The health of single mothers and fathers in Germany

Abstract

In every fifth family in Germany, one parent lives alone with children in the household. Life as a single parent is often marked by challenges that include adopting sole responsibility for the child’s education and care, alongside employment commitments, and the difficulties of reconciling work and family life. Moreover, despite comparatively high employment rates, single parents – and their children – are greatly affected by poverty. This paper compares the health of single parents and parents living in partnership and analyses the extent to which single parents’ health varies according to their socio-economic and employment status, and social support. The analysis was conducted using data from the German Health Update (GEDA) study in 2009, 2010 and 2012 on fair or poor self-rated general health, as well as depression, back pain, obesity, smoking, sporting inactivity and the non-utilization of dental check-ups. The analyses are based on data from 9,806 women and 6,279 men living in a household with at least one child under the age of 18. The study identified a significantly higher prevalence for all health indicators (apart from obesity) among single mothers compared to mothers living with a partner. In the case of single fathers, higher prevalences were found for depression, smoking and the non-utilization of dental check-ups. On average, the lower socio-economic status of women can explain a certain proportion of the health impairment of single parents, but not for men. However, a lower socio-economic status or social support do not account for the health impairments of single parents. Therefore, the higher prevalence of health impairments among single parents cannot simply be attributed to differences in employment status or to lower levels of social support; rather, certain health indicators show a cumulative effect between single-parents status and the social factors mentioned above. The results presented here provide a differentiated view of the relationship between the health and social situation of single parents. Improving the financial position of one-parent families and making it easier to reconcile work and family life are important steps that would help improve the health of single parents.

Getting Better or Getting Worse? A Population-Based Study on Trends in Self-Rated Health among Single Mothers in Germany between 1994 and 2018

“…However, a substantial part of the time effect remains that could not be explained by socioeconomic factors. This finding is consistent with other studies revealing that health disparities in single mothers did not completely disappear after controlling for socioeconomic factors [ 6 , 20 , 32 ]. Previous studies have demonstrated that, in addition to socioeconomic status, the availability of social support, the compatibility of work and family demands, and the relationship with the children as well with the ex-partner are of particular importance for single mothers’ health [ 16 , 33 , 34 , 35 ].…”

“…Numerous studies have demonstrated that single motherhood is associated with poorer health [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 31 ]. However, only few studies provide information on the development of health disparities among single and partnered mothers over time.…”

“…In recent years, single mothers have increasingly gained attention in public health research and there is a rising awareness of their particular risk of poverty and poor health. Subsequently, a number of family-related policies have been employed in order to tackle financial hardships among single parents such as subsidized childcare, tax relief, and children’s and parental allowances [ 6 ]. By expanding childcare hours and improving opportunities in the labor market, single parents should be enabled to work full-time and thus improve their financial situation.…”

“…Single parenthood is strongly gendered, and the high proportion of single mothers in Germany has decreased only slightly from 88% to 85% over the last 20 years [ 3 ]. Numerous studies have demonstrated that single motherhood is associated with adverse health outcomes, such as depressive symptoms and anxiety [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ], disabilities [ 9 ], and poor self-rated health [ 6 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]. Berkman et al [ 9 ] pointed out that higher health risks among single mothers are not limited to young and middle adulthood but are also present at older ages.…”

“…We are not aware of any study from Germany that has analyzed the direction in which the health of single mothers has developed over the last decades. Turning to this research question is particularly interesting in the light of the many preventive efforts that have been targeted at single parents in recent years [ 6 ]. The present study addresses this issue and examines the development of SRH among single compared to partnered mothers in Germany between 1994 and 2018.…”