Modelling the causes and effects of single parenthood on academic performance of students in southwestern part of Nigeria

∗ Corresponding author: Lanre Adebara Copyright © 2025 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0. Modelling the causes and effects of single parenthood on academic performance of students in southwestern part of Nigeria Lanre Adebara *, Folashade Adeola Bolarinwa and Bamidele Ajayi Department of Statistics, Federal Polytechnic Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2025, 26(02), 1731-1738 Publication history: Received on 21 March 2025; revised on 06 May 2025; accepted on 09 May 2025 Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.30574/wjarr.2025.26.2.1560 Abstract This paper examines modelling the causes and effect of single parenthood on academic performance of students in southwestern part of Nigeria. Questionnaire was administered to 500 respondents in both university and polytechnic in three states of southwestern part of Nigeria for data collection. Four potential causes (poverty, death of spouse, marital violence (divorce and separation), and extra marital pregnancy) and effects (low commitment, lack of attention for children, poor financial strength and low impact on the wellbeing of students) of single parenthood were considered for modelling. Challenges that single parenting students encountered on their academic performance were examined such as single parents do not have enough time to show commitment to their children’s school academic activities, students from single parents easily drop out from school, students from single parent perform less academically than students from both parents, coming from single parenting home psychologically may put challenges on academic performance of students and single parents lack financial strength in providing for their children’s academic activities. Students from single parent category have the highest percentage of respondents from Ekiti and Ondo state while students from both parent category have the highest percentage of respondent in Osun state. Multiple regression is used for the analysis to determine the causes and effects of single parenting on the academic performance of the students and conclusively the results shows that death and low impact on the wellbeing of the students are the primary cause and effect of single parent on academic performance of students in southwestern states in Nigeria. Keywords: Modelling; Single parenthood; Multiple regression; Causes; Effects 1. Introduction Statistical modeling is the use of mathematical models and statistical assumptions to generate sample data and make predictions about the real world. A statistical model is a collection of probability distributions on a set of all possible outcomes of an experiment. Single parenting is the practice of supporting a kid solely via one's own means, including money, physical care, psychological support, and emotional support. This means that you must earn the majority of the revenue and manage the home expenses on your own. It’s also important to emphasize that all broken or dysfunctional families have a single parent, even though not all dysfunctional families have. Building and maintaining the pillars that support the family, a vast institution, is what parenting is all about. Parents have a responsibility to teach their children about social standards and values in addition to overseeing their psychological and emotional development. In our society, being a single parent is not particularly accepted. Children raised by single parents and their parents are stigmatized by social groups. Mabuza et al (2014).Being a single parent is not generally accepted in our society. Parents have a big impact on a child's behavior, personality, and health. Polanin, et al., (2021). The reality that caring for a child involves less labor but the same amount of work. Iranmanesh and associates (2020). A single parent has to take care of the house and provide financial assistance for their family at the same time. However, single parents seldom ever spent time with their World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2025, 26(02), 1731-1738 1732 kids because they were attempting to maintain their stability. The physical, social, and emotional development of kids has become a growing issue in education. According to Sackey et al. (2022), children of single-parent households commonly deal with classmates who lack confidence and struggle to establish friends in the school. The most frequent reason for the increase in single-parent families a few decades ago was the spouse's death. However, additional causes of single parenthood are on the rise these days, including parental separation or divorce, unintended pregnancies, and the decision to become a single parent through donor insemination or adoption. Ntondwe (2024), Bhat and Patil (2019), Ali and Soomar (2019), and Bharat (1988) all address the various causes of single parenthood. Certain situations, like divorce, adoption, artificial insemination, and surrogate motherhood, are choices, while other situations are the consequence of unforeseen circumstances, like a death, child abuse, neglect, or abandonment by one of the biological parents, or an unmarried woman or teenage girl getting pregnant after a brief According to Salami and Alamode (2000), "single parenting leaves the role in the hands of a single parent and results from divorce, separation of various kinds, having children from wedlock or death of one spouse. “Abudu and Fuseini (2014) went one step further and stated that "a child would lose the support that would have emanated from that parent when one of the parents is absent from their life, creating a gap." Since intact families are essential to children's socialization, single parenthood has a significant effect on academic results. A child's academic performance (AP) is significantly impacted by having both parents living at home. According to Zhou (2014) and Uzuki and Suetomi (2015), Every country places a high value on education, which is discussed, planned, and processed at all levels of government as well as in the family and community. In this paper, we model the causes (poverty, death of spouse (divorce and separation), marital violence and extra marital pregnancy) and effects (low commitment, lack of attention for children, poor financial strength and low impact on the wellbeing of students) of single parenthood and examine the type of challenges faced by single parents on academic performance of in three states (Ondo, Ekiti, Osun) of southwestern part of Nigeria. Aim and Objectives The aim of this study is to investigate the causes and effects posed by single parenting on the academics of students. 2. General Objectives This is to examine the causes and effects of single parenthood on academic performance of tertiary institution students in southwestern part of Nigeria 3. Special Objectives • To identify and model causes and effects of single parenting • To examine the type of challenges faced by single parents” students on academic performance • In tertiary institution in south western part of Nigeria 4. Material and methods Multiple regression is used for the analysis to determine the causes and effects of single parenting on the academic performance of the students. The following is the equation for multiple linear regression: Y = β0 + β1X1 + β2X2 + ... + βnXn + ε X1, X2, and Xn are the independent variables in this equation. The intercept is denoted by β0, the dependent variable is Y. The error term is represented by ε, whereas the coefficients or slopes for each independent variable are denoted by β1, β2…. βn. When other variables are held constant in multiple regression, the coefficients (β1, β2... βn) measure the effect of each independent variable on the dependent variable. A positive correlation denotes a favorable association, whilst a negative correlation points to an unfavorable one. The change in World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2025, 26(02), 1731-1738 1733 the dependent variable corresponding to a one-unit change in the corresponding independent variable is represented by the coefficient's magnitude. Table 1 The table below shows the frequency of the respondent by Level Level Frequency Percent Ekiti Ondo Osun Ekiti Ondo Osun Year 1/NDI 75 83 90 15.0 16.6 18.0 Year 2/NDII 118 115 90 23.6 23.0 18.0 Year 3/HNDI 103 69 122 20.6 13.8 24.4 Year 4/HNDII 131 120 124 26.2 24.0 24.8 Year 5 and Above 73 113 74 14.6 22.6 14.8 Total 500 500 500 100 100 100 Table 2 The table below shows the frequency of the respondent by Grade Grade Frequency Percent Ekiti Ondo Osun Ekiti Ondo Osun 3rd Class/Pass 87 65 53 17.4 13.0 10.6 2nd Class Lower/Lower Credit 137 154 151 27.4 30.8 30.2 2nd Class Upper/Upper Credit 170 218 182 34.0 43.6 36.4 1st Class/Distinction 106 63 114 21.2 12.6 22.8 Table 3 The table below shows the frequency of the respondent by category of parent Category of Parent Frequency Percent Ekiti Ondo Osun Ekiti Ondo Osun Single Parent 333 270 204 66.6 54.0 40.8 Both Parent 167 230 296 33.4 46.0 59.2 Total 500 500 500 100.0 100.0 100.0 Table 4 The table showing the Frequency of Responses for the causes of Single Parenthood in Ekiti Ondo Osun State Causes Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Ekiti Ondo Osun Ekiti Ondo Osun Ekiti Ondo Osun Ekiti Ondo Osun Poverty 151 81 107 191 131 136 118 210 160 40 78 97 Death of spouse 180 121 146 209 223 199 75 125 83 36 31 72 Marital Violence 194 149 143 207 208 211 65 107 78 34 36 68 Extra Marital Pregnancy 188 120 126 218 204 200 60 123 98 34 53 76 World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2025, 26(02), 1731-1738 1734 Table 5 Regression for the Causes of Single Parenthood on academic performance for Ekiti Ondo Osun Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients B Std. Error Beta t Sig. Ekiti Ond o Osu n Ekit i Ond o Osu n Ekit i Ond o Osu n Ekiti Ondo Osun Ekit i Ond o Osu n (constant) 3.65 1 1.82 8 1.08 0 .238 .166 .107 15.35 8 10.99 1 10.12 7 .000 .000 .000 Poverty -.087 .008 .032 .051 .044 .053 - .080 .008 .035 -1.693 .171 .601 .091 .864 .548 Death of spouse - .097 .173 .166 .056 .056 .078 - .086 .171 .178 -1.745 3.079 2.126 .082 .002 .034 Marital Violence - .060 .004 .397 .053 .054 .085 - .053 .004 .417 -1.139 .077 4.654 .255 .939 .000 Extramarita l Pregnancy -.104 .077 -.018 .056 .050 .074 - .089 .083 -.019 -1.850 1.555 -.242 .065 .121 .809 • Model 1: To model the causes of single parenting on the academic performance of the students. Y = Grade X1 = Poverty X2 = Death X3 =Marital Violence (Divorce and Separation) X4 =Extra Marital Pregnancy. E = Error Ekiti State Ekiti State 4321 104.0060.0097.0087.0651.3 XXXXY −−−−= • Interpretation: A unit change in the grade of the students is determined by 0.087 decrease of poverty, 0.097 decrease of death, 0.060 decrease of marital violence and 0.104 decrease of extra marital pregnancy. Ondo State • Interpretation: A unit change in the grade of the students is determined by 0.008 increase of poverty, 0.173 decrease of death, 0.004 increase of marital violence and 0.077 increase of extra marital pregnancy. Osun State Y = 1.080 + 0.032x1+ 0.166x2 + 0.397x3 - 0.018x4 + ε Interpretation: A unit change in grade of student is determined by 0.032 increase in poverty, 0.166 increase in death and 0.397 increase in marital violence and 0.018 decrease of extra marital pregnancy. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2025, 26(02), 1731-1738 1735 Table 6 The table below shows the Frequency of Responses for the Effects of Single Parenthood. on Academic Performance in Ekiti Ondo Osun Effects Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Ekiti Ondo Osun Ekiti Ondo Osun Ekiti Ondo Osun Ekiti Ondo Osun Low Commitment 151 135 140 191 205 177 118 118 128 40 42 97 Lack of Attention 180 116 98 209 154 163 75 198 175 36 32 72 Poor Financial Strength 194 135 117 207 177 186 65 147 135 34 41 68 Low Impact on the Wellbeing of Children 161 125 92 207 189 177 99 152 146 33 34 76 Table 7 Regression for the effect of Single Parenthood on academic performance Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients B Std. Error Beta t Sig. Ek iti On do Os un Ek iti On do Osu n Ek iti On do Osu n Ekit i On do Os un Ek iti On do Os un (constant) 3.6 41 2.0 86 0.9 70 .2 35 .16 5 .10 9 15. 516 12. 611 8.9 03 .0 00 .00 0 .00 0 Low Commitment - .02 2 .15 5 - .04 8 .0 54 .05 1 .05 5 - .0 20 .16 1 - .05 0 - .40 4 3.0 31 - .87 3 .6 87 .00 3 .38 3 Lack_Of_Attention_For_C hildren - .11 8 - .05 8 .14 4 .0 53 .05 0 .06 8 - .1 08 - .06 0 .14 5 - 2.2 15 - 1.1 65 2.1 20 .0 27 .24 5 .03 5 Poor_Financial_Strength - .09 2 .01 3 .30 0 .0 56 .05 0 .05 7 - .0 76 .01 4 .30 8 - 1.6 39 .26 3 5.2 83 .1 02 .79 3 .00 0 Low_Impact_on_the_Well being_of_students - .10 9 .05 3 .27 1 .0 56 .05 1 .05 4 - .0 94 .05 4 .28 3 - 1.9 40 1.0 41 5.0 00 .0 53 .29 8 .80 9 Model 2: To know the effect of the single parenting on the academic performance of the students.  +++++= 443322110 XXXXY Y = Grade X1 = Low Commitment X2 = Lack of attention for the children X3 =Poor financial strength X4 =Low impact on the wellbeing of the children E = Error Ekiti State 4321 109.0092.0118.0022.0641.3 XXXXY −−−−= • Interpretation: A unit change in the grade of students is determined by 0.022 decrease of low commitment, 0.118 decrease of lack of attention for the children, 0.092 decrease of poor financial strength and 0.109 decrease of low impact on the well-being of the students. Ondo State World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2025, 26(02), 1731-1738 1736 • Interpretation: In this model, a unit change in the grade of students is determined by 0.155 increase of low commitment, -0.058 decrease of lack of attention for the children, 0.013 increase of poor financial strength and 0.053 increase of low impact on the wellbeing of the students. Osun State Y= 0.970 - 0.048x1+ 0.144x2 + 0.300x3 + 0.271x4 + ε • Interpretation: In this model, a unit change in grade of student caused by0.048 decrease in low commitment, 0.144 increase in lack of attention for children, 0.300 poor financial strength and 0.271 increase in low impact on the wellbeing of the students. Table 8 Challenges faced by single parents” students on academic performance QUESTIONS SA A D SD Ekiti Ondo Osun Ekiti Ondo Osun Ekiti Ondo Osun Ekiti Ondo Osun Single parents do not have enough time to show commitment to their children’s school academic activities 188 135 140 208 206 177 65 118 128 39 41 55 Students from single parents easily drop out from school 143 81 84 196 148 137 112 201 184 49 70 95 Students from single parent perform less academically than Students from both parents 161 161 118 172 172 163 127 127 143 40 40 76 Coming from single parenting home psychologically may put challenges on academic performance of students 160 160 90 198 198 195 109 109 160 33 33 55 Single parents lack financial strength in providing for their children’s academic activities 194 135 117 210 178 186 72 146 135 24 41 62 5. Result and Discussion It is discovered from the table 1 that Year 4 /Hnd II level has highest percentage of respondents by level and from table 2, second (2nd) class upper/upper credit under respondent by grade has the highest percentage of respondent in all the three states (Ekiti, Ondo,, Osun), also from table 3 students from single parent category have the highest percentage of respondent from Ekiti and Ondo state and students from both parent category have the highest percentage of respondent in Osun state. From the regression model 1 that model causes of single parenting on the academic performance of the students, a unit change in the grade of the students is determined by 0.087 decrease of poverty, 0.097 decrease of death of spouse, 0.060 decrease of marital violence and 0.104 decrease of extra marital pregnancy in Ekiti state, a unit change in the grade of the students is determined by 0.008 increase of poverty, 0.173 decrease of death of spouse, 0.004 increase of marital violence and 0.077 increase of extra marital pregnancy in Ondo state, a unit change in grade of student is determined by 0.032 increase in poverty, 0.166 increase in death of spouse and 0.397 increase in marital violence and 0.018 decrease of extra marital pregnancy in Osun state. From the regression model 2 that model the effect of the single parenting on the academic performance of the students, a unit change in the grade of the students is determined by 0.022 decrease of low commitment, 0.118 decrease of lack of attention for the children, 0.092 decrease of poor financial strength and 0.109 decrease of low impact on the well- World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2025, 26(02), 1731-1738 1737 being of the children in Ekiti state, , a unit change in the grade of the students is determined by 0.155 increase of low commitment, -0.058 decrease of lack of attention for the children, 0.013 increase of poor financial strength and 0.053 increase of low impact on the wellbeing of the children in Ondo state. A unit change in grade of student caused by0.048 decrease in low commitment, 0.144 increase in lack of attention for children, 0.300 poor financial strength and 0.271 increase in low impact on the wellbeing of the students in Osun state. Also from table 8, it reveals that respondents from the three states(Ekiti,Ondo,Osun) agreed that single parents do not have enough time to show commitment to their children’s school academic activities, that students from single parent perform less academically than Students from both parents, that coming from single parenting home psychologically may put challenges on academic performance of students, single parents lack financial strength in providing for their children’s academic activities. Respondents from Ondo and Osun states disagreed on the statement that Students from single parents easily drop out from school while respondents from Ekiti state agreed. 6. Conclusion It is concluded that single parents lack financial strength for academic provision and have less time of concentration on their wards academic activities which might result in that psychologically put challenges on academic performance of students from such homes. Also, causes of single parenting are marital violence, extra marital pregnancy and death of spouse in Ekiti, Ondo and Osun states respectively, and the effect of the single parenting on the academic performance of the students is low commitment for both Ekiti and Ondo states while effect in Osun state is low impact on the wellbeing of the students. Therefore death and low impact on the wellbeing of the students are the primary causes and effects of single parent on academic performance of Students in southwestern states in Nigeria. Compliance with ethical standards Acknowledgments The authors wish to express their gratitude to TETFUND for their support in this research. Disclosure of conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interest or personal relationship that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. References [1] Abudu, A. M. and Fuseini, M. N. (2014). 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