Psychological distress and socioeconomic status in single mothers and their children in a German city

Abstract

An increased psychological distress of single mothers and their sons could be shown for the first time in Germany within a large epidemiologic sample. This has implications for the planning of preventive interventions and evaluation of associations, e. g., between social variables and distress of single mothers and their children within longitudinal study designs.

Maternal parenting in single and two-parent families in South Africa from a child's perspective

“…The data gained in this study were also used to compare children's perceptions of single and married mother parenting practices. Some previous researchers have found differences in perceptions regarding single and married mothers (Ceballo & McLoyd, 2002;Franz et al, 2003;Olson et al, 2002;Whitehead & Holland, 2003). Furthermore, single mothers are inclined to be punitive and harsh in their parenting approaches (Bigner, 1998), are responsible for the children's delinquent behaviors (Matlin, 2000;Ribbens, 1994), and are therefore ineffective parents (Bank et al, 1993;Segal-Engelchin & Wozner, 2005).…”

“…In light of these stereotyped standards which mothers have to attain, many single mothers are challenged psychosocially in comparison to their married counterparts. Single mothers are at a greater socioeconomic disadvantage than their married counterparts (Ceballo & McLoyd, 2002;Franz, Lensche, & Schmitz, 2003;Olson, Ceballo, & Park, 2002;Whitehead & Holland, 2003). They are more likely to have fewer household resources, lower income, to rent rather than own a house, and to be unemployed, poor, and suffer from low self-esteem.…”

What accounts for depressive symptoms among mothers? The impact of socioeconomic status, family structure and psychosocial stress

“…A growing body of evidence suggests that single motherhood may increase health risks, especially for minor psychiatric morbidity, mental distress, psychosomatic symptoms and depression (Curtis and Phipps 2004;Lahelma et al 2002;Whitehead et al 2000). In particular, health risks appear when single mothers are young or have a perceived lack of social as well as emotional support (Franz et al 2003). However, lack of social resources turned out to be a risk factor for maternal mental health problems in general, not only in single mothers (Mistry et al 2007).…”

Changes in Lone Mothers’ Health: A Longitudinal Analysis

“…Research examines higher prevalence of depressive symptoms (Cooper et al 2008;Crosier et al 2007;Lipman et al 1997;Wang 2004); psychological distress (Franz et al 2003); anxiety disorders (Afifi et al 2006), and lower levels of well-being (Bull and Mittelmark 2009) for lone mothers compared to partnered mothers. In literature, stress is seen as the main determinant of lone mothers' mental disorders and is explained by the double burden faced by lone mothers due to sole financial responsibility and single-handed child care (Fritzell et al 2007, Hope et al 1999.…”