The Impact of Absentee Parenting on the Behavior of Grade 10 Students towards the Guidance

Program

Researchers:

Ms. Lovely M. Soriano

Ms. Francia Marie Bacsal

Student:

Jomari Earl S. Delgero

 Chapter 1

The Problem and Its Setting

Introduction

Parents play a very important part in the lives of their children. They help their children

develop strength, confidence, and discipline with great sense of responsibility. They also play a

vital role in developing their moral and spiritual beliefs, social and educational responsibility.

They must have a solid foundation with their children in order for them to have a successful and

rewarding life.

For the students, parents serve as their inspiration, motivation and help when it comes to

their education. “Various psychologists describe motivation as the driving force behind our

behavior.” (Sevilla, 1988) If parents are the motivation behind a child’s behavior, what shall

happen if parents are absent? Will it also affect the child’s behavior?

The role of a parent is difficult since it indicates maturity, calmness and patience—

characteristics that undoubtedly some parents do not have. That is why nowadays, many

children, including the students from Immaculate Conception Academy –Plaza, East, West,

South and North Campus are experiencing absentee parenting.

Some scientists say that a child’s behavior most likely originated from both of his or her

parents. Gregor Mendel’s study concluded that an offspring’s attitude and behavior are from

inherited genes of the parents. But through environmental factors, the behavior is manipulated.

So it is possible that the behavior a child had will suddenly change if some environmental factors

will affect it, such as absentee parenting as a parenting style. Meaning to say, those behaviors a
juvenile child had when his/her parents were present will change if the parents suddenly became

absent.

This research will focus on those children from Immaculate Conception Academy

campuses (North, South, East, West, and Plaza/Science High School) who are experiencing

absentee parenting. This study shall also prove whether the effects of absentee parenting in the

behavior of a child are good or bad through descriptive research.

Everything stated in this research were based on the data from the questionnaires and

surveys presented by the sample of respondents.

Background of the Study

An absentee parent is a parent who either wanders in and out of the child’s life providing

a disruptive, inconsistent presence, one who was an active part of their child’s life before

abruptly ceasing contact, or a parent who has never been involved in the life of his or her child.

In the Philippines, there are many parents who have this kind of parenting. Usually, their

reason for doing so is for financial problems. To cope with the world’s demands, financial

support is very necessary.

Ordinarily, the children who experience such parenting undergo juvenile issues. Their

thinking becomes, “My mom hated me so much so she left.” They experience confusion and ask

questions about why they were left behind. Only a handful of children gain the resolve and have

the ability to move forward.

According to Peter Garlach (1944), abandonment occurs when a parent physically,

emotionally, or psychologically removes himself or herself from her children. This is done by
ending or ignoring their responsibility to parent their children, or ending their relationship with

the children. As a child grows older, he starts losing hope in having a happy reunion with his

parent. Whatever the reason is of the parent in leaving the child, it would always leave a negative

mark on the child.

The academic performance of the students is affected by the psychological state of their

mind. Those who do poorly does not have a stable psychological state of their mind and

sometimes still have additional stress from pressure.

According to Edward Kruk (1992), children with absent fathers are more likely to

develop behavioral problems. These problems are often a shield that kids use to protect their

deep issues of abandonment, fear, and unhappiness. Sometimes, a child living in a fatherless

home is more likely to develop a careless attitude with a cocky swagger and mean person to hide

the fact that he really wants his father in his life.

Significance of the Study

Knowledge of the outcome would be most important to the following:

School Administrators. The result of this study will help them reach decisions on how
to improve the academic performance of their students. It could also be a useful basis when
planning school program and activities.

Teachers. Knowledge of this study will help them build better relations with the
students, understand a child’s behavior, motivate and give the child advices on how to deal with
their difficulties and struggles.

Parents. This research will help them in understanding their children better. It will help
their parenting skills and improve relationship with their child. This research may also be utilized
to mentor other parents to help them support their child’s learning and correct their child’s
behavior.

Students. The result of this research will help them understand their parents’ reason, and
understand more about the situation he/she’s going through, thus improve academic
achievement.

Guidance Counselor. This study will help them make individualized educational plan
for the child.

Statement of the Problem

The researchers would like to identify the effects of absentee parenting to the behavior of

the secondary student of ICA. The following research questions were formed through the

researchers’ critical thinking:

1. How many students of ICA from Grade 10 are experiencing absenteeparenting?

2. What are the impact of absentee parenting on:

a. the relationship with parents

b. the social interaction of the child

c. the class behavior of the child

Hypotheses

The researchers formulated the following hypotheses from the research questions:

1) H: There is no significant change in the behavior of students who are experiencing

absentee parenting.

H: There is a significant change in the behavior of the students who are experiencing
 absentee parenting.

2) H: There is no significant change in the social interaction of students who are

experiencing absentee parenting.

H: There is a significant change in the social interaction of students who are

experiencing absentee parenting.

3) H: Absentee parenting has no significant impact on parent-child relationship.

H: Absentee parenting has significant impact on parent-child relationship.

Scope and Limitation

This research will focus primarily upon the effects of absentee parenting to the Grade 10

of Immaculate Conception Academy (ICA) to their behavior.

This study was also limited to the secondary students of the five ICA campuses namely:

West in Ibayo, South in Langkaan, North in Salitran, East in Congressional Road, Plaza/Science

High School students whose parents were absent during their educational years are the targets of

this research. We are also getting 20 respondents from each campus.

All accounts of this research only occurred during the academic school years of 2015 to

2016.

Objectives

The following are the goals of the researchers of this study:

General Objectives:

1. To provide Guidance Program for students with absent parenting

 Specific Objectives:

1. To measure the numbers of absentee parent.

2. To determine the impact of absentee parenting to the behavior of Grade 10 students.

3. To identify the behavioural problem of students with absentee parenting

Definition of Terms

For a clearer and boarder understanding:

Absentee parenting – a method of parenting wherein parents are absent, specifically working

abroad, or having an inconstant communication

Academic performance – the performance of a student in his/her school; the achievements of

someone in his or her studies

Behavior – the social and emotional status of a person; the academic performance of a student

Change in Behavior – the becoming of someone’s behavior into something else, whether good or

bad

Counsel – advice given to someone

Guidance – the act or process of guiding someone or something

Parent – someone who has children; may be birth parents, adoptive parents, foster parents, or

biological parents

Parenting – it is process of taking care of children until they are old enough to take care of

themselves
Social interaction – the way someone communicates with a person

Chapter 2:

Review of Related Literature

Review Literature and Related Readings

We all know that parents will do their best even if it takes risk to raise their children.

Parents shall cope with the evolution of the modern world and be competent enough to provide

resolutions on their physical and psychological needs. “The ways to react to life situations vary a

great deal and affect the actions of people.” (Relationships: A study in human Behavior,

Weslake, p.9) According to the recent study of the National Statistics Office (NSO) in the

Philippines, the rate of poverty incidence dropped to 16.5%, much greater than the previous rate

of 33.1%. But poverty is still a problem so parents will do whatever they can in order to stay

alive in this world with their family. Because of it, parents choose to go outside the country and

work there to provide financial support to their families.

According to a research program led by AJ Carlota, he concluded that the Filipino

parents choose to work abroad because here in our country, Filipino workers are not given right

incentives, recognition, and compensation. In other countries, Filipinos with quality performance

are paid high, enjoy many privileges and benefits, and are given the appropriate social status,

recognition, and incentives.

 As claimed by Lisa Bersales, the national statistician of the Philippines, an estimate of

2.3 million Filipinos are working abroad as temporary migrants. It means that millions of

children in the developing world are growing up with at least one parent living abroad. Some of

these children can handle the situation while some cannot. Even though the parents’ reason for

working abroad was for the sake of their own family, the children who were left behind might

think that they were deserted or rejected. They feel that they are unimportant or hated by their

parents.

Parents are working in other countries to gain money; consequently, they are leaving their

children in their homeland. Thus, children shall cope with the changes in its environment

including changes in the parenting style of the parents. Some children tend to cope, but some

cannot. Those children affected enormously by the sudden change of his or her environment will

eventually affect his or her behaviors. Changes in the social, emotional, and psychological

behaviors are observable. According to Dra. Avelino (1996), when a person grows older, he or

she faces some stimuli differently. He or she may respond aggressively or docilely. Such

stimulus is the sudden change of parenting style. She also cited that the emotional maturity of a

child can either enhance or detract one’s social development. It means that the emotional aspects

of a person are gradually connected to his/her social aspects. She defined social aspects as one’s

ability to conduct well in the society. Social attitudes are affected by the psychological

conditions, mental alertness, and emotional maturity of a person. It means that it is possible for a

child who is experiencing absentee parenting to have a hard time communicating and socializing

with other people.

As cited by Sigmund Freud (1930), “Behavior is multidetermined,” meaningless to say, a

specific behavior may be explained by a number of different motives and causes. A person’s
behavior is inconsistent. It may change or remain through the years. Upon facing life situations,

behaviors are manipulated.

Some say that if your parents left you, it makes you a rejected child. This situation affects

a child gigantically. According to the study of Peck and Havighurst, a rejected child will not

chase for success in the future. Rejected children will never get a clear idea, or pattern, of moral

principles, because the parents show inconsistency.

In the Executive Order no.9, The family Code of the Philippines, it is stated that parents

should give their children compassionate love, understanding, advice, and counsel even if the

parents are not present and only a guardian is provided for the support of the child. But in return,

a child must respect and love his/her parents. We can say that even though mountains and seas

block a child from his/her parent, nothing will block each other’s love and understanding.

Another effect of absentee parenting is the effect on academic performance. In other

countries, different parenting style cause to different academic performances of children. For

example, in China, if a parent wants his/her child to learn more, his or her parenting style will be

a more aggressive and disciplined one which we can also affect a child’s psychological aspects.

We can also imply it here in our country. Another example, if the parenting style is too loose,

some child will tend to be sloth and not to strive harder in studying anymore. But how about

absentee parenting? Observations say that some children tend not to be persistent in studying

anymore. But others tend to be persistent because they want to prove something to their parents.

According to the study of Bowlby (1951), a child is deeply attached to his/her primary

caregivers. This attachment will lead to a better development of social and emotional status of a

child. But if not sustained, a child might come into stress. A stress is defined as a person in
physically or mentally demanding situation. Although stress has positive effects, such as:

increase of alertness, improvement of sight, muscle strengthening, and more. There are also

negative effects such as: one is emotionally incapable, highly irritated, or more. Stress may lead

to further change in behavior.

There are lots of things or stimuli that may affect one’s behavior. And one of those is the

change in parenting style such as absentee parenting. A parent should maintain his/her

communication to his/her offspring. And in return, a child must be an obedient child.

Related study

1. Absentee Parenting

Absentee parenting can be defined as when a parent or both does their parenting in a

manner wherein they are absent temporarily, permanently, physically, or mentally. There are

many cases wherein having an absent parent affects the behavior of a child. Most children

who have an absent parent develop a bad personality due to the fact that there was no one to

guide them properly.

As cited by Zirima (2012), research evidence largely indicates that children without

parents experience a number of negative psychological reactions. Kaplan, Liu and Howard

(2001) argue that it’s a very traumatic experience for any child to go through life with an

absent parent, regardless of age. They may develop insecurities, helplessness and anger

issues may arise.

2. Absent Mothers
 She said research on the influence of the absence of mothers is contradictory. Western

studies indicate that the absence of a mother is not a predictor of negative outcomes,

(Milne, Myers, Rosenthal & Ginsburg, 1986). However, a number of studies indicate that

regardless of whether they are single or married, mothers who work full-time in distant

places or abroad often have less time to spend with their children (Thomson &

McLanahan, 1994), a condition that may lead to lower achievement and increases in

behavior problems at school.

Moreover, she also stated that what appears consistent in the various studies in

Asia; however, is that children left behind by mothers tend to fare less well compared

with other groups of children with migrating parents. Those with migrant mothers tend to

have difficulties academically and performed more poorly in terms of their physical and

emotional health ( Asis, 2006; Battistella and Conaco, 1998). Caregivers in a study on

children in Sri Lanka left behind by their mothers reported certain negative behaviors,

though not in the majority, in the children after their mothers leave.

3. Absent Fathers

She also believed that more often than not, single-parent families include a

mother, a children whose original father no longer lives in the home or has moved to the

Diaspora to explore better life. Similar to income and parent education, father absence is

also a risk factor that makes it more difficult for children to succeed in school, (Knox,

1996). When parents separate, or when the father leaves the country, children often lose

both the financial and emotional support of their fathers, which can have a negative

impact on academic performance. Although child support does not resolve all of these

issues, it does make a significant difference.

 In addition, according to Allen and Daly (2007), infants whose fathers are

involved in their care are more likely to be securely attached to them, ( Cox, Owen,

Henderson & Margand, 1992), be better able to handle strange situations, be more

resilient in the face of stressful situations (Kotelchuck, 1976; Parke & Swain, 1975), be

more curious and eager to explore the environment, relate more maturely to strangers,

react more competently to complex and novel stimuli, and be more trusting in branching

out in their explorations (Biller, 1993; Parke and Swain, 1975; Pruett, 1997).

More over, they held that children who live without their fathers are, on average,

more likely to choose deviant peers, have trouble getting along with other children, be at

higher risk for peer problems (Mott et al., 1997), and be more aggressive (Horn &

Sylvester, 2002).

4. Effects of a Mother Who is not Absent

According to the National Center for Education Statics’ Statistical Analysis

Report (2001), biological mothers’ involvement, regardless of whether they are living in

two-biological-parent families, or mother only families, is associated with a higher

likelihood of students getting mostly A’s. The involvement of mothers in mother-only

families is also related to lowered odds of their children ever repeating a grade.

The school involvement of mothers is associated with a lower likelihood of 6th

through 12th graders ever being suspended or expelled. This is true for the involvement of

biological mothers and stepmothers.

 Theoretical Framework

Parents shall guide their child/ren during their developmental years. According to the

Attachment Theory of Bowlby (1969), a child needs to develop a relationship with at least one

primary caregiver for the child’s developmental successful social and emotional development.

This theory deals within the topic of this study, absentee parenting. It also gainsays the topic. A

parent should be present for his or her child.

From Gregor Mendel’s study, behaviors of the offspring are definitely from the genes of

both parents but upon development, environmental factors affect and change one’s behavior. An

example of this environmental factor is the sudden change of parenting style from being present

to absent, known as absentee parenting. According to the Radical Behaviorism of Skinner

(1954), a person experiences changes in behavior from the result of an individual’s response or

stimuli to events that occur in the environment. Needless to say, absentee parenting is a stimulus

that causes response, changes, and impact upon a child’s behavior.

A child who experience absentee parenting deals with countless conflicts in his or her

life. From the Behavioral Theory John Watson (1960), the external behavior of people and their

reactions on given situations, rather than internal, mental state of those people. Children

experiencing absentee parenting face not only physical and social problems, but also mental

problems, thus affecting their behaviorism. People who surround children whose parents were

absent shall understand the circumstance they are facing. They must help those children to gain

confidence. The Biological Theory of Brofenbrenne and Geci (1986), explains understanding the

influences between individuals’ developments and their surrounding environment contexts.

Understanding such common problems is a must nowadays.

Conceptual Framework

Absentee parenting as the style of the parent/s is more prevalent these days. Due to

having a parent unattached to his/her offspring, it causes an alteration to the behaviorism of the

child. We believe that communication should be held constant for both parents and children to

avoid changes and manipulations on the behavior of the child

The researchers also believe that our alma mater is a home for some children

experiencing this kind of phenomena. We also believe that because of absentee parenting, some

students of Immaculate Conception Academy show changes in their behavior through changes in

class performance and character. Some can be observed with negative changes and some with

positive changes.

The behavior of a child depends upon the parenting style of the parents. Even if it is a

type wherein the parent is absent, it depends upon their relationship. If communication is held

constant and love is expressed no matter the circumstances, the behavior of the child would not

be manipulated. Some parents who are present physically to their child, sometimes appear to be

absent socially and mentally to their offspring; thus, changes in behavior of the child are

observed. We believe that the presence is not a requirement; it is the communication and love

that need to be present and constant all the time.

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Absentee Parenting  Relationship with parents

 Social interaction
 Student’s behavior

Guidance Program
 Chapter 3:

Materials and Method

Duration of the Study

The researchers, began this study in School Year 2015 and will end in School Year 2016,

as a fulfillment in our research requirement. The researchers will follow a step-by-step research

procedure within the school years.

Population/ Subject/ Respondents

Our research primarily focuses on the impact of absentee parenting. Those students,

Grade 10 students specifically, from the population of the five campuses of Immaculate

Conception Academy namely: Plaza/Science, East, West, and South campuses will serve as our

respondents to conclude uncertainties of this research.

The researchers, will likely target high school students of ICA with parents working

or/and abroad; thus, experiencing absentee parenting as the parenting style of the mother or/and

father. The researchers will also supervise the respondents during the research period.

The behavior of the respondents will be observed in this research. These observations

will lead into conclusions of the effects of absentee parenting to their behavior.
Materials and Supplies

For this study, the materials or supplies needed are journals, blogs, datasents, books,

topic-related published research and substantive perspectives from the party of our respondents.

The researchers need to know the different point of views of the people related to the absentee

parenting; and for that, we need to gather information through the use of surveys and

questionnaires.

Research instrument

The instrument of the researchers for this research is a self-made test gathered from the

respondents (different secondary student of ICA) who encountered this kind of scenario,

absentee parenting.

The researchers divided the questionnaire into three phases: parent-child relationship,

social interaction of the student, and the class behavior of the student. These three parts

correspond to our research question.

The responses from the different questions of the three phases will correspond to our

research question, asking about the impact of absentee parenting. The average responses from

phases 2 and 3 will answer our question 2 which is about the behavior of the child/student, the

social interaction and the relationship of the child and parents

 To get the average response of the respondents, we will use the following guidelines:

Table 1: Equivalent of the average responses and the analysis of correlation

AVERAGE RESPONSE INTERPRETATION
4.1 - 5 VERY POSITIVE
3.1 - 4 POSITIVE
2.1 - 3 NEGATIVE
1-2 VERY NEGATIVE

Research Method

This study will utilize the descriptive research designed to describe the relationship of

variables and to arrive at the conclusions and recommendations. The descriptive research will

involve the description, recording, analysis, and interpretation of the present nature, composition,

or process of the phenomena. It will focus on the social of how a person, group, or thing behaves

in the present.

Since the study will deal with the behavior of secondary students, the descriptive research

was deemed appropriate to be used.

Sampling Design

A purposive or selective sampling of Grade10 students of the different campuses of

Immaculate Conception Academy specifically the North, East, South, West, and Plaza/Science.

The respondents are all secondary students of Immaculate Conception Academy School Year

2015-2016.
Data Gathering Procedure

To conduct this research, the researchers will do the following: The researchers will ask

permission to the principals of the different campuses to conduct their research with the

assistance of their research adviser and teacher. Then, they will create a questionnaire which will

gather data concerning the respondents’ relationship with their parents, social interaction and

social behavior. After that, they will conduct a purposive sampling with the help of their

Guidance Counselor to determine the specific respondents using their profile coming from the

secondary level of the five different campuses. After gathering the data, they will arrange it, tally

the data, and finalize conclusions.

Data Analysis: Statistical Treatment

To analyze the data gathered from the respondents, we will use the following statistical

techniques:

1. In order to achieve the average response of the respondents and interpret gathered data,

we will use a frequency distribution table

Frequency Distribution – a device for organizing and presenting grouped data, it is

appropriate when the set of data contains more than 30 cases.

2. In order to determine the proportion of a part of a whole such as a number of respondents

to the entire population of respondents, we will use percentage and weighted mean.

f
Percentage – P= x 100
N
 Xw
Weighted Mean –∑
N

3. In order to analyze the correlation from the different phases of our questionnaire, we will

use the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient. We will also use this to test our

hypotheses.

∑x∑ y
Pearson r =N ∑ xy −
√[ N ∑ x 2−(∑ x ) ] [ N ∑ y −( ∑ y ) ]
2 2 2