Child Psychology Mander, G. (May 2001). \"Fatherhood

Child Psychology

Mander, G. (May 2001). "Fatherhood Today: variations on a theme." Psychodynamic Counselling, Vol. 7, Issue 2.

This journal article centers on the increasing role that fathers play in parenting, especially among single parents. Mander discusses how parenting among fathers has become more an exception than the norm, and they were relegated to "minimal" roles that downplay their role as a parent, such as simply being "mere sperm donors." The article recommends that laws should be studied in order to improve the state of single parenting in society, for it is possible for children to experience having a 'complete family' even though their parents are separated. This, for the author, is a big step towards improving marriage and family laws, resulting to better child development in the process.

Seaman, P. And H. Sweeting. (June 2004). "Assisting young people's access to social capital in contemporary families: a qualitative study." Journal of Youth Studies, Vol. 7, Issue 2.

In this study, Seaman and Sweeting focuses on the role that parenting has over "social capital" produced by their children. Social capital in the context of the study means the child's ability to establish and maintain social relationships with other people. The study's findings show that despite differences in family structures -- that is, whether the child is raised by a complete set of parents or by a single parent, there are no "negative consequences" in the child's ability to establish relationships with others. However, since single parenting is closely associated with financial hardships, there is greater challenge for single parents to create a family environment that harbors a positive towards establishing relations with others.

Afifi, T. And S. Keith. (April 2004). "A risk and resiliency model of ambiguous loss in postdivorce stepfamilies." Journal of Communication, Vol. 4, Issue 2.

This study establishes the hypothesis that children who are known to be "capable of maintaining healthy relationships with other family members" are those who are best able to cope with family changes. These family changes include the loss of a parent (resulting from a divorce and one parent being a single parent) or the inclusion of a new parent and/or family. This study has relevance to single parenting and child development because it shows how single parenting is not a major factor affecting a person's development as an individual.

Guttmann, J. And M. Rosenberg. (September 2003). "Emotional intimacy and children's adjustment: a comparison between single-parent divorced and intact families." Educational Psychology, Vol. 23, Issue 4.

Important findings from this study show that single parents have "less intimate" relationships with their children than those families between children and their parents (from intact families). This study demonstrates how single parenting poses as a major influence in child development, and determining the factors that contribute to the decline in intimacy between single parent and child (children) is vital.