Ajeng Putri Rahmadhani S, Sahrul Sahrul, Irma Yusriani Simamora

Children’s Emotional Development in Single-Parent Families: A Case Study in Kotangan Village Galang District

Introduction

Children’s emotional development in single-parent families: a case study in kotangan village galang district. Analyze children's emotional development in single-parent families in rural Indonesia. Factors like parenting, maternal well-being, social support, and religious values influence stability.

Abstract

The phenomenon of single-parent families has been increasing globally and has a significant impact on children’s emotional development, particularly within the socio-cultural context of rural Indonesian communities. This study aims to analyze the emotional development of children in single-parent families, identify the influencing factors, and examine the challenges faced in the parenting process. This research employed a qualitative approach with a case study design. The population consisted of single-parent families in Kotangan Village, Galang District, Deli Serdang Regency, with three families selected through purposive sampling. The research instruments included interview guidelines, observation sheets, and documentation checklists. The procedure involved in-depth interviews, direct observations, and data triangulation to ensure validity and reliability. Data were analyzed using the Miles and Huberman interactive model, which comprised data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. The findings revealed that children’s emotional development in single-parent families was influenced by parenting patterns, the psychological condition of mothers, social support, and religious values. The study concludes that religiosity and social environment function as protective factors that foster emotional stability among children in single-parent households. The findings have theoretical and practical implications for developing culturally and spiritually based family support programs. Future studies are recommended to expand the scope and sample diversity to achieve broader generalization.

Review

This study tackles a highly relevant global phenomenon: the emotional development of children in single-parent families, specifically contextualized within rural Indonesian communities. The qualitative case study design, focused on Kotangan Village, allowed for an in-depth exploration of influencing factors and parenting challenges. The researchers employed a rigorous qualitative methodology, utilizing purposive sampling, in-depth interviews, direct observations, and data triangulation to ensure the validity and reliability of their findings. The identification of parenting patterns, maternal psychological conditions, social support, and religious values as key influences, with religiosity and social environment acting as protective factors for emotional stability, offers valuable theoretical and practical insights for culturally and spiritually sensitive family support programs. Despite its valuable contribution, a significant limitation of the study is its extremely small sample size, involving only three single-parent families. While appropriate for an intensive case study aimed at deep description, this number severely restricts the transferability and broader generalization of the findings, especially when the conclusions are presented as generalizable influences on "children's emotional development in single-parent families." Furthermore, the abstract lacks specific detail regarding *which particular aspects* of emotional development were assessed or the specific manifestations observed, making it challenging to fully comprehend the comprehensive scope of the emotional analysis within these children. To enhance the robustness and applicability of these important initial insights, future research should heed the authors' own recommendation to expand the scope and diversify the sample. This could involve increasing the number of participating families, including those from various socioeconomic backgrounds or different rural and urban settings within Indonesia, and perhaps employing comparative designs. Incorporating mixed-methods approaches could also provide both the rich depth of qualitative insights and the broader trends illuminated by quantitative data. Further exploration into the precise mechanisms through which religiosity and social support exert their protective influence would significantly enrich the understanding of children's emotional resilience in single-parent households.

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