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The influence of a big brothers program on the adjustment of boys in single-parent families.

This study is an evaluation of the self-competence, academic performance, behavioral problems, and parent-child relations of boys who had been raised in single-parent families headed by their mothers and who had weekly contact with an adult friend or companion through a midwestern affiliate of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America. Results indicated that participation in such a program was not related to changes in the areas investigated. These findings are not consistent with the social support literature suggesting that an adult companion or friend may benefit children in single-parent families. Further study with a larger sample, over a longer time frame, is recommended.

Achievement↗

Mortality, severe morbidity, and injury in children living with single parents in Sweden: a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Growing up with one parent has become increasingly common, and seems to entail disadvantages in terms of socioeconomic circumstances and health. We aimed to investigate differences in mortality, severe morbidity, and injury between children living in households with one adult and those living in households with two adults. METHODS: In this population-based study, we assessed overall and cause-specific mortality between 1991 and 1998 and risk of admission between 1991 and 1999 for 65085 children with single parents and 921257 children with two parents. We estimated relative risks by Poisson regression, adjusted for factors that might be presumed to select people into single parenthood, and for other factors, mainly resulting from single parenthood, that might have affected the relation between type of parenting and risk. FINDINGS: Children with single parents showed increased risks of psychiatric disease, suicide or suicide attempt, injury, and addiction. After adjustment for confounding factors, such as socioeconomic status and parents' addiction or mental disease, children in single-parent households had increased risks compared with those in two-parent households for psychiatric disease in childhood (relative risk for girls 2.1 [95% CI 1.9-2.3] and boys 2.5 [2.3-2.8]), suicide attempt (girls 2.0 [1.9-2.2], boys 2.3 [2.1-2.6]), alcohol-related disease (girls 2.4 [2.2-2.7], boys 2.2 [2.0-2.4]), and narcotics-related disease (girls 3.2 [2.7-3.7], boys 4.0 [3.5-4.5]). Boys in single-parent families were more likely to develop psychiatric disease and narcotics-related disease than were girls, and they also had a raised risk of all-cause mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Growing up in a single-parent family has disadvantages to the health of the child. Lack of household resources plays a major part in increased risks. However, even when a wide range of demographic and socioeconomic circumstances are included in multivariate models, children of single parents still have increased risks of mortality, severe morbidity, and injury.

Adolescent↗

Divorce, single parenting, and child development.

Application of "crisis" and "social facilitation" theory to program intervention with preschool-age children was undertaken to asses the effects of a preschool education experience on recovery of psychological functions following divorce. A pretest-posttest control group design was completed using single-parent (n = 7) and two-parent (n = 8) children in an educational setting as the treatment groups and two-parent (n = 8) children at home as the control. Maternal reports on self-assesed childrearing and child's behavior were obtained during an interview, while intellectual assessments and observational data on social behavior were collected by trained observers and teachers. Little evidence could be noted that suggested weakened mother-child interaction as a function of divorce. Crisis intervention was observed to be an effective technique in assisting single-parent children toward cognitive recovery. However, it remains unclear whether social behavioral problems of single-parent children were positively affected by the crisis intervention program.

Child Development↗

[Single-parent families in Austria].

"This article presents data on the demographic trends of one-parent families and their current economic and social situation [in Austria].... The vast majority of single-parent families are headed by women....[and are] thus largely dependent on the women's economic status. The data show that the economic disadvantage of single-parent families, i.e. their low per capita income, is caused by discrimination [in] the labour market." (SUMMARY IN ENG)

Austria↗

Mortality of young adults in relation to single-parent family background. A prospective study of the northern Finland 1966 birth cohort.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between family background and mortality of offspring was studied by using a prospectively collected, general population, birth cohort database (n = 11,017), that is the Northern Finland 1966 birth cohort which is linked with the national death register. METHODS: A logistic regression analysis was performed in order to examine the association between family background and death of offspring (between ages 16 and 28 years). RESULTS: It was revealed that 117 subjects (90 males and 27 females) from the original birth cohort had died. The majority of the deaths were due to unnatural causes in both sexes (79%). After adjusting for confounders (psychiatric diagnosis and parental social class), the results indicated that the general mortality risk for males with a single-parent family background was significantly increased compared with males from a two-parent family background (odds ratio 1.8 and 95% confidence interval: 1.1-2.9). The risk of committing suicide was significantly increased among young adult males with a single-parent family background (OR 2.5 and 95% CI: 1.1-5.8). CONCLUSION: Our finding calls for health care professionals to provide more preventative mental health support for children and adolescents living in broken homes.

Adolescent↗

Adoption and single parents: a review.

This review examines what is known about those who choose to become single adoptive parents. The demographic and personal characteristics of single parents who adopt are reviewed and the experiences of single parents with the children they adopt are summarized.

Adoption↗

Family lives and friendships: the perspectives of children in step-, single-parent, and nonstep families.

Children's reports on their experiences in different family settings (stepfamilies, single-parent families, and intact families), their contact with friends, and the quality of their friendships were studied with data from 238 children drawn from a community sample. A particular focus was on children's confiding and communication: children's recall of communication about family transitions and their current communication about stepfamily issues with family and friends. Friends were found to be key confidants. The relations between children's family lives (confiding, parent-child relationships, family activities, involvement in parental conflict, and communication about stepfamily issues) and their friendships were investigated and found to be linked to biological relatedness and family setting.

Adolescent↗

[Single-parent households in Taiwan: estimation from one percent 1990 census data].

"This research employs one percent [data from the] random sample from the 1990 Census...in Taiwan...[to estimate] the proportion of single-parent households [of]...overall households...as 3.9%.... We also report the frequency and percentage distribution of ¿single-parent household' by 23 administration districts in Taiwan." (SUMMARY IN ENG)

Asia↗

Psychosocial predictors of maternal depressive symptoms, parenting attitudes, and child behavior in single-parent families.

The purposes of the study were to identify psychosocial predictors of depressive symptoms among low-income, single mothers and to investigate the effects of maternal psychosocial factors, depressive symptoms, and parenting attitudes on children's behavior. In-home interviews were conducted with 225 mothers to obtain data on their everyday stressors, coping strategies, social resources, depressive symptoms, and parenting attitudes, as well as reports of their children's behavior. High depressive symptoms occurred among 59.6% of the women. Higher depressive symptoms were associated with greater everyday stressors, fewer social resources, and greater use of avoidance coping. Neither social resources nor coping strategies buffered the relationship between everyday stressors and depressive symptoms. Maternal depressive symptoms predicted parenting attitudes. Parenting attitudes, in turn, predicted child behavior. These findings suggest that depressive symptoms are indirectly associated with mothers' reports of child behavior through their influence on parenting attitudes.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Replicating family size: does living in a single parent family matter?

"This paper examines how living in a single parent family affects intergenerational marriage patterns regarding preferred family size. Data collected from 1,300 college students at a large midwestern [U.S.] university provide further evidence of a positive relationship between number of siblings in one's family of origin and preferred marital family size. However, this relationship does not hold for all groups. Factors affecting preferred family size differ for males and females from intact and nonintact family structures. The positive relationship between size of family of orientation and family of procreation holds only for individuals from intact homes."

Americas↗

Integration into work of unemployed new immigrant women from single parent families.

In recent years, Israel has absorbed hundreds of thousands of people from the former USSR. For most of them the migration constituted a situation of weighty pressure arising from the changes and shocks encountered in all areas of life: on the emotional, family, social and employment levels. One of the most prominent among the new immigrants is the single-parent segment, which constitutes 13.6% (17,750 single-parent family units) of the immigrant population, headed in the great majority of cases by mothers. The employment situation is particularly severe in the segment, owing to their special family circumstances, which make it difficult for them to find suitable employment. The economic implications of this state of affairs are grave and frequently lead to poverty. This article describes a project for the integration into work of unemployed female immigrants by means of two parallel programmes: (1) workshop for job-seeking skills; (2) establishment and operation of a self-help group. Both of these programmes are backed by a social support network that took shape during the course of the project. The components of the programmes are described and the findings consequent to their operation are presented.

Acculturation↗

Family strengths, motivation, and resources as predictors of health promotion behavior in single-parent and two-parent families.

The extent to which selected aspects of family health potential (strengths, motivation, and resources) predicted health work (health-related problem-solving and goal attainment behaviors) was examined in a Canadian sample of 138 female-headed single-parent families and two-parent families. The mother and one child (age 10-14) each completed mailed self-report instruments to assess the independent variables of family cohesion, family pride, mother's non-traditional sex role orientation, general self-efficacy, internal health locus of control, network support, community support, and family income, as well as the dependent variable, health work. With the effects of mothers' education held constant, the independent variables predicted 22 to 27% of the variance in health work in the total sample and each family type. Family cohesion was the most consistent predictor of health work, accounting for 8 to 13% of the variance. The findings challenge existing problem-oriented views of single-parent families by focusing on their potential to engage in health promotion behavior.

Adolescent↗

The 2-year costs and effects of a public health nursing case management intervention on mood-disordered single parents on social assistance.

RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: This randomized controlled trial was designed to evaluate the 2-year costs and effects of a proactive, public health nursing case management approach compared with a self-directed approach for 129 single parents (98% were mothers) on social assistance in a Canadian setting. A total of 43% of these parents had a major depressive disorder and 38% had two or three other health conditions at baseline. METHODS: Study participants were recruited over a 12 month period and randomized into two groups: one receiving proactive public health nursing and one which did not. RESULTS: At 2 years, 69 single parents with 123 children receiving proactive public health nursing (compared with 60 parents with 91 children who did not receive public health nursing services) showed a slightly greater reduction in dysthymia and slightly higher social adjustment. There was no difference between the public health and control groups in total per parent annual cost of health and support services. However, costs were averted due to a 12% difference in non-use of social assistance in the previous 12 months for parents in the public health nursing group. This translates into an annual cost saving of 240,000 dollars (Canadian) of costs averted within 1 year for every 100 parents. CONCLUSIONS: In the context of a system of national health and social insurance, this study supports the fact that it is no more costly to proactively service this population of parents on social assistance.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Effects of maternal employment and prematurity on child outcomes in single parent families.

BACKGROUND: Effects of maternal employment for preschool children vary based on specific characteristics of the mother's employment, the family's economic status, and the mother's attitudes about employment. However, there is limited research on a growing group of children at developmental risk-those born prematurely and living in a single-parent family. OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of maternal employment and prematurity on child cognition and behavior in single-parent families. METHODS: Sixty preterm and 61 full-term preschool children were recruited through NICU admission records and birth records. Data were collected with the Kaufmann Assessment Battery for Children, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Child Behavior Checklist, Parenting Stress Index, and the Life History Calendar. RESULTS: Greater hours employed was related to higher achievement and mental processing scores only. Less discrepancy between actual and desired employment was related to higher achievement, mental processing, and language scores and lower behavior scores. Prematurity was not related to child cognitive and behavioral performance. Only the relationship between discrepancy and language remained after statistical control. CONCLUSIONS: The concerns about negative effects of maternal employment on young children may be overstated, especially in low-income, single-mother families. These findings are especially important in the context of welfare reform.

Achievement↗

Trigenerational enmeshment: unresolved ties of single-parents to family of origin.

Some divorced single-parent mothers return home to live with their families of origin. The absence of clear delineation of the roles of grandmother, mother, and child can produce a dysfunctional family unit, identified here as trigenerational enmeshment. Clinical features of this subgroup are discussed, and examples of treatment approaches are presented.

Child↗

Unemployment rates, single parent density, and indices of child poverty: their relationship to different categories of child abuse and neglect.

OBJECTIVE: There were two main research questions: First, is there a relationship between rates of child physical abuse, child sexual abuse and child neglect and levels of female and male unemployment, single-parent density and child poverty in the immediately local area; and second, is this relationship different for different categories of abuse and neglect and different categories of deprivation? METHOD: Using archival data--registered cases of abuse and neglect and official data on child population, social worker ratio, unemployment rates, single-parent density, means-tested clothing grants and free school meals for children--a multiple correlational analysis was carried out of the 5,551 referrals and 1,450 registered cases of abuse and neglect in Glasgow, Scotland for the years 1991 through to 1993. RESULTS: Substantial correlations were found with all indices of deprivation but particularly physical abuse with rates of male unemployment. Lower and more variable correlations were found with female unemployment rates. Sexual abuse and neglect rates showed a less consistent relationship with the indices of deprivation. In general male unemployment rates alone accounted for two-thirds of the variance in total abuse and neglect rates, other factors adding little or nothing to this. CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrate the importance of selecting small and relatively homogeneous areas for this kind of analysis to achieve ecological validity. Male unemployment rates at this level allow for the ranking of areas in terms of priority need.

Child↗

Bone age, social deprivation, and single parent families.

It is well known that deprivation affects bone growth. The study was set up to investigate what aspects of deprivation are of greatest importance. Bone ages of 1593 child trauma patients aged 0-19 years from Middlesbrough General Hospital, Cleveland, were related to local authority ward indices of socioeconomic status (51 wards). After adjustment for chronological age and sex, the mean bone ages in each ward were highly significantly negatively associated with five ward indices of deprivation: the rate of single parent families, low care ownership, unemployment, rented housing, and overcrowding. There was a mean four month deficit in bone age among children living in wards with the highest single parent family rates. The inverse association between deprivation and bone age is unlikely to be causal throughout childhood, as older and younger children were affected to the same extent. However the bone age deficit could be caused by deprivation retarding skeletal maturation during a critical period in early life.

Adolescent↗