s13 lone parents s13.1 the rising prevalence of lone parenting s13.2 the diversity of lone parents...

S13 Lone Parents

S13.1 The Rising Prevalence of Lone Parenting

S13.2 The Diversity of Lone Parents

S13.3 Economic Hardship Among Lone Parents and Their Children

S13.4 Exercises

S13.5 References

S13.1.1 Defining Lone Parents

• Since 1965 a number of different terms have been used to refer to households where only one parent, usually the mother, cares for dependent children– Unmarried mothers – One parent families– Lone parents/lone mothers– Single parents/single mothers

Note that the economic activity of lone parents is covered in a separate unit that can be combined with this unit.

S13.1.2 Terminology

• ‘Lone’ parent suggests living alone without a partner but with dependent children

• ‘Single’ parent is more suggestive of marital status, i.e. never married

• The majority of lone parents are women, but we should be clear whether we are discussing lone parents in general or lone mothers as a sub-group.

S13.1.3 The rise in lone parent households

• 1971: 570,000 lone parent households• 1991: 1.3 million lone parent households• 1999: 1.6 million lone parent households• In 1972 6% of children were living in a lone parent

household• In 1994 20% of children were living in a lone parent

household • These figures represent the ‘stock’ of lone parent

households - a higher percentage of children will live at some point in a lone parent household (Rowlingson and McKay, 1998)

S13.2.1 The Heterogeneity of Lone Parents

• Data from the 2001 Census show that lone parents are not a homogeneous group.

• In UK, 88% of lone parents are women and 12% are men.

• Approximately three in ten lone parents are single (i.e. never married), six in ten are separated or divorced, and one in ten are widowed.

• Lone fathers are less likely than lone mothers to be single.

S13.2.2 The Gender of Each Type of Lone Parent

The next slide shows the column percentages in a bar chart adapted so each bar totals 100%.

Exercise 13. 1: This table suggests that separated/divorced women constitute the biggest subgroup among lone parents. What percentage of lone parents are in this category? What percentage of lone parents are women who have never been married?

Source: Individual SAR 2001 Base UK residents; Crown copyright.

Source: UK SARs 2001, individuals. Crown copyright.

Exercise 13.2: Figure 2 is an alternative representation of the data from Table 1. What does this suggest about the different pathways into lone parenthood for men and women?

S13.2.3 Bar Chart of Types of Lone Parent, by Gender

S13.2.4 the Heterogeneity of Lone Parents

• The heterogeneity of lone parents is partly a result of the various different routes into lone parenthood (e.g. divorce).

• Even ‘single’ lone parents are not a homogeneous group. Some will have cohabited and then separated, whilst others will have lived alone with dependent children for a long time.

Lone Parent Households

Separation/divorce of couple with children

Death of a parent Separation of cohabitingcouple with children

Birth to a singlenon-cohabitingwoman

New marriage

New cohabiting partner

Reconciliation of Partners

Children grow up

Children taken into care

S13.2.5 Routes Into and Out of Lone Parenthood

S13.3.1 Lone Parents and financial hardship

• There has been a great deal of research attention on the economic conditions of lone parents and particularly lone mothers.

• In Britain over half of lone mothers rely on Income Support for the bulk of their income

• Only 23% gained most of their income from earnings.Source: Ford et al (1995)

• Reliance on state benefits for the bulk of income normally results in poverty

S13.3.1 Family Type and Household Resources

• Analysis of the 2001 SARs allows us to examine the household resources of different types of families with dependent children.

• The household resources which are amenable to analysis using the census are– Tenure– Car ownership– Central heating– Number of earners in the household

Exercise 13.3 : By using the Census website to look at the Census form and more specifically the page on accommodation, are there any other questions in the census which are relevant for assessing the resources available to households?

S13.3.2 Family type by Tenure of household space (recoded)


Exercise 13.4

What you can tell from the tables are:

•Married parents are more than twice as likely as female lone parents to own their homes

•Cohabiting parents are less likely to own their homes than married parents but more likely than lone parents

•From the evidence above it is clear that lone parents are more likely than married parents to live in rented accommodation. Using data from the SARs, are lone parents more likely to live in social housing or in privately rented accommodation?

Answer to 13.4

•Among lone parents, lone mothers tend to rent social housing slightly more than lone fathers. •Totally, 72.5% of lone parents rent social housing and othersrent privately.


•Within lone parents, one fifth of male lone parents have no car whereas almost half of female lone parents have no car in the household

•Only 5.7% of married parents and 15.7% of cohabiting parents have no car in the household


The majority of people have central heating in their homes. However, married parents tend to have central heating. Among them, long male parents least likely have central heating.

S13.3.3 Family type by Availability of Central Heating


Family type by Number of residents in employment

•39% of lone parents are living in households where there are no earners.

•However, the percentage decreased as lone parents without earners was 54.3% in 1991 (the 1991 Census).


S13.3.5 Household resources of different types of lone

parent families• Your analysis can be refined to examine the

household resources of different types of lone parent households.

• The following tables examine the resources of lone mothers according to whether they are– Single– Separated/divorced– Widowed

• This is a typology based on how they became lone parents.

• It can be seen that it is single parents who are particularly likely to be living in rented accommodation.


•It can be seen that it is single parents who are least likely to have a car in the household.


In relation to availability of central heating, it is not necessary that single parents are the most disadvantaged group while the 1991 Census revealed that it used to be the single parents who were the most disadvantaged. As more than 80% of single parents rent house/flat, it can be said that housing facilities have been improved over time.


If analysis is restricted to lone mothers, it can be seen that it is single lone mothers who are most likely to live in a household where there are no earners. However, it is noteworthy that more single mothers are in employment in 2001 (36.3%) than in 1991 (23.6%). More single mothers have been encouraged to work.


•Percentage of dependent children (under 16) living in different family types

S13.3.9 Family TypeNow, We change the unit of analysis from parents to children


S13.3.10 Family type by Number of residents in employment (among

dependent children under 16)

Notice that here the unit of analysis is children rather than parents.


S13.4.1 Analysis Exercise

• Analyse the graphs in section S13.3. You should describe each graph, then state what government policies are relevant to the evidence in that graph.– An example is ‘council tax benefit’.

• Look up each government policy on the Internet and make notes showing (a) the source of your new evidence, (b) the date and details of the reference, and (c) a good quote. Discuss your findings.

S13.4.2 Discussion Exercise

• Discuss the following findings reported in a newspaper, related to a report by the non-government organisation ‘Gingerbread’:– Lone fathers suffer like women from a "glass ceiling" restricting

their opportunities for promotion at work . . . [The report] said Britain's 179,000 lone fathers experienced discrimination in employment and often lacked the support networks available to mothers.

– The survey found that nearly a quarter of men had to quit work after taking sole responsibility for their children. The main reason for leaving employment was difficulty in combining a job with housework and parenting. (Carvel, 2000)

S13.4.3 Extension Exercises

• Your answers should have taken into account the evidence given in the S13 unit slides. For instance you can work out the relative size of the male and female groups of lone parents, so if there were 179,000 lone fathers in the country in 2000 then work out approximately how many lone mothers there were, using Slide S13.2.2.

• To extend this exercise, produce three-way tables breaking down lone parenting by deprivation by gender. Use the data link here.

S13.5 ReferencesCarvel, John (2001) “Lone fathers blocked by glass ceiling at work, says charity”, The Guardian, October 8.

Duncan, Simon, and Rosalind Edwards (eds., 1997) Single Mothers in an International Context: Mothers or Workers? London: UCL Press. Duncan, Simon, and Rosalind Edwards (1999) Lone Mothers, Paid Work and Gendered Moral Rationalities. Basingstoke : Macmillan.

Ford, Reuben (1998) What Happens to Lone Parents? : A Cohort Study 1991-1995. (Research report ; no.77). London: The Stationery Office.

Ford, Reuben (1995) Changes in Lone Parenthood 1989 to 1993. London : HMSO, 1995.

Rowlingson, K. McKay, S. (1998) The Growth of Lone Parenthood: Diversity and Dynamics. London: Policy Studies Institute.

s13 lone parents s13.1 the rising prevalence of lone parenting s13.2 the diversity of lone parents...

Documents

single lone parents

s13 lone parents s13

percentage of lone parents

majority of lone parents

female lone parents

lone fathers

diversity of lone parents

type of lone parent