The purpose of this study was to examine the correlation between family interaction and children's school life adjustment in single parent family. In addition, to identify whether single parent family's children experience difficulities in school life...
The purpose of this study was to examine the correlation between family interaction and children's school life adjustment in single parent family. In addition, to identify whether single parent family's children experience difficulities in school life adjustment compared with two parent family's children.
225 children of single parent family and 296 children of two parent family were selected at random, which are in the 5-6th grades of primary school and in the millde school of Busan Metropolitan city.
The following are specific research questions for this study : ⑴ Is there difference in the level of family interaction between single parent family and two parent family? ⑵ Is there difference in degree of school life adjustment between single parent family and two parent family? ⑶ Do the factors of family interaction have effect on children's school life adjustment in single parent family? ⑷ How do the individual specific such as sex, age, family type, economic situation effect on children's school life adjustment in single parent family.
The results are summarized as follows.
First, there was no difference in the level of family interaction including factors such as family cohesion, family adaptability, family communication between single parent family and two parent family.
Second, there was no difference in degree of school life adjustment between single parent family's children and two parent family's children by and large. But there is a little difference in some factors of school life adjustment such as school friend relationship and observing school regulations. Single parent family's children have lower level of school friend relationship than that of two parent family. On the other hand, single parent family's children have higher level of observing school regulations than that of two parent family.
Third, single parent family's interaction have passive correlation with children's school life adjustment. In other words, the higher family's cohesion, adaptability, communication dimension was, the higher children's school life adjustment dimension was. And the lower the former was, the lower the latter was.
Finally, individual specific such as sex and age, do not effect one's school life adjustment as well as the period and the cause of being single parent family. In addition, there was no correlation between family type, economic situation and children's school life adjustment in single parent family.
In conclusion, this study has some practical implication for social work practice. The children's school life adjustment is not affected by family structual type but by family cohesion, family adaptability, family communication. therefore social workers have to attempt to enhance family interaction in helping single parent family. and there was no difference between one parent family's children and two parent family's children in school life adjustment. So everyone need to see single parent family's children in a new light and change one's existing negative perception.