Family structure can influence level of risk children face and their likelihood of attending college, despite many benefits associated with higher education. The Resilience Theory suggests that protective factors mitigate risk exposure and help individuals recover from negative experiences. This study involved examining relationships between family structure, resilience, well-being, grit, and the decision to pursue higher education. A quantitative approach was used with a resilience framework to explore possible correlation between traits of resilience, grit, well-being, and pursuit of higher education. Participants were divided into four groups based on family structure and college attendance. Data were collected through self-report measures using SurveyMonkey. Discriminant function analysis and ANOVA were used to analyze data. Results of discriminant function analysis were not statistically significant; however, the ANOVA showed that college graduates from dual parent homes experienced less significant decreases in terms of well-being scores compared to other groups. This suggests individuals from single parent homes and those from dual parent homes who did not graduate college experienced larger decreases in well-being. However, individuals from single parent homes did not differ when divided by college attendance. This study contributes to positive social change by further exploring factors that contribute to disadvantages of growing up in single parent homes and not attending college. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]