Lone Parents Research Articles

Social protection, food security and sustaining households during COVID-19: Experiences of single mothers residing in Umkhanyakude, South Africa

This study examines the relationship between access to state cash transfers, food security and the sustainability of single-mother households in the rural Umkhanyakude Municipal area in Kwa-Zulu Natal province, South Africa. We explored the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 and cash transfers as a primary contributor to the economic well-being of single mothers from low-income rural communities. We also focus on financial transfers from non-state sources such as non-governmental organisations, kin and non-kin support systems. The sustainable livelihoods framework provides an analytical tool to understand how cash transfers from the state enable single mothers to navigate challenges during the pandemic. Drawing on interviews with 16 women from a rural community in Umkhanyakude, we analyse the distribution of family income to meet household expenses and the survival strategies such as livelihood activities initiated by single mothers to sustain households. The challenges and constraints that limit their livelihood outcomes, such as menial state support and financial constraints to sustain their economic activities are highlighted. Three key themes are discussed in this paper: the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 on food security, cash transfers as a strategy for reducing food insecurity, and access to sustainable livelihood activities to reduce food insecurities. This paper contributes to understanding single mothers' roles as actors and beneficiaries of the South African social protection system. It highlights opportunities for various state and non-state agents to advocate and support self-initiated economic activities in single-mother households.

Environmental Support Moderates the association of Socioeconomic Distress and Delay Discounting across Adolescence.

Early exposure to socioeconomic distress is hypothesized to reinforce decision making that prioritizes immediate, relative to delayed, rewards (i.e., delay discounting); yet these relations have not been examined longitudinal across the vulnerable adolescent period. This study is one of the first to utilize objective and subjective measures to evaluate the relative effects of environmental disadvantage and the potential protective effects of perceived environmental support on delay discounting. A diverse (48.4% White; 46.7% female) sample of participants (N = 246) reported on their home addresses at baseline when they were, on average, 11.96 years old (SDage = 0.88); Youth then reported perceived environmental supports at baseline and delay discounting annually from ages 13 to 18. A socioeconomic distress index was derived from census tract rates of unemployment, income, educational attainment, and lone parenthood. Greater socioeconomic distress was associated with a greater propensity to discount delayed rewards at baseline. Findings also suggest greater perceived higher environmental support was associated with decreasing rates of delay discounting across adolescence for youth from highly socioeconomically distressed areas. These results highlight potential future avenues for preventative and intervention efforts to improve positive youth outcomes.

Regional disparities in measles vaccination coverage and their associated factors: an ecological study in Japan.

The decline in measles vaccination coverage is a global concern. In Japan, coverage of the first-dose of measles vaccine, which had exceeded the target of 95.0% since fiscal year (FY) 2010, fell to 93.5% in FY 2021. Vaccination coverage increased to 95.4% in FY 2022 but varied by municipality. Few studies have focused on regional disparities in measles vaccination coverage. This study aimed to clarify the regional disparities in measles vaccination coverage by municipality in Japan and their associated factors. In this ecological study, the measles vaccination coverage in FY 2022; population density; area deprivation index (ADI, an indicator of socioeconomic status); proportion of foreign nationals, single-father households, single-mother households, and mothers aged ≥30 years; and number of medical facilities, pediatricians, and non-pediatric medical doctors in 1,698 municipalities were extracted from Japanese government statistics. Negative binomial regression was performed with the number of children vaccinated against measles as the dependent variable, number of children eligible for measles vaccination as the offset term, and other factors as independent variables. Vaccination coverage was less than 95.0% in 54.3% of municipalities. Vaccination coverage was significantly positively associated with population density and negatively associated with the proportion of single-father households, mothers aged ≥30 years, and the ADI (incidence rate ratio [IRR]: 1.004, 0.976, 0.999, 0.970, respectively). This study showed regional disparities in measles vaccination coverage in Japan. Single-father households, age of mothers, and socioeconomic status may be key factors when municipalities consider strategies to improve vaccination coverage.

Identifying how pre-existing resources combine to shape the experiences of work and family life of a diverse sample of working parents with at least one child in primary school in Scotland during COVID-19 pandemic-related social restrictions: a qualitative descriptive design

ObjectivesThis study aimed to identify factors that shaped working parents (WPs’) experiences of COVID-19-related social restrictions and analyse the relationships between those factors.DesignA qualitative descriptive design was used to collect...

Filial responsibilities and psychological wellbeing among Chinese adolescents in poor single-mother families: does parental warmth matter?

Adolescent children raised in single-mother households, particularly those living in poverty, often need to assume more instrumental and emotional familial responsibilities to cope with family challenges. This study examined the relationships between these filial responsibilities and adolescent psychological wellbeing, as well as the moderating effect of maternal warmth on these relationships via survey. The sample comprised 325 Chinese adolescent children (43.3% girls; Mage = 13.5) from economically disadvantaged single-mother families in Hong Kong. The results indicated that adolescents' instrumental filial responsibilities were positively associated with their life satisfaction. Emotional filial responsibilities, on the other hand, were positively linked to life satisfaction and negatively associated with depression. Furthermore, maternal warmth was found to moderate the relationship between emotional filial responsibilities and life satisfaction. Adolescents who perceived higher levels of maternal warmth and performed more emotional filial responsibilities reported greater life satisfaction than those who performed fewer such responsibilities. Furthermore, the moderating effect of maternal warmth on the relationship between instrumental filial responsibilities and life satisfaction varied between boys and girls. Additionally, the age of the adolescent moderated the effect of maternal warmth on the relationship between emotional filial responsibilities and adolescent anxiety. These findings suggest that filial responsibilities do not necessarily impede adolescent wellbeing. Instead, maternal warmth appears to be a crucial family factor that influences the nature of the relationship between filial responsibilities and adolescent wellbeing. These insights are valuable for family scholars and practitioners, informing the design of supportive services to enhance the psychological wellbeing of Chinese adolescents from economically disadvantaged single-mother families.

The Loud Silent Side of Single Parenthood in Europe: Health and Socio-Economic Circumstances from a Gender Perspective

AbstractLone parenthood is one of the multiple accepted family types that make up today’s societies. In Europe, 3.2% of total households were single adults with children in 2019. Understanding the socioeconomic and demographic transformations that have led to the relatively high rates of single-parent families have attracted the attention and concern of researchers and policy makers. This study contributes to the literature by exploring trends in and predictors of health outcomes, lifestyle factors (obesity, smoking and alcohol) and social support among single-parent families and cohabiting couples in 20 European countries. To do so, microdata from the European Health Interview Survey-EHIS (2013–2015 and 2018–2020) is used. Running multivariate logistic regressions, we estimate the impact of individual factors associated with single parents’ health status, lifestyle factors and social support, adjusting by demographic characteristics and stressors. Our analysis suggests that both single mothers and fathers are left behind in several respects compared to their couple counterparts: lower education levels, lower income and worse economic conditions, worse physical health, and poorer social support relationships. Differences in health status, lifestyle factors and social support between single and couple parents, both mothers and fathers could be associated with the unequal distribution of demographic and stress factors found in this article. Understanding these characteristics of single-parent families could enable the establishment of community-level interventions to mitigate the adverse effects of lone parenthood and their children.

A Depiction of Hallucination in Patrick Ness’s A Monster Calls

A Monster Callsis anIntrusion Fantasy novel, written for young adults by Patrick Ness, elucidated by Jim Kay and published by Walker in 2011. The story basically about hallucination and denying the reality, Set-in modern-day England, featuring a boy who strives to cope up with the significances of his mother’s illness. He is frequently visited by a monster in the middle of the night who tells stories. In his hallucination it helps him to oppress his distress and face the reality and, in the end, the lone parent brought up boy,recognizes his mom’s impending death. The monster assures to stay with him until the end, and he cries, knowing that the end is very near. His family is shattered, which adds to the strain of watching his mother death. He wants to live with his father, but his father is not ready to take him in. He is influenced that he will not be able to sufficiently care for Conor.

“My Anxiety Was Through the Roof”: The Gendered Nature of Financial Stress and Its Impact on Mental Health and Well-Being for Women When Undertaking Social Work Placements

Social work practice is not a highly paid or high-status occupation. The historical roots of social work lie in charity work directed toward social needs and poverty, with much of this work previously women's unpaid work. This set the stage for a norm of unpaid labor in the predominantly female occupation. Women who are mature-aged, lone parents, carers and on low income have continuously been the numerical majority within social work. As such, the unpaid field placement disproportionately affects women. This article provides a gendered analysis of qualitative data obtained from women participants in a national survey of social work students from five Australian universities ( n = 409) following 1000 h of field education placement. Open-ended questions aimed to explore the experiences of financial stress from lengthy unpaid placements on the mental health and well-being of social work students. The findings contribute to a growing body of feminist literature critiquing the current field education model and argue for significant reflection, flexibility, and change. To meet the collective social work goals of social justice and dismantling systemic oppression, a new placement model is needed that is both inclusive and sustainable.

Exploring participation and engagement in a multi-component, universal early parenting programme

PurposeParenting programmes are increasingly a feature of services and policies aimed at improving outcomes for children and families and tackling inequality, yet they remain underused. This study aims to assess parent engagement and retention in the parent and infant (PIN) programme – a universal, multi-component intervention designed to support parents from birth to when their children reach two years of age. The programme can be tailored to parent/community needs but also includes standardised core elements including two Incredible Years parenting programmes. Programme provider perspectives on recruiting and supporting participation were also explored.Design/methodology/approachA mixed methods study was conducted involving parents (n = 106) and programme providers involved in the PIN programme. Logistic regression analyses were used to assess the impact of participant demographic characteristics on the likelihood of programme engagement and attendance. Semi-structured interviews explored facilitators’ experiences of parent recruitment and engagement, as well as barriers and facilitators of parental attendance.FindingsFirst-time mothers were more likely to initially enrol in the PIN programme than younger or lone parents. However, older age and married/cohabiting status were the strongest predictors of attending at least one-third of programme sessions. Qualitative findings highlighted the importance of relationship building and connection in supporting participant recruitment and engagement. Practical and psychological barriers to programme participation are also described.Originality/valueThe findings shed light on factors that influence engagement and attendance in universal, early parent support programmes. Barriers to parent engagement are multi-layered and tailored strategies to promote uptake of parenting programmes are needed.

Rethinking maternal gatekeeping from a life‐course perspective: A study of post‐separation families

AbstractObjectiveThe article examines how maternal gatekeeping practices evolve in the post‐separation trajectory and identifies the main relational and contextual factors shaping these processes over time.BackgroundStudies of maternal gatekeeping have only recently begun to include post‐separation families based on cross‐sectional research designs. This article is theoretically grounded in a life‐course and human agency framework, and it both offers a novel understanding of maternal gatekeeping as a dynamic process and examines its relational embeddedness.MethodsThe data stem from the prospective qualitative study “The multiple paths of lone parenthood,” which has been ongoing in Switzerland for over a decade and includes four waves of semistructured interviews with mothers who have experienced lone parenthood (N = 88 interviews).ResultsMost mothers reported active facilitation practices at the beginning of their trajectory, encouraging the father–child relationship. Subsequently, shifts toward hands‐off or active gate‐closing practices took place over time along with the evolution of relational circumstances, such as the father's involvement or children's autonomy, or by an accumulation of negative experiences.ConclusionThe relationship with the nonresident father creates ongoing moral dilemmas for mothers over the post‐separation trajectory. Indeed, these mothers must navigate social norms that emphasize the importance of ensuring father–child contact while safeguarding the child's well‐being and ensuring that the father complies with visitation arrangements and alimony.ImplicationsProfessional support and legal regulations should consider the moral dilemmas experienced by mothers by establishing measures to relieve separated mothers of the need to take the initiative to obtain the father's compliance with their obligations.

Effect of a Financial Education and Coaching Program for Low-Income, Single Mother Households on Child Health Outcomes.

The financial difficulties of parents have a negative impact on the health of their children. This problem is more pronounced in single mother families. There is limited research on low-income, single mothers and how interventions to help them address financial difficulties may also benefit their children. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a year-long financial education and coaching program on school absenteeism and health care utilization of children in employed, low-income, single mother households. This was a post hoc analysis of the Finances First study, a randomized controlled trial conducted in 2017-2020 examining the impact of a financial coaching and education program on economic stability and health outcomes in 345 low-income, single mothers. Either generalized estimating equations (GEEs) or generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) were used to account for relationships between participants. For the continuous outcomes of child absenteeism, physician visits, emergency room visits, and hospitalization days, a linear mixed-effects model was used. The Finances First study demonstrated improvements in various financial strain measures. Compared to the control group, children of intervention group participants experienced 1 fewer day of school absence (p = 0.049) and 1 fewer physician visit (p = 0.032) per year, but no impact was seen on emergency room visits (p = 0.55) or hospitalizations (p = 0.92). Addressing social determinants of health in parents is necessary for improving child health outcomes.

Ministering to Single Parents among Young Adults in Central Monrovia District, Liberia

It was unusual for single parents to exist in Africa. It’s a rapidly expanding family pattern these days. A few of the difficulties associated with being a single parent are insecurity about raising children on one’s own without assistance, poverty, loneliness, and resentment toward the missing spouse. It is regrettable that certain churches that are supposed to support this group of individuals also fall short of their obligations. Attention must be paid to the social stigma, financial difficulties, humiliation, and derision that lone parents endure. This study investigates how churches in Central Monrovia District, Liberia, provide support to young adults who are single parents. This was achieved through a qualitative study and the study concluded that local churches in the Central Monrovia District of Seventh-day Adventist do not seem to have intentional programs for ministering to single parents within their congregations. It concluded that there was a quest for love among the single parents and they all needed attention, care and wanted to be treated fairly and given equal opportunities to serve in their local churches.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Food Insufficiency in Families with Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic: the Role of Risk and Protective Factors.

Black and Hispanic households are at elevated risk of food insecurity and insufficiency-correlates of adverse outcomes in areas such as health and mental health-relative to White households in the USA. The COVID-19 pandemic and its economic shock threatened to further exacerbate these issues. Research has identified a number of risk and protective factors for food insecurity and insufficiency. These could relate to racial and ethnic disparities in two ways-through aggregate differences in the distribution of characteristics such as educational attainment and employment or through differences in the degree of risk or protection associated with a factor. We examined the relationship between four factors-household head age, educational attainment, single mother household composition, and employment-and disparities in food insufficiency between White, Black, and Hispanic households with children during the COVID-19 pandemic to consider these pathways. We analyzed data from the Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey using bivariate statistics, multivariable regression, and decomposition methods to understand differences in the prevalence and consequences of underlying risk and protective factors for food insufficiency in households with children. Consistent with prior literature, we documented higher rates of food insufficiency among Black and Hispanic households compared to White households. Differences in the distributions of education and employment accounted for a substantial fraction of the disparities in risk. Both the distribution and degree of risk associated with single mother household composition also related to disparities, but these differences were muted after accounting for economic resources. Much, though not all, of the relationship between the distributions of education and disparate risk of food insufficiency were also captured by differences in economic resources. This study provides insight into the structure underlying racial and ethnic disparities in food insufficiency during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the importance of human capital, income, and assets.

Israeli Single Gay Fathers’ Choice of Lone Parenthood via Surrogacy: A Qualitative Study

ABSTRACT This article focuses on Israeli single gay fathers’ reproductive choices. Thematic analysis of 13 in-depth semi-structured interviews with Israeli single gay fathers yielded two themes related to their reproductive choice. The first theme pertains to their decision to become single fathers. Three dimensions were prominent in the participants’ decision to pursue lone parenthood: the choice to fulfill parenthood as gay men; the choice to separate parenthood from couplehood; and the view of single parenthood as empowerment. The second theme pertained to the fathers’ decision to use surrogacy, which was influenced by three key factors: the desire to parent a biological child, the desire for exclusive fatherhood, and the perceived advantages of surrogacy for single fathers. The findings indicate that the fathers narrated their reproductive experiences in terms of choice and autonomy, while negotiating with dominant concepts of parenthood as a two-parent, heteronormative and biogenetic phenomenon. These men referred to the challenge they posed to some of these concepts and the social barriers they encountered as factors that facilitated their coping skills in lone parenthood, thereby enhancing their agency. These findings highlight the contextual, multidimensional and relational nature of the reproductive choices of men from minority groups like single gay fathers.

From buildings to cities: How household demographics shape demand response and energy consumption

In the face of rapidly evolving energy landscapes, driven by increasing integration of renewable energy and the transition towards a more sustainable grid, the role of demand response (DR) programs in maintaining grid stability and efficiency has become increasingly critical. This study presents an in-depth methodology for assessing the nexus between household demographics and engagement in demand response (DR) programs, investigating their impact on energy consumption and financial outcomes at both building and urban scales. Six household archetypes are defined: single working individual, single retired individual, working couple, retired couple, nuclear family, and lone parent household. Additionally, three energy-use archetypes— austere, average, and wasteful—are considered. Employing a stochastic load profile generator, the study examined variables like annual occupancy hours, thermal energy needs, and appliance consumption. In a Canadian residential context, a shift from a single working adult to a nuclear family occupant archetype led to an increase in annual occupancy by 24%, causing a 21% fluctuation in Energy Use Intensity (EUI). Additionally, diverse consumption behaviors led to a 41% EUI variance. The study evaluated load curtailment capabilities across various household archetypes; notably, a ‘wasteful’ household could reduce their load by 32% through a 2 °C-thermostat adjustment during DR events, and this rose to 54% with pre-heating. At the urban scale, demographic shifts substantially influence load profiles and cause variable peak load times. Areas with more retirees have higher mid-day energy usage. The research quantified DR benefits in load reduction and fiscal gains. By raising DR participation from 10% to 50%, load curtailment grew by 69% in areas with younger families. Pre-heating further enhanced load curtailment by 12% and reduced energy rebound by 4%. Economically, ‘wasteful’ households could accumulate 11% more credits compared to average homes. This research introduced a flexible framework for incorporating household demographics and energy use behavior into DR studies, which can be adapted and re-applied to different case studies based on the availability of relevant data.

Šeimos politika ir vienų motinų šeimų stigmatizacija

This article investigates the stigmatisation of single-mother families in Lithuania’s family policy through qualitative legal document content analysis and semi-structured interviews with single mothers. It reveals historical policy biases favouring nuclear families, resulting in marginalised single-mother households despite recognising their economic challenges. Analysis of single mothers’ experiences shows how stigmatization negatively impacts these families’ well-being and political representation, hindering rights advocacy.

Factors Associated with the Prevalence and Treatment of Depression in Adolescent Males in the US during the Period of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: Much of the research on the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health has overlooked the experiences of adolescent boys. Objective: To examine the prevalence of depression, treatment trends, and associated risk factors among adolescent boys, controlling for the pandemic year. Methods: Data for boys aged 12 to 17 years (n = 4518) in the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health were analyzed. Time trends and factors associated with depression were examined using a multiple regression analysis. Results: The prevalence of 12-month major depressive episodes (TMDEs) was 11.6% during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the boys with TMDEs, 37.8% received treatment overall, and 19.0% received prescription medication. Higher rates of TMDEs were estimated in boys who were older (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 1.66, p < 0.001), lived in single-mother households (AOR: 1.47, p < 0.001), did not have authoritative parents (AOR: 1.78, p < 0.001), and had negative school experiences (AOR: 2.45, p < 0.001). Although Black boys were less likely to report depression than white boys (AOR: 0.70, p < 0.05), nonwhite boys who had depression were significantly less likely to receive treatment. Boys living in a household without a mother were also less likely to receive treatment (AOR: 0.49, p < 0.05). Conclusions: This study reveals the unique developmental, social, and psychological factors that influence depression among adolescent boys. During the pandemic, more than one out of ten adolescent boys had a major depressive episode, and four of ten of them received treatment; half of these treatments were prescription medication. Recognizing these factors may allow for more targeted and effective interventions to improve mental health outcomes for this demographic.

Food security and trajectories of childhood overweight: Results from the Growing Up in Scotland Study

Abstract Background Inequalities in childhood obesity have widened since 2010 in Scotland, raising concerns for future adult and child health. Increasing food insecurity may contribute to the trend, however evidence for an association with childhood overweight is mixed. We estimate the association between food insecurity and trajectories of overweight among primary school aged children in Scotland. Methods Data were from 1824 children in the Growing Up in Scotland Study, a nationally representative cohort born 2004/5. Height and weight were measured at ages 4, 6, 8 and 10 years, and classified as overweight/obese using age and sex standardised cut-offs. Observed trajectories included: never, always, increasing, decreasing, and mixed patterns of overweight (including obesity). Associations between household food insecurity, measured at age 2, and overweight trajectory were estimated using multinomial regression (never overweight as baseline), adjusted for area deprivation, lone parenting, and mother education. Results Most children were never overweight (54.8%), while 12.6% were overweight throughout. Children with high household food insecurity (6.2%) had nearly twice the risk of experiencing persistent overweight (including obesity) than those with no food insecurity (RRR 1.84, 95% CI 1.02-3.30). Additional analysis showed an even larger association for persistent obesity (RRR 2.53, 95% CI 1.06-6.08). Risk of experiencing increasing, decreasing or mixed patterns of overweight were also elevated. Associations were similar for boys and girls. Conclusions Food insecurity is associated with persistent childhood overweight and obesity. The cost-of-living crisis has exacerbated barriers to accessing healthy, nutritious food. Interventions to tackle childhood food security are vital to avoid storing up future health inequalities. Key messages • The cost-of-living crisis is exacerbating food insecurity among UK families. • Food insecurity is associated with persistent overweight and obesity during childhood in Scotland.

Young Black Women’s Perceptions of Otherfather Involvement

Abstract A limited number of studies have examined how Black children, particularly daughters, perceive Black men who provide care—financial, material, or emotional support—to children who are not their biological or legal children (these men are here conceptualized as “otherfathers”). Using accounts from in-depth interviews with twenty-six young Black women from two-parent and single-mother households, this study explores how daughters identify and assign meaning to otherfathers. Findings reveal a heterogeneous category with no single definition or set of criteria; rather, the young women enact a process of parental ascription to determine who “counts” as an otherfather. Otherfathers’ contributions are understood in relation to biological fathers’ involvement but not always in expected ways. The study challenges assumptions about how daughters think about otherfathers and reveals the importance of examining the perspectives of Black girl youth and young women.

Understanding the Relationship Between Decreases in Social Security Benefits and Intergenerational Inequalities in Mental Health.

It is well-established that mental health follows similar patterns across generations. However, little is known how structural factors, such as those related to social security reforms, may impact this relationship. Our aim was to quantify the strength of association in mental health between parents and their adolescent children, and to explore how much of this correlation is explained by decreases in benefits. We used data from U.K. Household Longitudinal Study (2009-2019) from which we matched youth data to their parents, and split the sample into single- and dual-parent households. To estimate the intergenerational correlations, we estimated a series of unit- and rank-based regression models of standardized and time-averaged mental health measures for adolescents and their parents. Our findings suggest that there are statistically significant intergenerational associations in mental health between parents and children for both single- and dual-parent households, with the relationship being stronger for single-mother households. Benefit losses explain a small proportion of this association, for both single-mother and dual-parent households. Nevertheless, they are negatively associated with the mental health of adolescents in dual-parent households-independently of both adolescent and parental characteristics. Such negative effects should be considered when designing and evaluating future social security benefit policies.