The effect of family structure on youth adjustment has received increasing attention as historical trends in single parenting, divorce, remarriage, and cohabitation with partners and extended family members have produced a diverse constellation of structures. African American youth are less likely than Caucasian youth to live in an “intact” family. Links between family structure and a variety of indices of youth adjustment have been established, although a relatively understudied outcome is that of substance initiation, despite its association with dependence and other negative sequelae. The dynamic effect of transitions has additionally been less studied than the static effect of structure. Differences in family structure and transitions may influence outcomes via parental socialization (monitoring and attachment) as well as strain (residential mobility and changes in income). These mechanisms may operate differently for Caucasian and African American youth, and may partially explain differences in adjustment. Relations between youth adjustment and transitions may be reciprocal in nature, a less often studied premise. This project made use of a nationally representative sample of more than 2,000 adolescents aged 12 to 13 in 1997 assessed across 3 waves. Regression analyses were employed to examine the associations among family structure and transitions, parenting, income, residential mobility, and substance initiation over time. This study found that living in non- two-parent family structures was consistently associated with higher concurrent levels of substance initiation, lower parental monitoring and relationship quality, lower income, and higher residential mobility. The effects of transitions on substance initiation and parenting were less robust than hypothesized, but reinforced the notion that consistently living outside a two-parent family, or consistently living in a single-parent family, is negatively associated with parenting, income, and residential stability over time. Evidence for mediated effects via changes in parenting, residential mobility, and income were significant but small in magnitude, and varied by race, such that they were significant for Caucasian but not African American youth . Partial evidence for reciprocal causality was found. Alcohol initiation at the first wave predicted separations, but marijuana initiation did not. These findings have important implications for parents, clinicians, and policy makers.

Student Number: 9804661E Master of Arts: Social Work Faculty of Humanities / Given the high incidences of child abuse not only in informal settlements, but in South Africa as a whole. The present study looks at the social factors that contribute to child abuse in informal settlements. To identify specific social factors in an informal settlement i.e. Ivory Park, which make children in this community to be vulnerable to child abuse. The study aims to identify different forms of child abuse, which occur in Ivory Park, to develop an understanding of the family structure and the functioning of the families. The study further explored the perception of community members on child abuse, and their knowledge and awareness on children’s rights. The study also attempts to bring to our attention that concern about the problem of child abuse is not new. It acknowledges the historical context of this problem, that throughout history children world-wide have been subjected to domination, murder, abandonment, mutilations and forced labour. Practices that seem brutal and senseless today like infanticide and ritual sacrifices of children are actually recorded in the Bible. These were considered normal and acceptable practices at the time. The systematic study of child abuse is fairly a recent phenomenon, it’s only in the sixties that this issue has been discussed and debated in certain parts of the world. The study also points out that the problem of child abuse is not unique to South Africa, but it is a problem in many parts of the world. Also that the understanding of child abuse has shifted over time. The central force behind these changes has been the establishment of various organisations in North America and Europe. These organisations opposed violence against children and advocated for the rights of the children. In South Africa this change came about when the present South African government ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Children in 1996 and also when the Rights of the Child were enshrined in Section 28 of the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. The study poses a question as to why child abuse cases and statistics seem to be on the rise and understanding why children are being abused when there are so many pieces of legislation and human rights documents, that aims to safeguard the interest and the protection of children particularly in South Africa. The study also looks at different theoretical perspective on child abuse to help us in terms of explaining and understanding as to why children are abuse. Finally, the study looks at different social factors specific to South Africa that might contribute to child abuse, and the history and location of Ivory Park. On the basis of the findings of this study, the researcher makes some recommendations through which professionals in the helping professions together with community members can address the problem of child abuse in informal settlement.

The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between family structure including family size, number of parents at home, and presence of an older sibling at home, and the language development of young Latino children. I used data from the Head Start--Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) year 2000, which included information on 746 Latino preschool children and their families in different Head Start programs nationwide. A subgroup of 369 children were identified as English-language learners (ELL) because they were determined to be primarily Spanish speaking. Some of the findings indicate that more than two thirds of children (69%) who do not have two parents at home are primarily English speakers and more than two thirds of children (68%) who have two parents at home are primarily Spanish speakers. Independent sample t tests indicate there are statistically significant differences between Latino primarily Spanish speakers and Latino primarily English speakers on vocabulary and early literacy outcomes. Family background variables such as English language proficiency of parents and parent education are important factors that affect early language and literacy development of their children. In addition, family structure variables have some effects on these outcomes. The variables family poverty and family size, specifically having an older sibling, had negative impacts only on the primarily English-speaking group. The most influential social factors for the Latino primarily English-speaking preschool children's language and literacy outcomes are different than the most influential social factors for the same outcomes of their primarily Spanish-speaking preschooler counterparts who in general experience less favorable outcomes overall.

The purpose of this study was to examine how the single-parent home environment, together with other demographic attributes like socioeconomic status, influenced young adults' decisions to enlist in the military. Adolescents transitioning into adulthood are often faced with the choices of what to do after high school, such as whether or not to join the military. Previous studies on youth enlistment in the military do not address in-depth the question of why they enlist or their motivating factors. Interviews via face-to-face, over the phone or via Skype, were conducted with 9 participants between the ages of 25-35 years who were high school graduates or GED holders who enlisted within 2 years from graduation, from single-parent homes, and separated from the military on their own accord prior to starting the study. Participants were voluntarily recruited through social media using purposeful sampling. Guided by Carl Rogers' theory of self-concept, data were analyzed via coding techniques to draw out common themes, and 4 composite themes emerged: (a) those individuals raised by absentee mothers were more likely to enlist in the military service, (b) troubled homes predicted the desire of the young adults to leave their homes, (c) evasion from the family conflict and financial stability were motivations for enlistment in the military, and (d) deprivation from human basic needs influenced the decision to enlist in the military. The findings can help with determining factors that cause disconnect in the family structure along with gaining a greater understanding a child's sense of belonging such as what is found in the military culture. Results can also be used to influence military professionals/recruiters about the specific types of individuals who are likely to be recruited into the military and how to develop and/or use tools to further assess the ability to sustain the military culture.

Thesis (M.A.(Research Psychology)) --University of Limpopo, 2014 / This study investigated the association between family structure and both academic outcome and psychological well-being among learners (N = 500) from the Nkomazi Municipality, Mpumalanga. The learners were classified into six family structure types, including traditional, two-biological parents, single mother, single father, blended, grandparent-led and sibling-led types. The results regarding the association between family structure and academic outcomes were equivocal; chi-square analysis showed that there was no association between family structure and the overall mid-year examination results (“pass” or “fail”) and the learners qualitative self-rating (ps > 0.05); yet the overall symbol obtained for the mid-year examinations was related to family structure (p < 0.05). Furthermore, an association was found between family structure and both self-esteem and positive affect (ps < 0.05), and the relationship between family structure and psychological distress, life satisfaction and negative affect, all measures of psychological well-being did not achieve statistical significance. Possible reasons for lack of association between family structure and some variables of academic performance and psychological well-being variables used in this study are explored. Keywords: family structure, academic outcome, psychological well-being

I investigate the differences between Hispanic high school graduates, both male and female, who chose not to attend college, who chose to initially enroll into a two-year college, or who chose to initially enroll into a four-year college or university. The 1994-1995 National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health was used to determine how family structure, family responsibilities and family closeness influenced the decisions made by Hispanic youth. There are five major findings regarding Hispanics and their decisions after high school graduation. The findings show that socioeconomic status (parents' education), grade point average and college aspirations influence the decision to attend college. Males who enrolled into four-year colleges were more influenced by participating in household chores compared to females; females who initially enrolled into four-year colleges were more influenced by the number of household members than males. High school graduates with fewer household members were more likely to initially enroll into a four-year college and participate in more household chores compared to students who attended two-year colleges. Parental aspirations were influential for high school graduates whether they attended two- or four-year colleges. Last, living with two biological parents compared to living with a single mother was highly influential for high school graduates who initially enrolled into a four-year college. Overall, the findings indicate that family structure, family closeness and family responsibilities affect the college decisions of Hispanic high school graduates.

<p>The researcher’s interest regarding criminality has increased and there were many studies focusing on what may influence an individual to commit crime. There were even articles stating that family bonds have the strongest impact in influencing a child when it comes to developing future criminal behavior.  In this qualitative study the stories are told by real individuals who have shared their experiences from childhood and adolescence to help identify the insecurities that made them commit a crime.  Setting existing theories aside, the study showed that it was not the structural background that mostly impacted future criminal behavior but the individual background factors weighted the most. Individuals seemed to be more impacted by factors such as thrill seeking or bad economy.  This study reflects the individual’s real stories and all included information is believed to be genuine.</p>

The researcher’s interest regarding criminality has increased and there were many studies focusing on what may influence an individual to commit crime. There were even articles stating that family bonds have the strongest impact in influencing a child when it comes to developing future criminal behavior.  In this qualitative study the stories are told by real individuals who have shared their experiences from childhood and adolescence to help identify the insecurities that made them commit a crime.  Setting existing theories aside, the study showed that it was not the structural background that mostly impacted future criminal behavior but the individual background factors weighted the most. Individuals seemed to be more impacted by factors such as thrill seeking or bad economy.  This study reflects the individual’s real stories and all included information is believed to be genuine.

The children of immigrants are often entrusted with the task of interpreting linguistic and cultural information between their native communities and their Anglo American communities, a process called language brokering. Much of the research indicates that the responsibilities of the task positively affect the social and cognitive development of brokers. The present quantitative study examined the social and academic self-efficacy of brokers as they relate to brokering frequency, the ways in which single and dual parent structures affect the bond between the broker and the parent(s), and the ways in which the parent-child bond affects the social and academic self-efficacy of the brokers. There were slight correlation in the results but not a lot of significance.

This dissertation contributes to the literature on intergenerational transfers by examining the dynamics of financial assistance provided by midlife parents to their adult children across the life course. This dissertation also examines whether the cumulative advantage hypothesis stretches across generational lines during co-occurring life course experiences so that financial transfers convey additional advantages to adult children. I use panel data from four waves of the Health and Retirement Study (1992, 1994, 1996 and 1998) to provide a broad picture of the process of financial assistance to younger adults within extended families. I constructed within-family trajectories of assistance to demonstrate that financial transfers are more common than previously estimated. Over 60% of all midlife-parent households gave $500 or more at least once and many parents gave multiple transfers and/or gave transfers to several adult children during a seven-year period. In an examination of kinship structures that differentiates between paternal children and maternal children within blended families, I use nonlinear logistic regression models to show that the decreased likelihood that fathers provided financial assistance to children from a previous marriage accounted solely for the reduction in transfers that all stepchildren received compared to biological children. Multilevel regression models demonstrate that transfer amounts are also influenced by kinship structures and parental resources. Additional analyses show adult child life course transitions related to schooling and coresidence were influential for parents' transfer behaviors while other life course transitions related to work, marriage, home ownership and the addition of a grandchild to the family were not influential. The number of life course transitions experienced by adult children during later waves significantly increased the likelihood of transfer receipt. However, the diversification of experiences over time made it difficult to pinpoint specific life course transitions relevant to financial assistance from parents. The strong impact of previous transfers upon the likelihood that adult children would receive transfers at later waves shows that patterns of repeated transfers were common for many intergenerational families. I argue that future research should analyze the impact of parental wealth on transfers and should explicitly examine parents' motives for giving money to adult children. / Dissertation