Single parenting and its effects on the psychosocial development of children in Swaziland

Abstract

The study used an exploratory design to examine how children who are raised by single parents develop cognitively, socially and emotionally. It employed a questionnaire instrument distributed to a purposive sample of N=397, FGD N=24 respondents and individual interviews N=4 respondents. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the demographic characteristics of the respondents. Chi square analysis helped to establish the relationship among demographic variables and major components among the items. Qualitative data were examined by dividing the data into segments that reflected themes and a development of a theory in the form of verbal statement or themes were offered to explain what happened in the phenomenon. Quantitative and qualitative research findings revealed that single parenting has negative effects on the psychosocial development of children. The study recommends that parents and teachers in Swaziland must be provided with information pertaining to the psychosocial development of the children. There is also the need for specific policy that compels all parents to take responsibility of their children.