Single mothers' contact frequency with family and non-family members

Hannah Zagel

doi:10.20377/jfr-156

Abstract

Existing studies on single mothers’ social contacts often examine small selective samples and are mostly cross-sectional. The lack of high-quality longitudinal survey data on this subject constrains the possibility to draw more generalizable conclusions. This paper exploits panel data to investigate whether transitions to single motherhood affect contact frequency. Fixed-effects models are used on the six waves of the German ‘Socio-economic Panel’ survey that contain social contact data (1990, 1995, 1998, 2003, 2008, 2013) for analyzing whether single motherhood is associated with changes in contact frequency with family and non-family members. Findings show that women transitioning to single motherhood maintain contact with family and non-family members. Single motherhood is unlikely to cause mothers’ structural isolation. However, the absence of a second parent in the household neither seems to be connected with an increase in contact frequency with others. Providing a more generalised account of single mothers’ social contacts over time than previous research, the present study does not find evidence for a disintegrative effect of single motherhood.

Highlights

Scholars and the general public commonly associate single motherhood with more individualised life courses, instable family bonds, economic insecurity and social disintegration (Beck-Gernsheim 2002; McLanahan & Sandefur 1994; Popenoe 1993)
Contrary to expectations about reduction or intensification, the findings show that there is, on average, little lasting change in contact frequency with family and non-family members among women who transition to single motherhood
We can conclude that, based on the information we gain from our data, single motherhood does not seem to have an effect on contact frequency with family members

Summary

Introduction

Scholars and the general public commonly associate single motherhood with more individualised life courses, instable family bonds, economic insecurity and social disintegration (Beck-Gernsheim 2002; McLanahan & Sandefur 1994; Popenoe 1993). Due to their conflicting roles as both sole caregiver and worker, single mothers’ difficult economic circumstances have been documented extensively (McLanahan & Percheski 2008; Nieuwenhuis & Maldonado 2018). Previous research considering single mothers’ social relationships has mostly focused on qualifying the structures of their social connections. This is crucial for understanding the range and quality of single mothers’ social resources

Methods

Results

Conclusion