Adolescents' Developmental Challenges in Single-Parent Families

Objective: Single-parent families are considered family structures in which only one parent, who may be the father or mother, is living and raising their children. Many challenges faced by adolescents living in single-parent households, including psychological, behavioral, emotional, economic, and educational issues, may influence their overall well-being, resilience, and academic performance. Aims: to assess developmental challenges faced by adolescent students from single-parent households. Additionally, to identify the association between adolescent challenges and the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants.

Methods and Materials: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was employed from November 1, 2025, to March 20, 2025. This study was conducted in Babylon Province, Iraq, with 222 secondary school students. Data was gathered through a modified questionnaire and analyzed electronically by using SPSS, version 22.

Findings: The study shows that 62.6% of the study sample were between the ages of 12 and 15 years old, with 67.6% being male and 27.0% from the second intermediate grade. The overall assessment of challenges for 58.6% of the sample was moderate.

Conclusion: Moderate challenges are faced by adolescent students from single-parent families, and there is a significant correlation between these challenges and class level, family income, mother's education, and the gender of the single parent. It is recommended that every school involve both academic and counselling units to address the issues of students from single-parent families and provide psychological and emotional, as well as financial and educational, support. Counsellors should be adequately prepared to deal with the different difficulties that they may face with students from single-parent families.