Single-parent families can influence adolescents to become violent towards their spouse, children and themselves and are expected to experience domestic violence in their lives. Instead of having the balance of a two-parent home, single-parent teens are constantly exposed to stressors and eventually become abusers themselves. This leads to a continuous vicious cycle that could lead to the destruction of subsequent generations. The trend of single-parent families is increasing dramatically every year. The United States Census Bureau reported in 2013 that approximately 27.8 percent of children lived in a household with only one mother or only one father. In 2013, 23.7% of all children lived with a single mother and it is the most common type of single-parent family (US Bureau of the Census, 2013). Common belief would lead people to believe that most children live with one parent following divorce, but in general single parents are most likely never married at all due to the consequences of accidental, unplanned, and teenage pregnancies, as well as adult women who have abandoned marriage to advance in career and education (Dornbusch et. Al., 1985). One of the fundamental causes of single-parent families is divorce. Divorce can be caused by many factors, including adultery/infidelity, midlife crises, addictions, work holism and stress associated with the spouse's career, tensions in the relationship, and even abuse (Amato & Previti, 2003). Abuse is defined as the harmful or harmful treatment of another human being (Fundukian & Wilson, 2008). Types of abuse are physical, sexual, psychological/emotional, intellectual, or spiritual mistreatment. Physical abuse is abuse intended to cause bodily harm or other physical harm… half of the article… Gross, R. T. (1985). Single parents, extended families, and adolescent control. Child Development, 56, 326-341. doi:10.2307/1129723Fundukian, L. J., & Wilson, J. (2008). The Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Health. Detroit: Thomson Gale. Gil, E. (1988). Overcoming the Pain: A Book for and About Adults Abused as Children. New York: Dell.McLanahan, S., & Sandefur, G.D. (1994). Growing up with a single parent: what hurts, what helps. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.Davidson, T. (2006). Single-parent families. In Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health: From Infancy to Adolescence. Desbiens, N. (2007). Profiles in the development of behavioral disorders among youth with histories of family maltreatment. Emotional and behavioral difficulties. doi:10.1080/13632750701489964Walker, L. E. (1984). The battered woman syndrome. New York: Springer Pub. Co.