ABSTRACT
Ever since the study of family structure has emerged, there has been an understanding overt or unstated, that family engagement is easiest when an intact two-biological-parent family structure is present (Jeynes, 2003a, 2005b, 2007b). In fact, for decades social scientists did not aggressively study parental involvement for two reasons because: 1) such a high percentage of parents in the first half of the twentieth century was actively engaged in their children’s education and 2) there was an assumption that parental involvement was highly correlated with family structure (Jeynes, 2003a, 2005b, 2007b). This latter assumption was not meant in any sense to disparage the efforts of many American single parents across the country. Rather, it emerged out of an understanding that it takes time and commitment to reach a level of involvement with which parents are satisfied (Jeynes, 2003a, 2005b, 2007b). The reality is that with only one parent caring for a child there is no other parent available to provide a “relief” to custodial mothers or fathers that every caretaker, no matter how skilled or energetic, needs in order to continue to function at the fullest rested capacity (Bengston, 2005).
