In 1970, there were 3.8 million single parent families in the United States; in the 1990s, this figure increased to 10.5 million (Gringlas & Weinraub, 1995). This jump in single parent families, according to Gringlas and Weinraub (1995):
...exceeds the percentage of change attributable to divorce and, instead, reflects increasing births to nonmarried, single women. (p. 29)
Most single parent households are father-absent homes. However, Downey (1994) reports that single father households have dramatically increased in the last ten years. In this regard, he notes that in 1980 there were about 616,000 single father households but by the beginning of 1990, there were well over one million single father homes.
Since single parent households tend to be low income homes (Garasky, 1995), and since the absence of one parent places greater stress on the single parent, it seems reasonable to believe that children being reared in single parent homes may suffer some negative effects. Might one of these negative effects be lowered academic achievement? The purpose of the review of literature presented here is to formulate an answer to this question by examining the existing research investigating for the effects of single parent households on students' academic achievement.
Single Parent Households and Academic Achievement
Does living in a single parent household depress children's level of academic achievement? Many studies do show a such a relationship. For example, Featherstone (1992) analyzed differences in school behavior and academic achievement for a large sample of students (n=530) in grades six through nine. Students were drawn from three groups: intact families, stepparent families, and single-parent families. Findings revealed that students from intact, two-parent families had:
(1) fewer absences and tardies; (2) higher grade point averages, and (3) fewer negative and more positive teacher behavioral rat...