A single parent (also lone parent and sole parent) is a parent who cares for one or more children without the assistance of another parent in the home. "Single parenthood" may vary according to the local laws of different nations or regions.
Single parenthood may occur for a variety of reasons. It could be opted for by the parent (as in divorce, adoption, artificial insemination, surrogate motherhood, or extramarital pregnancy), or be the result of an unforeseeable occurrence (such as death or abandonment by one parent).
The living and parenting arrangements of single parents are diverse. A number live in households with family or other adults. When parents separate, one party usually parents for the majority of the time but most continue to share parenting to some extent with the other parent.
Single parenthood is a stage of life rather than a lifelong family form. Many re-partner and form a stepfamily.
Single parent families are at a higher risk of poverty than couple families, and on average single mothers have poorer health than couple mothers.
Single parenting is strongly associated with an increased risk of a number of negative social, behavioral and emotional outcomes for children. However while the association is strong, on balance the effect size and the actual numbers affected are modest. Most children from single parent families do well. Many factors influence how children develop in single-parent families: the parent's age, education level, and occupation; the family's income, and the family's support network of friends and extended family members (including the non-resident parent, if available). Disadvantages in these factors that often accompany single parenting appear to cause most of this association rather than single parenting itself.
Shocking headlines do get published; for example a 2003 Swedish study, stated that those living with a single parent were about three times more likely to kill themselves or end up in the hospital after an attempted suicide by the age of 26 than children living with two parents, however this only happened to 2.2 percent of girls and 1 percent of boys. The finding is concerning, also because it implies greater childhood unhappiness amongst those who do not kill themselves before the age of 26. The question naturally follows, do older offspring kill themselves at an increased rate?
A variety of viewpoints do exist, with different readings of the research possible. The Institute for the Study of Civil Society reports that children of single parents, after controlling for other variables like family income, are more likely to have problems. There are impacts of sole parenting on children, however the weight of the evidence it is suggested, do not appear to support a view that sole parents are a major cause of societal ills and are doing irreparable damage to their children. Yet suicide is irreparable damage, and less visible damage may also be termed irreparable, in terms of emotional, social or behavioural outcomes if they last for the duration of a life, or increase anti-social behaviour.
A common way for single parents to seek and receive help is over the Internet by conversing with other single parents in similar situations. There are various websites available, offering discussion forums and helpful advice to those parents who find themselves alone. iVillage, and other communities offer chat boards for pregnant mothers and single parents through each stage of child development.
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