Influence of Single Parenting on the Socio-Emotional Development of the Youth in Kampala Cluster Tugumisirize, Rosa Hope

Abstract

The process of socializing a child is primarily the responsibility of the parents. The parents ensure that a child is taught the right values and can tell right from wrong. This calls for the cooperation of both parents. However, there is an increase of single parent families in Uganda. This study was designed to establish the influence of single parenting on the socio-emotional development of youth in Kampala. The study employed a descriptive correlation research design. Qualitative and quantitative data was collected. These involved interviews and focus group discussions. 100 youth participated in a self administered questionnaire with 30 more youth, 20 parents and 10 school managers participating in focus group discussions. The Parents were also stratified according to their marital status. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for data entry and analysis. The findings show that there is no significant difference in the self esteem of the youth staying in single parented homes with those staying in both parented ones. Findings further revealed that there is no relationship between self esteem of the youth and conflict management style. It was revealed that sex does not influence self esteem. The results also show that children from compassion assisted projects in Kampala cluster have low self-esteem. It is, therefore, recommended that partner churches and Compassion International evaluate their approach to socio-emotional development with the aim of improving impact.