Journal Article
Family Structure and Children's Success: A Comparison of Widowed and Divorced Single-Mother Families
Timothy J. Biblarz and Greg Gottainer
Journal of Marriage and Family
Vol. 62, No. 2 (May, 2000), pp. 533-548
Published
by: National Council on Family Relations
https://www.jstor.org/stable/1566757
Page Count: 16
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Topics: Divorce, Single mothers, Widowed status, Children, Divorced status, Family structure, Parents, Fathers, Wellbeing
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Abstract
Compared with children raised in single-mother families created by the death of the father, children raised in divorced single-mother families have significantly lower levels of education, occupational status, and happiness in adulthood. Yet divorced single mothers are not significantly different than their widowed counterparts in child rearing, gender role, and family values and in religiosity, health-related behaviors, and other dimensions of lifestyle. However, relative to widowed single mothers, divorced single mothers hold lower occupational positions, are more financially stressed, and have a higher rate of participation in the paid labor force. We speculate that the contrasting positions in the social structure of different types of single-mother families may account for observed differences in child outcomes.
Journal of Marriage and Family
© 2000 National Council on Family Relations