GEW 101 Fall Research Essay

Single Parenthood’s Effect on Children in U.S.

Course Code: GEW-

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Abstract

The face of single parenting has changed in recent decades. It's no longer synonymous with "broken" homes or "illegitimate" children - probably at least in part because single parenting is more common now, and parents are more likely to be on their own because they choose to be. Today in the U.S., around 30 percent of all families with children are headed by a single parent (Kim, H-J. 2004). However, while kids raised by single parents are less likely to be stigmatized than they once were, many are still at risk for certain psychological and developmental problems. For example, children from single-parent homes may be more likely to drop out of school, and they are also more vulnerable to alcohol and drug use. To really get a handle on how single parenting affects children, and how single parents can steer their kids away from these pitfalls, it's important to look at the various factors that can have a negative impact. The source of the problems is not necessarily single-parenthood itself, but a combination of economic pressures, family instability and conflict between parents.

Ultimately, the answer to whether single parenting affects any particular child is this: It depends. A single parent with adequate resources may provide a stable, nurturing home in which children thrive just as well as those who have two parents (Mary Parke, 2003). On the other hand, a single parent who's just scraping by and has little time, energy or skill for parental duties might have children who are at risk for a variety of problems.

Introduction

In the United States, since the 1960s, there has been a marked increase in the number of children living with a single parent. The 1960 United States Census reported that 9% of children were dependent on a single parent, a number that has increased to 28% by the 2000 US Census. The spike was caused by an increase in births to unmarried women and by the increasing prevalence of divorces among couples. In 2010, 40.7% of births in the US were to unmarried women. In 2000, 11% of children were living with parents who had never been married, 15.6% of children lived with a divorced parent, and 1.2% lived with a parent who was widowed (Balcom, D. 1998). The results of the 2012 United States Census showed that 27% of children live with one parent, consistent with the emerging trend noted in 2000.

Over the past 20 years single-parent families have become even more common than the so-called "nuclear family" consisting of a mother, father and children. Today we see all sorts of single parent families: headed by mothers, headed by fathers, headed by a grandparent raising their grandchildren. Life in a single parent household - though common - can be quite stressful for the adult and the children.

OVERVIEW

A single parent (or solo parent) is a parent, not living with a spouse or partner, who has most of the day-to-day responsibilities in raising the child or children. A single parent is usually considered the primary caregiver, meaning the parent the children have residency with the majority of the time. If the parents are separated or divorced, children live with their custodial parent and have visitation or secondary residence with their noncustodial parent.

In the United States, 72.6% of single parents are mothers.  Among this percentage of single mothers: 45% of single mothers are currently divorced or separated, 1.7% is widowed, and 34% of single mothers never have been married.

In the United States today, there are nearly 13.6 million single parents raising over 21 million children. Single fathers are far less common than single mothers, constituting 16% of single-parent families.According to Single Parent Magazine, the number of single fathers has increased by 60% in the last ten years, and is one of the fastest growing family situations in the United States.60% of single fathers are divorced, by far the most common cause of this family situation. In addition, there is an increasing trend of men having children through surrogate mothers and raising them alone.

Single parenting is not a new phenomenon. In fact, the number of single parents raising children in the U.S. has been on the rise for decades.  The latest single parent statistics from different sources are presented below as follows;

Source: Unmarried and Single Americans Week Sept. 18-24, 2012

Many children are being raised in single parent households compared to two-parent households. A summary of living arrangements of children with both of their parents, single father, single mother and neither parents are as follows;

Source: America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2012

In addition, according to Single Parent Households by Country:

• 19.5% of households with children were headed by a single parent in 1980
• 29.5% of American households with children were headed by a single parent in 2008

Obviously, rising divorce rates contribute to the increase in single parent households. But according to the latest single parent statistics, are more unmarried women choosing to have children today than ever before?According to Births to Unmarried Women by Country:

• 18.4% of all births in the U.S. in 1980 were to unmarried women
• 40.6% of all births in the U.S. in 2008 were to unmarried women

Living arrangements of U.S. children by age group are shown below in table form;

Source: PRB analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2012 current population survey

Cause of single parenting

Death of a Partner: Historically, death of a partner was a common cause of single parenting Divorce: In 2012, the overall divorce rate was around 9/1000 in the United States. Along with this, it has been shown that for the past 10 years or so, first marriages have a 50% chance of ending in divorce. And, for other marriages after a first divorce, the chance of another divorce increases.

Unintended Pregnancy: Some out of wedlock births are intended, but many are unintentional. In the United States, the rate of unintended pregnancy is higher among unmarried couples than among married ones. In 1990, 73% of births to unmarried women were unintended at the time of conception, compared to about 44% of births overall.

Single Parent Adoption: Single parent adoptions have existed since the mid 19th century. Single parent adoption is legal in all 50 states, a relatively recent occurrence as California's State Department of Social Welfare was the first to permit it in the 1960s. Still, the process is arduous, and even next to impossible through some agencies. An estimated 5-10% of all adoptions in the U.S. are by single persons.

Negatives effects of single parenting on children

Effects on Education: Low educational levels, especially failure to graduate from high school, result in unemployment and poverty. My research has demonstrated that adults who grow up in one parent families complete fewer years of school than those who spend most of their formative lives in two-parent households.

The Economic Problem: From an economic perspective, the most troubling feature of family change has been the spread of single motherhood. Single mothers seldom command high wages. They also find it unusually difficult to work long hours, since they must also care for their children (Mandara, J., & Murray, C. 2006)..

The Child Development Problem: Most Americans believe that growing up in single-parent family has a negative effect on children independent of its effect on family income. Indeed, the idea that two loving parents can raise children better than one seems self-evident to most couples who get along reasonably well.

Psychological Disadvantage: Children tend to experience short-and long-term economic and psychological disadvantages; higher absentee rates at school, lower levels of education, and higher dropout rates (with boys more negatively affected than girls); and more delinquent activity, including alcohol and drug addiction (Richards, L., & Schmiege, C. 1993).

Exposure to Single Parenthood: The exposure of becoming single parent has increased by about 150 percent for whites and by about 90 percent for blacks.

Positives effects of single parenting:

You might not often think of being a single parent family as a bonus for your kids. There have been many sacrifices along the way, and plenty of times when you wished things were different. However, there are some positive effects of single parenting that you should bear in mind as you raise your children.

Developing Strong Bonds: Spending quality one-on-one time with your kids allows you to develop a unique bond that may actually be stronger than it would have been if you were not a single parent. Certainly this is true for many custodial parents, but it's also true for a number of non-custodial parents who have the opportunity to play a unique role in their kids' lives (Downey, D., Ainsworth-Darnell, J., & Dufur, M. 1998).

Shared Responsibilities: Children raised in single parent families don't just have "token" chores to do in order to earn an allowance. Instead, their contribution to the entire family system is necessary. The authentic need for their assistance helps the children recognize the value of their contribution and develop pride in their own work.

Handling Conflict and Disappointment: Children in single parent families witness conflict mediation skills in action. They get to see their parents working hard - despite their differences - to collaborate and work together effectively. In addition, the children are forced to deal with their own disappointments early in life.

Seeing Real-Life, Balanced Priorities: Children who are raised in successful single parent families know that they are the main priority in their parents' lives, yet they are not treated as though they are the center of everyone's universe. This healthy approach helps to prepare kids for the "real world."

What should we do

Just as single motherhood has no single cause and no certain outcome, there is no simple solution or "quick fix" for the problems facing single mothers and their children. Strategies for helping these families, therefore, must include those aimed at preventing family breakup and sustaining family resources as well as those aimed at compensating children for the loss of parental time and income.

Preventing Family Breakup and Economic Insecurity: Parents contemplating divorce need to be informed about the risks to their children. However, it is not by preventing family breakups by making the divorce laws more restrictive, more restrictive divorce laws might have the opposite effect. Enforcing child support will not only increase the income of single mothers but also sends a strong message to men that if they father a child they become responsible for supporting that child for at least 18 years. This should make men more careful about engaging in unprotected sex and fathers more reluctant to divorce.

Increasing Economic Security for Single-Parent Families: Something must be done immediately to reduce the economic insecurity of children in single-parent families. Low income is the single most important factor in accounting for the lower achievement of these children. Raising income, therefore, should be a major priority. The federal government has demonstrated considerable success in reducing the economic insecurity of the elderly. There is no reason why we cannot do the same for the young.

Research limitations

Several problems have hindered research regarding single-parent families. I have little scope to pay attention to cultural factors or variations in life experiences and have focused mostly on white, middle-class individuals. Controversial issues, poor criterion definition, and the presence of confounding variables have flawed certain studies. Sampling issues have also limited the reliability and representativeness of certain results. Finally, statistical methods have been questioned in multiple studies and some authors have treated their findings as cause and effect rather than simple correlations between variables.

Conclusion

Most Americans believe that growing up in single-parent family has a negative effect on children independent of its effect on family income. Indeed, the idea that two loving parents can raise children better than one seems self-evident to most couples who get along reasonably well. But when parents do not get along, the assumption that their children will always fare better if the parents live together becomes problematic. Much is likely to depend on what form the parents’ incompatibility takes. Getting a violent parent out of a child’s household is often a good idea. Determining the optimal divorce rate is no simple task though, and determining the optimal marriage rate among unmarried couples who conceive children would be even harder. The fundamental problem from a policy viewpoint is that parents tend to make choices aimed at maximizing their own welfare, and while they usually put some weight on what they think would be good for their children, they may put less weight on children’s welfare than society as a whole thinks they should. Children’s long-term welfare might, for example, be optimized when 80 percent of parents stayed together until their children were grown, while parents’ welfare might be optimized when only 40 percent did so. If a laissez faire system in which each parent is free to do what he or she thinks best produces a society in which 50 percent of biological parents split up, laissez faire may not be serving children very well.

References

Balcom, D. (1998). Absent fathers: Effects on abandoned sons. Journal of Men’s Studies, 6(3), 283-290.

DeBell, M. (2008). Children living without their fathers: Population estimates and indicators of educational well-being. Social Indicators Research, 87, 427-443. Doi: 10.1007/s 11205-007-9149-8.

Downey, D., Ainsworth-Darnell, J., & Dufur, M. (1998) Sex of parent and children’s well being in single-parent households. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60, 878-893.

Jennifer Wolf, “Positive Effects of Single Parenting. Concepts Every Single Parent Needs to Keep in Mind,”

Kim, H-J. (2004) Family resources and children’s academic performance. Children and Youth Service Review, 26, 529-536.

Mandara, J., & Murray, C. (2006). Father’s absence and African American adolescent drug use. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 46, 1-12.

Mary Parke, (2003)“Are Married Parents Really Better for Children? What Research Says About the Effects of Family Structure on Child Well-Being,”

Richards, L., & Schmiege, C. (1993). Problems and strengths of single-parent families: Implications for practice and policy. Family Relations, 42, 277-285.