Running head: SINGLE PARENTHOOD: A CORRELATION WITH CRIME

Single Parenthood: A Correlation with Crime

Anna Tobias
University of Kentucky

SINGLE PARENTHOOD:A CORRELATION WITH CRIME

Abstract
Single Parenthood has a correlation with crime due to the adverse effects that are caused
by being raised by a single parent. The stress and anxiety for the parent and child, the decrease in
a likelihood of a higher education, the increase in responsibility for the child, and the lack of
supervision from the parent are these adverse effects. This correlation affects everyone because it
increases the crime in our society. There are many ways that people can help to reduce and
prevent this correlation through volunteering. Ultimately, this correlation will not go away on its
own, so it is our job to do something about it.

SINGLE PARENTHOOD:A CORRELATION WITH CRIME

Victim of a crime? Thank a single mother (Coulter, 2009). Single Parenthood and
crime have a strong correlation due to the adverse effects that are caused by being raised by a
single parent. These effects include stress on both the parent and the child, decreased likelihood
of a higher education for the child, increased responsibility for the child, and lack of supervision
from the parent.
Stress has one of the greatest impacts on the child. According to the article The Negative
Effects of Single Parent Homes, children of single parents may have reduced expectations for
their own relationships (Pearson, 2014). This may lead to the child having a lowered selfesteem which can create a general unhappiness decreasing the likelihood that the child will have
a bright future. This connects to Maslows Hierarchy of Needs because if the childs emotional
needs are not being met and their stress and anxiety is taking over their lives, they will not be
able to focus on their relationships and education. These are important aspects of a persons life
that need to have attention or they will have a decreased likelihood of having a bright future.
The parents stress also has an adverse impact on the childs life. Their stress has a
negative impact on the childs likelihood of a higher education. Instead of having two people to
rely on each other for what each person cannot do, a single parent must rely on only themselves.
This creates an extremely busy schedule which leaves little to no time to devote to the childs
education. According to the article, Single Parent Family forms and Childrens educational
performance in a Comparative Perspective, in a single parent home the quality and quantity of
parental involvement decreases (Lange, 2014). For example, there are always instances when
the child will need assistance with their homework which the parent may not have time to do.
There is also the issue of having a lack of motivation to study and complete their work. If the

SINGLE PARENTHOOD:A CORRELATION WITH CRIME

parent does not have time to ensure that the child is doing what they need to in order to succeed
in school, their drive and interest in having a higher education may decrease.
Another cause of this decrease in higher education is the increased responsibility that the
child has. The article Family Structure and Childrens Education states that These burdens
(increased responsibility) resulted in children from single parent households having greater
levels of absenteeism, tardiness, and truancy in school (The Heritage Foundation, 2014). This
quote means that the adverse effect of the increased responsibility of the child causes the child to
have more absences, tardiness, and believe that their education is not as important as it really is.
If there is more than one child in this family, the eldest child may be forced to act as the second
parent. For example if a younger sibling is sick and must stay home from school, the parent most
likely will not be able to stay home with their child because they have to work in order to
provide for their family, so in some cases the eldest child would have to stay home, also missing
school. If this situation and situations similar to it continue to occur and this child continues to
not go to school they may not value their education as much as they should. This is how the
increased responsibility can lead to a decrease in a likelihood of a higher education.
The increased responsibility can also affect how fast the child grows up. The child may
develop a false belief of what an adult can really do which can lead to risky behavior. This risky
behavior would include criminal acts. It would most likely start with small things such as
stealing a few things at their favorite store which could lead to much worse criminal acts such as
robbing businesses and the unimaginable murder and rape. In the article Family Structure and
Childrens Education it is stated that children of single parent homes reported that their parents
are less likely to monitor school work and provide less overall supervision of social activities
compared to children in two parent homes (The Heritage Foundation, 2014). This relates the

SINGLE PARENTHOOD:A CORRELATION WITH CRIME

decrease in the likelihood of a higher education for the child because, as I said before, the parent
has less time to devote to the childs school work and their education in general. This lack of
supervision also contributes to the greater likelihood of criminal acts because without
supervision the child is more likely to be involved in risky behavior. Risky behavior can lead to
criminal acts which supports this correlation between single parenthood and crime.
These four adverse effects are what contribute to the correlation between single
parenthood and crime. Although all forms of family orientation have a correlation with crime,

single parents that have

never been married have the greatest correlation. The graph above demonstrates this fact.
In the novel Guilty, shown below, it is stated that In 1996, 70 percent of inmates in state
juvenile detention centers serving long term sentences raised by single mothers. 72 percent of
juvenile murderers and 60 percent of rapists come from single mothers (Coulter, 2009). These
statistics show just how large the impact of this correlation between single parents and crime is
on our society. In many cases if these people that grew up to be murderers and rapists had been

SINGLE PARENTHOOD:A CORRELATION WITH CRIME

raised in a more supportive and educational environment, the world would have less juvenile
criminals.

This correlation between single parenthood and crime affects our societys safety. Our
society includes our families, our friends, and our children. At some point in everyones life we
are affected either directly or indirectly by crime. Either someone we loved was affected or we
were directly affected. This should cause everyone to care about this correlation. Even though
single parenthood does not directly cause crime, there is a definite correlation which makes it
unavoidable. Something must be done and it can be done because there are ways to both reduce
and prevent this correlation between single parenthood and crime.
One way for people to help reduce and prevent this correlation is by volunteering at
organizations with a goal to support single parents and their children. Step by Step is an
organization that does just that. It works to support the entire family by taking care of the
children while teaching and guiding the parents. Through this guidance the parent learns to
support the child in a safe and healthy environment so that they are able to have a bright future.

SINGLE PARENTHOOD:A CORRELATION WITH CRIME

This correlation between single parenthood and crime is due to the adverse effects of
stress on both the parent and the child, decreased likelihood of a higher education for the child,
increased responsibility for the child, and lack of supervision from the parent. The correlation is
an issue that affects our societys safety and there needs to be something done to reduce and
prevent it. Volunteering is one way to do this but one of the most important can be done while
having a family of your own. When raising your own child, whether you are a father, a mother,
raising your child as a single parent or with another person, it is crucial that you raise your child
in a supportive, educational, and healthy environment in order to ensure that the child will have a
bright future.

SINGLE PARENTHOOD:A CORRELATION WITH CRIME

References
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SINGLE PARENTHOOD:A CORRELATION WITH CRIME

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