The nuclear family historically has been characterized by two parents and children living together. Parents were the primary significant others who provided the stimuli and support needed for children's success in school. In single-parent families, the traditional support structure is weakened. A growing number of adolescents are brought up in single-parent homes. This raises a question regarding the quality of relationship between students and parents in one-parent households. It also raises a question regarding the role that other individuals and groups play in counseling and supporting students in one-parent households.

This study was conducted to determine if achieving and underachieving adolescents from single-parent and two-parent families differ in the quality of relationship they enjoy with their parents, and in the types of people or organizations they consult in making important personal and school-related decisions. Using case study method, two hypotheses were generated for further research. They were:

1. Adolescents from two-parent families are more likely to consult their parents in making important personal decisions than adolescents from single-parent families, who are more likely to rely on peer friends or on their own judgment.

2. Level of parental involvement is closely related to academic status but moderated by family structure.

The study suggests that the substantive involvement of parents in school activities with their teenage children has a salutary effect on achievement of most students. Conventional school and parent collaboration actually may constitute a negative influence on the behavior of teens from one-parent homes, however. Their success in school may require extraordinary measures involving especially early identification and professional attention both to the problems of the single parent as well as the maladapted teenage student.

Implications for school policy include instituting guidance programs at the elementary level for early identification of underachieving children from single-parent families, to include outreach efforts to single parents.