Pursuit of Happiness

This research paper is based off the movie the "Pursuit of Happiness" starring Will Smith. The assignment should be in APA format.

The following questions should be answered for the following in Pursuit of Happiness Research Paper:

1. The subtitle should be called Mother' Departure:
2. Why did the mother leave the family unit?
3. Do you feel she was justified in this?
4. If you were in the mother's situation, would you have tried to do things differently? How?
5. Father's Departure: Research shows that single fathers who head the households usually become less authoritarian and less strict with their children. In addition they become more concerned with the quality of care their children receive and more protective.
6. Do you see this concept in the movie?
7. Describe why or why not and present evidence to support your opinion. Make sure to describe a parenting style you do see.
8. Effects of Poverty and Homelessness: Discuss the effects poverty and homelessness on this child, on the father and the family unit.
9. Child Outcomes: What kind of outcomes do you predict for this child?
10. Describe protective factors that could counteract negative factors which could impact the child's future.
11. Personal Reflection: Provide your overall reflection of the movie

Overview of Single Parent Homes:

While it is true that the single parent home has been part of the American cultural milieu since the modernization of family social structure, in most cases the single parent model of family life evolved as a result of untimely parental death, not as primary mechanism of choice by the individual. It has not been until the past thirty years that the United States has witnessed unprecedented increases in the number of single parent families. Although this model has been widely accepted, the reality is that researchers are only now beginning to uncover the unique challenges that face children reared in these environments.

Attempting to document some of the more serious problems associated with single parent child rearing, psychologists in Sweden recently released their findings in regard to children raised in single parent homes. The results of the study indicated that: "Swedish children of lone parents have more than double the risk of psychiatric disease, suicide or attempted suicide, and alcohol-related disease; and more than three times the risk of drug-related disease compared with their counterparts in two-parent households. Boys in lone-parent families also had increased risk of all-cause mortality". Given these statistics, it is reasonable to assume that the single parent model of child rearing creates a unique psychological environment that has yet to be understood and explicated by modern social science.