The Value of Support: The Impact of Social Support on Children's Social Development in Unmarried Mother Households
Date
2024-05
Authors
Callum, Alia
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Abstract
Unmarried-mother households have become increasingly common in recent years, with the United States holding the highest rate of single-parent households in the world, as of 2019 (Pew Research Center, 2019; Zhou & Taylor, 2022). Given the growing population of unmarried-mother households and the range of challenges they face, it is crucial to identify protective factors that can promote positive outcomes for their children. Research has shown social support to buffer maternal stress and improve child social development in dual-parent households; however, less research has studied the role of social support on children’s peer competence within unmarried-mother households (Taylor et al., 2015; Qudsi et al., 2023). The present study aims to fill gaps in prior research by conducting a secondary data analysis on the relationship between unmarried mothers’ perceived social support and their children’s peer competence in 5th grade. The present study consists of 160 mother-child dyads. Mothers reported on their social support using the 11-item Relationships with Other People Questionnaire (Marshall & Barnett, 1993). Children's peer competence was assessed by their 5th-grade teachers using a 10-item Social Skills Rating Scale (Gresham & Elliott, 1990). It is hypothesized that children of unmarried mothers with higher perceived social support will have higher ratings of peer competence. A linear regression showed that social support is a significant predictor of children’s peer competence (F (1, 158) = 4.771, p = .030). Implications for children’s social development within unmarried-mother households is discussed, along with study limitations and future research directions.
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Keywords
social support, social development, peer competence, unmarried-mother households
Citation
Callum, A. (2024). The value of support: The impact of social support on children's social development in unmarried mother households. Honors College, Texas State University.