Single Parents
J. Lane Tanner
I. Description of the issue. A variety of family reconfigurations have become prevalent over the past two decades, but no change has been more dramatic than the shift toward families headed by a single parent. While single-parent status does not represent a problem in itself, single-parent families as a group are significantly more strapped for personal, social, and economic resources and are more likely to have experienced significant losses and change. This chapter is intended to alert the clinician to the stressors and special needs that commonly confront the single-parent family.
A. Demographics.
At least 50% of U.S. children born in the last two decades will spend a substantial period of time living in a home headed by a single parent or guardian.
Between 1970 and 2007, the number of single-mother homes has more than doubled, from 12% to 26%, whereas single-father homes have increased from 1% to 5.8% during the same interval.
In 2007, single mothers were living alone with their children in 65% of single-family homes and with another adult, not the father, in 35% of homes.
Dramatic variations exist in the proportion of families headed by single parents according to race. In 2007, the percentiles of children living with a single parent were as follows:
Age of child
0-2 years
12-17 years
White
6%
17%
Black
35%
42%
Hispanic
10%
22%
86% of children in one-parent families live with the mother.
Single-parent status is the result of parental divorce (37%), a never-married single parent (36%), parental separation (23%), and parental death (4%).
B. Problems of single-parent families.
1. Limitations of available resources.
a. Money. With 34% of mother-only families living below national poverty levels, the clinician is increasingly obliged to inquire regarding the family’s financial resources, the parent’s employment status, and the family’s dependency on contributions from others.
b. Time. Single parents who are employed are likely to feel that they are continually in a race to provide adequate time to the family, the job, and the endless details of daily life, from groceries to taxes. Unpredictable events, such as an important school activity, a household emergency, or a child’s illness, further intrude on this tightly stretched schedule.
c. Physical and emotional energy. In addition to providing the tangible goods and supplies needed by the family, the single parent is called on to provide almost 100% of the emotional support and sustenance for the children. Alone, this parent must shoulder the responsibility for decisions, great and small, that shape their lives.
2. Network of social support. Mapping the sources of social support for the single parent requires an awareness of the availability of those sources and the frequency with which the parent actually uses them. Are there other adults (relatives, friend, lover) living in the home? Are they emotionally or responsibly involved with the family? Who is dependent on whom? Are there other people who are emotionally close to the parent who can offer understanding and support? What about institutions (such as the school, workplace, church, or clinic) that can provide support for both the parent and the child?
3. Major life events, losses, or transitions. Single-parent status is often born out of crisis (e.g., separation or divorce or the partner’s death). These events may also bring
a cascade of secondary losses, which may include changes in the family home, the child’s school, friends, or community. Grief, anger, guilt, and depression regularly follow the trauma of such changes. The subsequent transitional period is likely to be disorganized and tumultuous until a realignment of schedule, roles, expectations, and feelings can permit a new and stabilized family life. Such events may have meanings for the child that are very different from those for the parent. For example, divorce and the loss of the family home may bring desired independence and relief for the parent but an unmitigated sense of loss for the child. The clinician must assess these differential meanings and be aware of the time course of adaptation displayed by each family member.
Stay updated, free articles. Join our Telegram channel
Full access? Get Clinical Tree
