Child Well-Being in Single-Mother Families

doi:10.1097/00004583-200201000-00014

Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

Volume 41, Issue 1, January 2002, Pages 75-82

https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-200201000-00014 Get rights and content

ABSTRACT

Objective

Children from single-mother families are at increased risk of psychosocial morbidity. This article examines the strength of association between single-mother family status and child outcome, both alone and controlling for other sociodemographic and personal (maternal/family) variables.

Method

Data from the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth Cycle 1 (1994–1995) were used. Children aged 6 to 11 years in single-mother and two-parent families were included (n = 9,398). Child functioning measures included social impairment, psychiatric problems, and math score.

Results

Single-mother family status on its own is a significant predictor of all child difficulties, but the explained variance is limited and the effect size decreases when other variables known to influence child functioning are included. Household income, a sociodemographic variable, is inversely associated with social impairment and positively associated with math score. Hostile parenting and maternal depression are the personal variables most strongly associated with social impairment and psychiatric problems. Children in single-mother families where there is hostile parenting are at significantly increased risk of psychiatric problems.

Conclusions

The results suggest that children from single-mother families develop difficulties for the same reasons as children from two-parent families. Specific interventions for single-mother families may be warranted in the areas of parenting and other areas of concentrated risk.

Section snippets

METHOD

Data from the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY), Cycle 1, were used. The NLSCY is an initiative of Human Resources Development Canada and Statistics Canada to develop a national database on the characteristics and life experiences of children and youth in Canada as they grow from infancy to adulthood (Special Surveys Division, 1996). Children were identified using a stratified, multistage probability sample design based on area frames in which dwellings were

RESULTS

Descriptive data on selected variables are shown in Table 1. Single-mother families had higher rates of family dysfunction and maternal depression, as well as lower scores on social support.

Table 2 shows the strength or magnitude of association between single-mother family status and child well-being (social impairment, psychiatric problems, math score) and the magnitude of this association with adjustment for other sociodemographic and personal factors. The effect size of single-mother family

DISCUSSION

Examination of the magnitude of association between single-mother family status and child functioning alone (objective 1) revealed that single-mother family status is significantly associated with the child difficulties examined. The strong statistical significance of the results can be attributed to the large sample size. The strength of association between single-mother family status and child morbidity generally decreases when sociodemographic and/or personal variables are added to the model

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: This project was financially supported by the Applied Research Branch of Human Resources Development Canada in 1997–1998. Dr. Lipman was supported by an Ontario Mental Health Foundation Intermediate Research Scholarship. Dr. Boyle was supported by a Medical Research Council of Canada Scientist Award.

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ARTICLEChild Well-Being in Single-Mother Families

ABSTRACT

Objective

Method

Results

Conclusions

Section snippets

METHOD

RESULTS

DISCUSSION

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

Behavioral problems and competencies reported by parents of normal and disturbed children aged 4 through 16

Monogr Soc Res Child Dev

Children's adjustment to divorce: theories, hypotheses, and empirical support

J Marriage Fam

Parental divorce and the well-being of children: a meta-analysis

Psychol Bull

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd edition (DSM-III)

Social context in developmental psychopathology: recommendations for future research from the MacArthur Network on Psychopathology and Development

Dev Psychopathol

Ontario Child Health Study, I: methodology

Arch Gen Psychiatry

Evaluation of the original Ontario Child Health Study scales

Can J Psychiatry

Maternal depressive symptoms and ratings of emotional disorder in children and adolescents

J Child Psychol Psychiatry

Income effects across the life span: integration and interpretation

Ontario Child Health Study: reliability and validity of the General Functioning Subscale of the McMaster Family Assessment Device

Fam Process

The Health of Canada's Children

Economic hardship, coercive family processes, and developmental problems of adolescents

Child Dev

The provision of social relationships and adaptation to stress

Personal Relationships

Socialization mediators of the relation between socioeconomic status and child conduct problems

Child Dev

Children of depressed parents: an integrative review

Psychol Bull

Economic deprivation and early childhood development

Child Dev

Conceptualization and Measurement of Health for Children in the Health Insurance Study (R-2313-HEW)

Linking family hardship to children's lives

Child Dev

ARTICLE
Child Well-Being in Single-Mother Families