NAME: Britney Harriott

SCHOOL: Happy Grove High

CENTRE #:

CANDIDATE #:

TERRITORY: Jamaica

YEAR SUBMITTED: 2014

TEACHER: Ms. Gould

TITLE: WHAT ARE THE CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF SINGLE PARENTING IN THE COMMUNITY OF
MANCHIONEAL?
 TABLE OF CONTENT

Page

Introduction 1

Acknowledgement 2

Statement of Problem 3

Reason for selecting area of research 4

Method of Investigation 5

Data Collection Instruments 6

Residents Questionnaire 7-8

Procedures for Data collection 9

Presentation of Data 10-16

Analysis and Implementation Strategy 17-18

Statement of Findings 19

Recommendation and Implementation Strategy 20-21

Bibliography 22
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The researcher would like to give thanks to God and all the individuals that
participated in the compilation and completion of this SBA (school based
assessment) and very special thanks goes out to my parents who supported and
funded this project to its end. A thanks goes out to my teacher who guided and
corrected me through this project, thanks to the individuals who cooperated in
answering the questionnaires. Big thanks to all.
INTRODUCTION

Manchioneal is the third largest town in the parish of Portland. It is home to many
families, it is richly cultivated and as such one of the main economic activity is
farming. The other economic activity is fishing; being that the community is so
near to the coastline. In a developing community as this, we find many business
places including restaurants, wholesales, gas station, supermarkets, bank and
hardware’s. There are also government institutions to facilitate the needs of the
community members including dental clinic, police station, health centre, post
office, basic and all age schools.

The community is plagued with the problem of single parenting. The researcher
as observed over the past two months issues aroused that opens the doors for
single parentage. The researcher thought it would be necessary to do an
investigation to examine the causes and effects of single parenting.
REASON FOR SELECTING AREA OF RESEARCH

The reason for the selection of the chosen topic is as a result of the high rising
trend of Single Parenting in the community of Manchioneal .The researcher chose
this area because the problem is most rampant in the community and the researcher
seeks to run a survey to investigate the causes and effects of Single Parenting.
 METHOD OF INVESTIGATION

In order to collect data from the survey, questionnaires were decided to be

used. This method was used a result of the many advantages they possess

 It is an inexpensive method
 It is less time consuming
 It is quick and efficient
 It is easily analyzed
 It is confidential
DATA COLLECTION INSRTUMENT

Survey of causes and effects of Single Parenting in the community of

Manchioneal.

Forte District

Manchioneal P.O.

Portland

Dear Residents,

This is a survey being carried out in the community of

Manchioneal, to determine the causes and effects of Single Parenting .This survey
is being conducted in order to complete a Social Studies Assignment that is
presently being pursued by me.

You are asked to kindly answer the questions allocated to you truthfully .No
identity is needed, therefore there is no need to withdraw from your views. Tick
the best answer to the question asked, and give specific answers where
instructed .Thank you

Yours sincerely

B. Harriott
Resident’s Questionnaire

Statement: Single Parenting in the community of Manchioneal

Question: What are the causes and effects of single parenting in the community of
Manchioneal?

1. What is your gender?

Female ( ) Male ( )

2. At what age group are you?

16-19 ( ) 19-22 ( ) 22-25 ( ) 25 and over ( )

3. Are you employed?

Yes ( ) No ( ) Sometimes ( )

4. How many children do you have?

1-2 ( ) 3-4 ( ) 5-6 ( )

5. Are you the sole breadwinner for the family?

Yes ( ) No ( )

6. If yes what is it like being the sole breadwinner for the family?
Difficult ( ) Stressing ( ) Frustrating ( ) Satisfactory ( )

7. How does single parenting affect you?

Sole responsibility is on me ( ) Responsibilities hinder personal goals ( )
Financial and emotional difficulty ( ) Feel overburdened ( )

8. What are the circumstances surrounding you being a single parent?

Choice ( ) Divorce ( ) Death of partner ( ) Conflict in relationship ( )
9. At what point in the child/children life did you become a single parent?
Baby stage ( ) Toddler ( ) Child ( ) Adolescence ( )

10.How has the child/children reacted to being brought up in a single parenting

household?
Coping ( ) Rebelling ( ) hatred for absent parent ( )

11.Are you able to provide the necessities needed by your child/children?

Yes ( ) No ( ) Rarely ( ) Sometimes ( ) All the time ( )

12.How long have you been a single parent?

1-2 years ( ) 3-4 years ( ) 5-6 years ( ) over 10 years ( )

13.What are some of the challenges you face as a single parent?

Financial ( ) Emotional support ( ) other_________________________

14.What is the behavioral pattern of your child?

Good behaving ( ) Troublemaker ( ) Defiance ( )

15.What is your living condition?

Paying rent ( ) Own home ( ) other_______________________

16.What kind of community do you reside in?

Violent prone ( ) Calm ( )
 PROCEDURE FOR DATA COLLECTION

A total of 20 questionnaires were used in order to collect information from

members of the community to ensure accurate conclusions on the causes and
effects of single parenting within the community of Manchioneal.

The persons were randomly chosen from the community to cater for all the
requirements necessary. The researcher chose 50% male and 50% female to ensure
fairness. They were then supplied with the questionnaires on November 7, 2013and
arranged for a time to collect them within fifteen (15) days. The participants
selected for this sample ranged between ages 16 to 40.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ramsawak Rrampersad, R. Umraw 2003, Modules in Social Studies, Caribbean
Education Publishers

Sandy Marvey, S. Grayson, 2008, Social Studies Essential, Carlong Publisher

 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

What are the causes and effects of Single Parenting in the community of
Manchioneal?

It is the researcher’s intention to find out:

 What are the main reasons for single parenting in the community?
 How does single parenting affect the parent?
 In what way does it affect the child/children?
 PRESENTATION OF DATA

Causes of Single Parentage

45%

40%

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%
Choice Death of a spouse Conflict in relationship Divorce

Fig.1: Column Graph showing reasons that lead to single parentage. 10% of the
respondents said choice, 15% of the respondents said death of spouse, 40% of the
respondents said conflict, 35% of the respondents said divorce.
 PRESENTATION OF DATA

The Employment status of Single Parents living in the

Community

sometimes
20%

yes
36%

no
44%

Fig. 2: Pie Chart showing the number of employed single parents living in
the community.20% of the respondents are employed sometimes, 36% of the
respondents are employed, 44% of the respondents are not employed.
 PRESENTATION OF DATA

The Effect Single Parentage has on an Individual

inancilally and emotionally difficult

Responsigoalshinder personal bilities

feels overburdened

Sole responsibilties are on me

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

Fig. 3: Bar Graph showing the effects single parentage has on an individual. 20%
of the respondents said the sole responsibility is on me,10% of the respondents
said they feel over burdened,40% of the respondents said the responsibilities
hinder personal goals,30% of the respondents said they have financially and
emotionally difficult.
 PRESENTATION OF DATA

Paying Home Tenement Family

Responses Rent Owner Yard Home
Percentag 34% 10% 30% 26%
e

Fig. 4: Table showing the living condition of the individuals playing the role of a
single parent. 34% of the respondents are paying rent, 10% of the respondents are
home owners, 30% of the respondents live in tenement yards, and 26% of the
respondents live in family homes.
 PRESENTATION OF DATA

NUMBER OF YEARS INDIVIDUALS HAVE BEEN SINGLE

PARENTS

16%

1-2 years
3-4 years
44%
5-6 years
over 10 years

24%

16%

Fig. 5: Pie Chart showing a sequence of the years that individuals have been single
parents.16% of the respondents has been single parents for 1-2 years. 24% of the
respondents have been single parents for 3-4 years.16% of the respondents have
been single parents for 5-6 years. 44% of the respondents have been single parents
for over 10 years.
 PRESENTATION OF DATA

Reaction of Children to single parent situation

20%
30% Coping
Rebelling
Hatred for absent parent

50%

Fig.6: Pie chart showing children’s reaction to being brought up in a single parent
situation. The data shows that that 50% of the respondents said the children are
rebellious and 30% said they hate the absent parent while 20% said they were
coping.
 ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

The survey has revealed a number of issues within the Manchioneal community.

As seen in Fig. 1, the majority of single parents in the community (40%) are in this
situation due to conflicts in their relationship. A fairy high percentage of the
sample (30%), have been separated legally through divorce. We also see in fig. 1
that only a small percentage (10%) are single because they chose to be and death of
spouses isn’t such a major contributing factor as only 10 % of them gave this as
the reason.

In fig. 2 we see that a high number of the single parents (44%) do not earn a salary
as they are unemployed. Another 20% are only employed periodically. Only 36%
of the total number of single parents indicated that they earn a regular wage or
salary.

In fig. 3 the respondents all reported negative and stressful effects. One fifth of
the sample (20%) has the sole responsibility for providing for their families. Many
of them (40%) have not been able to move smoothly through their planned goals as
they reported that the responsibilities have hindered them from achieving their
goals. Another 10% are having emotional stress as they feel that they are
overburdened. The remaining 30% are affected both financially and emotionally.

In fig. 4 the data reveals that apart 34% of these single parents also have to find
rent money to pay in addition to providing for their families. Another 30% are not
living in favourable situations as the data revealed that % are living in tenement
yards. Only 10% own a home and another 26% live in family homes.

Fig.5 shows that many of the single parents have been in the situation for long
periods. The data shows that 44% have been in that situation for over ten (10)
years while another 16% have gone on for between five (5) to nine (9) years. 24%
of them have existed for three (3) to four (4) years and only 16% for less than three
(3) years.

In fig. 6 we see that the children have been affected immensely as 50% of them are
being rebellious. Many of them (30%) have no love for the parent who is not in the
home and only 20% of them are coping with the situation.
 STATEMENT OF FINDINGS

After carefully analyzing the results of the investigation the researcher has come
up with the following findings.

1. Conflicts in the relationship and divorce are the main contributing factors to
the high number of single parents in the community of Manchioneal.

2. Single parents are facing difficulty financially and emotionally

3. Children in single parent situation are displaying negative behavior.

RECCOMMENDATION AND IMPLEMENTATION STRAREGIES

The researcher feels that in order to reduce the effects on family members who
have to go through that addressing issues that leads to the conflicts in the family
would reduce the number of break ups and hence reducing the effects on these
individuals. The researcher also feels that those existing single parent who are
finding it hard to cope, needs to be helped. The researcher would like to make the
following recommendations.

 The family can be greatly helped by outside, respected individuals such as

pastors, teachers and guidance counselors with whom they would be able to
discuss their problems in a neutral and none judgmental atmosphere. This
would probably help them to see the problem clearly from each other’s point
of view thereby enabling them to make wise decisions to foster lasting
relationships. For this to happen however these organizations need to seek to
have more community membership. If more of these troubled families are
part of these groups they will be occupied in meaningful activities and find
less time to involve in arguments etc. They would have persons around them
in whom they can confide and get advice.

 There needs to be some other sources employment apart from what exists. If
persons are able to gain employment and meet their family demands then
most of the frustration and stress would be eliminated. A cottage industry
where parents are trained in various skills to produce items and have a
market for them should be initiated.
IMPLEMENTATION

In order to make this happen the researcher would seek the cooperation of
concerned stakeholders to form an organization to lobby with manufactures and
government organizations such as Social Development Commission to:

 Train these single parents to manufacture goods that can be done at home
based on standards provided by manufacturers
 Provide an initial start up with necessary materials
 Get the commitment of manufactures to purchase these goods