Single Parenthood Essay

There has been a rise in the divorce rate during the 1960’s and 1970’s which inspired many social scientists to investigate the differing family structures (Amado, 2005). In Trinidad and Tobago, fathers face great injustice in fighting for the primary physical custody of their children. Primary physical custody refers to the custodial parent who provides basic commodities and with whom the child spends the majority of time with. According to the book “Social Work with Fathers”, custodial fathers are defined as those who maintain legal custody of the primary physical care a minor (Clapton, 2013). In most cases in Trinidad, judges and attorneys are more empathetic to the struggles faced by single mothers and because of this final verdicts are often biased. As a result, the Single Father Association of Trinidad and Tobago (SFATT) was formed in the hope of providing emotional support and any legal assistance. Society has also adopted judges’ standpoint and tend to emphasize and empathize …show more content…
There is great emphasized placed on the environment of a child as it predicts success and demise of a community. Sociologist defines the traditional family structure as the nuclear family consists of two married individuals (a mother and father) providing care for their biological offspring. Statistically, this type of family proves to create less psychological issues for children for providing a healthy and nurturing environment for the physical, spiritual and mental growth of the entire family unit. Reportedly in Trinidad, these families are few and reside in the wealthy areas and contrarily, households that are predominant are single parent households. A single parent family is defined as a family with children under the age of eighteen headed by a parent who is widowed or divorced and not remarried or by a parent who has never