research (Maake 2010). The

explorative design was used because the study wanted to explore ideas, values and feelings

of the participants on the effects of single parenting on raising teenagers.

Study Population and Sample

In research, population is a total group of people or entities from which information is

required (Duploy-Cilliers et al, 2014). According to Babbie (2010) population is the

aggregation of elements from which a sample is selected. The population of this study was

single parents (mothers and fathers) aged 35-45 due to divorce, never married, and death of

another spouse. Five (5) single mothers and five (5) single fathers at Hasani Dakari village

were purposively sampled to participate in the study through individual interviews.

Data collection strategy and analysis

Welman, et al (2010) define data collection as a method of gathering data which is done

through social interacting with participants. The study used individual interviews based on

open-ended questions so that the study participants could freely express themselves, at the

same time allowing the interviewer to ask follow up questions. Dombo (2010) views data

analysis as a process of systematically searching and arranging the interview transcripts and

field notes to make sense out of them. Mudau (2013) posit that data is analyzed by

identifying patterns and themes in the data and drawing conclusion from them. The study

used the narrative data analysis which is a qualitative research method based on the notion

of life as a narrative, which seeks to reveal the way in which people construct life narratives

around their experiences. Data were thematically analysed to get meaning out of them from

the experiences, challenges and accounts of single parents on raising teenagers.

Ethical consideration

According to Cilliers (2014), ethics are a matter of integrity on a personal level, but their

implications reach much further than the individual. It is therefore important and necessary

that a researcher should treat the participants with respect and protect them from both

physical and emotional harm. The study applied informed consent, voluntary participation,

and avoidance of harm, confidentiality and anonymity to secure and protect the interest of

the participants. The study participants were fully informed of the objectives of the study,

possible benefits and harm. They were also informed that they had the right to discontinue

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participating in the study once they felt like doing so. It was also made clear that their

identities were not going to disclosed in the study hence they would remain anonymous and

the information given would remain confidential and only used for academic purposes.

Finally, the participants were made to sign informed consent forms as evidence of willful

participation in the study.

Study results and literature control

The study findings are presented below and compared to literature that was reviewed in line

with the objectives of the study.

Health effects of parents raising teenagers

The study participants revealed that raising teenagers on their own had huge consequences

on their health; hence some of them have developed conditions which need constant

monitoring by medical practitioners.

One of the participants had so to say:

I am a diabetic patient; it could have developed due to overstressing

because of the family problems as well as the problems caused by my

teenagers. It is very difficult to cope in this situation as a single parent but I

try hard to follow the orders from my doctor.

Another participant said;

I am suffering from high blood pressure; this was diagnosed after I got

stressed over a long period of time due to my child’s behaviour. I survive on

medication and advice from my doctor.

Choi and Jackson (2011) found that family economic hardships have effects on parental

mental health/depressive symptoms and parenting behaviour in single-parent black families

with teenagers.

Employment/Financial issues

Most of the participants mentioned that they are not working; hence they survive on child

support grants which are also not enough to cover all their needs.

One of the participants had this to say:

I am not employed, I support my family from child support grant and piece

jobs where I go door by door and ask to wash their clothes and clean after

that they give me money. I think this is better because there is nowhere I

can find a proper job due to lack of education and skills.

Brady and Burroway (2012) indicate that single mothers are particularly vulnerable because

of their typically lower wages, lack of spousal support, and the burdens of raising children.

Behaviour of the teenagers (physical challenges)

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The majority of the participants said that their teenagers are misbehaved, disrespectful and

irresponsible with their lives due to bad influence from equally misbehaved friends.

One of the respondents said:

My son is irresponsible with his life and he abuses drugs and alcohol, when

he is drunk he does not listen to me and he also fights me, his behaviour

worries me because there is no future behind his life.

Numerous studies have demonstrated the potential of father involvement and positive

father-child interactions as protective factors for children with positive effects on teenagers’

development as teaching them respect to other people. These findings highlight the

importance of considering specificity in both child outcomes and risk when examining

father involvement (Barker, et al2017).

Emotional Effects

The study participants indicated that it is painful, difficult and hard to raise teenagers as a

single parent.

One of the participants said:

It is painful and stressful to raise teenagers alone, sometimes things get out

of hand because I am alone and it takes time to be normal again for me as a

parent who wants the best from my children.

Mabuza et al (2014) have shown that parents are often pre-occupied with the stress and

strain of their own lives, especially parents who are struggling to deal with their own

identities and problems. This may be the case with single parents who also have to deal with

the behaviour of their children on their own.

Disciplinary procedures by parents.

The study revealed that most participants prefer negotiating with their teenagers when they

misbehave; they think this is the best way of knocking sense into their teenagers ‘heads.

They teach them problems solving skills and how to control their emotions. On the contrary

some participants preferred physical punishment to discipline their teenagers each time they

do wrong things.

One of the respondents said:

Every time they do wrong things I make sure that I call them and sit down

with them, I talk to them in a very peaceful way so that they can listen to me

and I also teach them the skills of solving problems without a fight.

On the other hand, one participant said:

I prefer physical punishment; every time he does something wrong I beat

him so hard and after the punishment he asks for forgiveness. That shows

me that he has listened, and he won’t repeat it.

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Another participant said:

“I don’t give them food when they do something wrong, I make sure that I

don’t cook, and I don’t talk to them so that they can feel guilty of their

actions and they avoid repeating the mistakes”.

Another participant had this to say:

I just don’t give them pocket money for the whole month and teach them a

lesson and this makes them realize that they have to do the right things.

Nixon & Halpenny (2010 and Dlamini (2015) concur that parents a single-parent household

use physical punishment that involves the presentation of a negative stimulus following a

specific behaviour in order to reduce the likelihood of that behaviour being repeated in the

future. Others use induction which involves the use of reason and explanation to explain the

nature of the misdeed and how it affects the rights and feelings of others (Nixon &

Halpenny 2010).

Relationship between single parents and their teenagers.

The study participants indicated their relationship with their teenagers is not smooth as the

teenagers always transgress in their deeds in the process angering their parents. The

disrespectful teenagers are a source of worry to their single parents.

One of the study participants said:

My relationship with my son is very poor because he does not respect me. I

am trying hard to show him that I care a lot about his welfare, but he

doesn’t care about that. All that he wants is to follow his friends every day

and take alcohol and drugs.

Another participant said:

We sometimes have a good relationship and sometimes we have a bad one,

it depends on his mood because he is being controlled substances.

The absence of one parent, particularly the father, from the household is seen as problematic

for children’s socialization. Therefore, after divorce or separation many children experience

a decline in the amount and quality of contact with the non-custodial parent (Dlamini 2015).

Inthorn (2015) indicated that girls demonstrate more problem behaviour than boys after a

divorce or parental bereavement.

On the contrary some parent indicated that even though their teenagers sometimes get out of

line, they share normal to good relationships.

One of the participants said:

We always spend wonderful times together, we share everything that we

have, and I also treat them like my friends because I am able to share my

problems with them and they help me to solve them.

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Educational effects of single parents on teenagers.

Study participants lamented their inability to positively influence their teenagers on their

educational pursuits, as they do not heed their advice.

One of the study participants had this to say:

He does not care about education; all he wants are drugs and alcohol. He

does not listen to anyone, so I am tired of reminding him about school and

telling him about the importance of education. I just let him do whatever he

wants about his life I hope one day he will remember my words.

Barajas (2011) argues that intellectual and social development of males may be seen as

more adversely affected by living in one-parent homes than that of females from similar

family circumstances. It has been discovered that the achievement motivation scores of boys

declined significantly over a five-year period of living in a single parent home while the

scores of girls in similar home environments remained stable. Education is expected to

exercise some positive influence on the learner based on the laid down guiding principles

for learning agent, the teacher or human catalyst and the learning contexts involving

parental and environmental attributes (Ochonogor, 2014).

Conclusions

From the findings of the study outlined above the study concludes that single parents are

faced with a dearth of socio and economic challenges in parenting teenagers. The single

parents are so much stressed due to the uncouth behaviour of their teenagers which is

heavily influenced by substance abuse, consequently that they (parents) are now suffering

from chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and sugar diabetes among the many

such conditions. The single parents are failing to adequately provide food, clothing, and

shelter and school fees for their children because of unemployment or meagre salaries hence

they are relying on child support grants from the government. The relationship between

single parents and their teenage children are always strained because of the children who are

disrespectful of their single parents. In a bid to control the bad behaviour of their teenagers,

single parents employ a number of tactics which include physical beating, denying them of

food and pocket money. Some parents favour negotiation strategies whereby they talk to

their children showing them the cons and pros of their way ward behaviour. Single

parenting of teenagers has negative effects on the performance of teenagers in their

education as they are under a lot of peer pressure and do not take advise from their parents,

hence they are poorly performing at school. All in all, single parenting has a lot of

unfavourable effects on the social and economic life of the teenagers and it also negatively

affects the lives of the parents.

Recommendations

In light of the above conclusions the study recommends that:

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• Societies support single parents by appreciating their effort of being able to raise

children on their own.

• Social workers educate people that being single parents is not a problem.

• Social workers counsel single parents to relieve them of stress associated with

problems of single parenting teenagers.

• policy makers to increase the child support grants two times for children living with

a single parent

• Single parents are given first preference in securing jobs in government.

• The department of social welfare and that of education mount campaigns on the

dangers of indulging in substance abuse by children/ teenagers

• Future research is carried out on how best single parents can cope with the

delinquent behaviour of their teenagers.

• Schools be empowered to identify and assist learners from single parent household

remain focused in their school work.

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