Personality Traits of Children with Single Parents: Is there a Difference?

With nearly 13 million single mothers and 1% of marriages ending in divorce in India, there is a need to examine the impact of single-parent households on adolescent personality development. This study uses one of the most widely used personality theories, the Big Five, to measure differences across three family structures: single-parent, nuclear family and joint family. The tool used in this assessment was Goldberg’s IPIP, and an ANOVA was used to compare the mean scores across the three family structures. A sample of N=293 of adolescents between 15 and 19 was obtained. There were two hypotheses – H1: Emotional Stability will be lower in individuals from Single-parent families than in Nuclear or Joint families, and H2: Conscientiousness will be higher in individuals from Single-parent families than in Nuclear or Joint families. Both were confirmed and an additional finding about higher Agreeableness in children from Single-parent families than in Nuclear or Joint families. The study shows that children in single-parent families are more responsible and agreeable, perhaps due to social norms and familial expectations, and the lower emotional stability supports the literature about higher incidence of disorders like depression, personality disorders, OCD and others. The study gives scope for qualitative studies on personality, as well as mediating and moderating factors that influence personality changes in children of single-parent families.