A Cross-Comparison of Behavioral Disorders among Primary School Boys Raised in Single- and Two-Parent Families

S. Haji Hassani, M.A.

M. Salehi, PhD

S. Emami, PhD

The purpose of the present study was to compare behavioral disorders among Tehrani primary school boys raised in single-mother, single-father and normal families. The research method was causal-comparative and the statistical population consisted of all primary school boys (normal and single-parent families) in district 2 of Tehran. Cluster sampling method was utilized and the sample included 122 children of single-parent families (61 single-mothers and 61 single-fathers) as well as 122 children of normal families. The instrumentation comprised Conners’ behavioral disorders questionnaire (teacher’s rating scale). The teachers completed the questionnaire. One-way analysis of variance and Scheffe test were used for the purpose of data analysis. Results indicated that behavioral disorders total scores were different for the three groups under study, i.e., boys raised in single-mother, single-father, and normal families. Furthermore, the total mean score of behavioral disorders for children raised in normal families was lower than that of children in single-mother and single-father families. In addition, there was a significant difference between the total mean score of behavioral disorders for single-mother and single-father families. More specifically, the total mean score of behavioral disorders for single-mother families was lower than that of children in single-father families.

Key words: behavioral disorder, single-mother family, single-father family, normal (two-parent) family