Influence of single parenting on psychological well-being of secondary school students in Kenya: a case of Eldoret municipality

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of single parenting on psychological well-being of secondary school students. This study investigated the influence of single parenting on the emotions of adolescents in secondary schools; the influence of single parenting on self-esteem of adolescents of secondary schools; the influence of single parenting on the self-discipline discipline of secondary school adolescents; the influence of single parenting on the attitude towards marriage of adolescents in secondary schools. The study was guided by the following objectives: To investigate the influence of single parenting on the emotions of adolescents in secondary schools ,to investigate the influence of single parenting on self-esteem on adolescents of secondary schools ,to investigate the influence of single parenting on the discipline of secondary school adolescents and to investigate the influence of single parenting on the attitude of secondary school adolescents towards marriage. In this study the null hypotheses tested included the following: There is no significant difference in( emotions ,self; esteem, self-discipline and attitude towards marriage)between secondary school adolescents from single parent families and those from intact families. The study was conducted in 10 secondary schools in Eldoret Municipality. The quantitative research designs used was causal comparative . The accessible population was Form 2 and 3 students in the selected secondary schools. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select the study sample of 30%. The researcher in the study also used simple random sampling to select the participants involved. Data collected was analyzed using Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS).Computer programme both descriptive and inferential statistics were used in data analyses. The descriptive statistics used in analysis includes means, frequencies and percentages, whereas inferential statistics were t-test for independent samples and Chi-square tests The results of the analysis showed that there was non significant difference. Students from single parent families and those from two parent families do not differ in their emotional level t(279) =-.49,P =.626, self-esteem t(279) = -.95,P =.344.,self discipline t(279) = -.600, P =.549 and intension to marry x2(1) =12, P =.730. The results showed that there were non-significant differences and so the null hypotheses were accepted .The confidence level was 0.05. The study findings provided a basis for equipping teachers, couples, single parents, policy makers and organization dealing with children on psychological well-being and adolescents from single families and those from intact families.