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Parenting, Single Mothers

Despite popular beliefs to the contrary, single mothers have long been a reality in the United States. For years, however, single motherhood was seen as a moral issue unless the mother was widowed. Otherwise, such families were viewed as a problem among the very poor, the amoral, racial minorities, and those with emotional disorders. Those views, however, are changing. With the growing number of single-parent households, especially single mothers, the face of the American family is evolving. Increasingly, the American family portrait contains a single, divorced, widowed, or never-married mother.

Demographics of Single-Mother Families

In 1970, there were 3 million households headed by single parents; by 1998, that figure had quadrupled to 14 million households, according to the U.S. Bureau of the Census (Fields & Casper, 2001). About a third of all children born today are born to unmarried mothers, and the fastest-growing segment of single mothers has never been married. Divorce also contributes to the number of single-mother households. According to some estimates, nearly half (45%) of children born to married parents will see their parents divorce by their 18th birthdays. And while the population of single fathers continues to grow, the majority of single parents continue to be mothers.

Most single-parent children live in metropolitan areas, and 6 out of 10 dwell in cities with populations of 1 million or more. In terms of race and ethnicity, single-mother families come from every group, although a disproportionate number of single mothers are Latina or African American.

Most families led by single mothers are highly functional, with well-developing children, but many such families are under financial or emotional stressors that pose certain risks. Some research on single mothers focuses on a narrow pathology model that insinuates that all single parents, especially mothers, are bad parents. Other studies take the opposite view but sometimes ignore the difficulties of raising children without a partner. Nonetheless, with the growing number of single-mother families, there is a need to study far-reaching effects on family economics, parental stressors, and children's development.

Economic Impact

For many children, growing up in single-mother households means poverty. Nearly 6 of 10 children of single mothers are living near or below the poverty line, according to U.S. Bureau of the Census (1998) statistics. Less than half of the children raised by divorced mothers (about 45%) and more than two thirds of those raised by never-married mothers (69%) live in or near poverty. While many single parents have jobs, 7.4 million children live with single mothers who are not in the labor force. Children of never-married mothers are twice as likely (59%) as those of divorced mothers (29%) to live with mothers who are unemployed.

Single parents make up the largest proportion of American poor and are more likely than married couples to receive government assistance. In 2000, mothers who were never married made up about 48% of welfare recipients. Single-mother families are less likely than other family groups to benefit from economic growth and are more likely to experience chronic poverty (incomes at or below the poverty level each month for 2 years) than any other type of family (Fields & Casper, 2001; U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1998).

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