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UCU GS Research Journal
PROBLEMS AND COPING MECHANISMS OF SINGLE PARENTS
FORTUNATA R. TENIOSO

This study determined the problems and coping mechansims of single parents. Part
1 dealt on the personal profile of the respondents which include their age, sex, civil status,
highest educational attainment, occupation, number of children, number of years as single
parent, monthly family income, other sources of income and parenting style. Part II focused
on the problems encountered by the respondents along physical, emotional, financial, social,
educational and spiritual. Part III dealt on the coping mechanisms of the respondents along
physical, emotional, financial, social, educational and spiritual.
Based on the gathered data, the following are the findings: Most of the respondents are
aged 15-29, female, single, college undergraduate, unemployed, with 1-2 number of children,
with equally distributed monthly family income of 3001-5000, 5001-10,000, 10,001-15,000 and
15,001 and above, having no other source of income and used the permissive parenting style.
On the problems encountered by the single parents, all the indicators on physical,
emotional, financial, social, educational and spiritual were rated to be seldom with an overall
weighted mean of 2.43. Along coping mechanisms, the single parents rated differently on the
indicators-physical was rated with 3.80 or practiced, emotional was rated with 3.00 or moderately
practiced, financial was rated with 2.99 or moderately practiced, social was rated with 3.34 or
moderately practiced, educational was rated 2.20 or slightly practiced and spiritual was rated
4.33 or highly practiced. Overall, on their coping mechanisms was rated with 4.33 or practiced.
Based on the above findings, the following conclusions are offered: The respondents
were young in their adolescent stage, did not have the sanctity of marriage, did not finish their
bachelor’s degree, presently not working, have an average number of children and been single
parent for few years, earning an average amount and practices a let alone style of rearing their
children. The single parents very seldom encountered problems in all of the indicators. Moreover,
the single parents had different ways of coping their condition as single parents.
Based on the conclusions arrived at, the following recommendations are given: The
single parents must continue going to college to finish a course since they are young and to
improve their parenting style so that their children will grow normally even without the other
parent.They must care for their body to have more strength doing the role of a mother and
father. They must accept their present condition in life and move on for the family. They must
consider the other indicators to cope up with their problems in life for them to have a normal life
even without their partners
Future researchers can be done using other variables in a wider perspective.

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