Single Parenthood (single + parenthood)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Do allergic families avoid keeping furry pets?

INDOOR AIR, Issue 3 2010
R. J. Bertelsen
Abstract, Studies addressing the relationship between pet keeping and development of asthma and allergies may be influenced by pet avoidance in families with a history of allergic disease. Following a cohort of 1019 children in Oslo till 10 years of age, we studied the association of pet keeping with socio-economic factors and allergic disease in the family. A family history of asthma and rhinoconjunctivitis was not significantly associated with pet ownership at birth or with pet removal by 10 years. Acquiring cats and dogs was less likely if the child had allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, whereas no association was seen with asthma (in any family member). Single parenthood increased the likelihood of acquiring a cat, smoking parents more often had cats or dogs, and having older siblings was associated with keeping dogs and other furry pets. Among 319 families reporting pet avoidance, 70% never had pets, 8% had given up pets, and 22% avoided a particular type of pet only. Twenty-four per cent of the parents failed to retrospectively report pet keeping during the child's first year of life. Overall, allergic rhinitis, but not asthma was associated with actual pet avoidance, whereas the strongest predictors for keeping pets were found to be socio-economic factors. Practical Implications Allergic disease in a child most often does not lead to the removal of the family's furry pet. Pet avoidance is associated with allergic symptoms, but not asthma. Socio-economic factors like parental education, single parenthood and smoking affects the families' decisions on pet keeping, including the type of pets the families will avoid or acquire. The large recall error demonstrated points to the need for prospective data regarding pet keeping. [source]


Always Poor or Never Poor and Nothing in Between?

GERMAN ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 2 2010
Duration of Child Poverty in Germany
Child poverty; duration analysis; unobserved heterogeneity Abstract. This paper analyses the duration of child poverty in Germany. Observing the entire income history from the individuals' birth to their coming of age at age 18, we are able to analyse dynamics in and out of poverty for the entire population of children, whether they become poor at least once or not. Using duration models, we find that household composition, most importantly single parenthood, and the labour market status as well as level of education of the household head are the main driving forces behind exit from and re-entry into poverty and thus determine the (long-term) experience of poverty. [source]


Do allergic families avoid keeping furry pets?

INDOOR AIR, Issue 3 2010
R. J. Bertelsen
Abstract, Studies addressing the relationship between pet keeping and development of asthma and allergies may be influenced by pet avoidance in families with a history of allergic disease. Following a cohort of 1019 children in Oslo till 10 years of age, we studied the association of pet keeping with socio-economic factors and allergic disease in the family. A family history of asthma and rhinoconjunctivitis was not significantly associated with pet ownership at birth or with pet removal by 10 years. Acquiring cats and dogs was less likely if the child had allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, whereas no association was seen with asthma (in any family member). Single parenthood increased the likelihood of acquiring a cat, smoking parents more often had cats or dogs, and having older siblings was associated with keeping dogs and other furry pets. Among 319 families reporting pet avoidance, 70% never had pets, 8% had given up pets, and 22% avoided a particular type of pet only. Twenty-four per cent of the parents failed to retrospectively report pet keeping during the child's first year of life. Overall, allergic rhinitis, but not asthma was associated with actual pet avoidance, whereas the strongest predictors for keeping pets were found to be socio-economic factors. Practical Implications Allergic disease in a child most often does not lead to the removal of the family's furry pet. Pet avoidance is associated with allergic symptoms, but not asthma. Socio-economic factors like parental education, single parenthood and smoking affects the families' decisions on pet keeping, including the type of pets the families will avoid or acquire. The large recall error demonstrated points to the need for prospective data regarding pet keeping. [source]


Maternal psychopathology and attachment in toddlers of heavy cocaine-using mothers

INFANT MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL, Issue 3 2001
Michael Espinosa
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships among maternal psychopathology, early sensitive caregiving, and security of attachment in a sample of cocaine-using women from environments with high contextual risks that include poverty, low educational attainment, minority status, and single parenthood. Thirty-five women and their offspring participated in the study. Maternal psychopathology, including Axis I and Axis II disorders, was assessed during the prenatal period via a self-report clinical measure. Maternal sensitivity was assessed at 1 month and 6 months postdelivery through rating scales. At 18 months postdelivery, toddlers' attachment to their mothers was assessed via the Strange Situation procedure. Also at 18 months, mothers' level of depression was assessed via a depression inventory. Maternal psychopathology during pregnancy was found to be associated with both early caregiving and attachment. Mothers demonstrating clinical levels of particular Axis II disorders provided less sensitive caregiving, and had toddlers who were more likely to be disorganized/disoriented in their attachments. For Axis I disorders, only clinical levels of prenatal dysthymia were found to be associated with a greater likelihood of secure attachment. ©2001 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health. [source]


Why is violent crime so common in the Americas?

AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR, Issue 5 2006
Nigel BarberArticle first published online: 11 JUL 200
Abstract Violent crimes, including murders, rapes, and assaults are substantially higher in the Americas than other regions of the world. This study investigated the role of single parenthood ratios in accounting for this regional variation in violent crime of 39 countries using INTERPOL data. It pitted the prediction of parental investment (calling for a delayed relationship between single parenthood and crime) against a mating aggression hypothesis that predicted a contemporaneous effect. Regression analyses found that current single parenthood ratios were strongly and consistently predictive of violent crimes whereas single parenthood ratios 18 years earlier were not and this conclusion remained following controls for income inequality and the population sex ratio. The results indicate that the regional difference in violent crime is best explained in terms of mating competition rather than reduced parental investment. Aggr. Behav. 32:1,9, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Family Policies and Children's School Achievement in Single- Versus Two-Parent Families

JOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 3 2003
Suet-ling Pong
We investigate the gap in math and science achievement of third- and fourth-graders who live with a single parent versus those who live with two parents in 11 countries. The United States and New Zealand rank last among the countries we compare in terms of the equality of achievement between children from single-parent families and those from two-parent homes. Following a multilevel analysis, we find single parenthood to be less detrimental when family policies equalize resources between single- and two-parent families. In addition, the single- and two-parent achievement gap is greater in countries where single-parent families are more prevalent. We conclude that national family policies can offset the negative academic outcomes of single parenthood. [source]


Spaces of silence: single parenthood and the ,normal family' in Singapore

POPULATION, SPACE AND PLACE (PREVIOUSLY:-INT JOURNAL OF POPULATION GEOGRAPHY), Issue 1 2004
Theresa Wong
Abstract Alternative family forms have begun to emerge in the Confucian societies of East and Southeast Asia, concomitant with widespread demographic changes and new socioeconomic conditions. In Singapore, the state tends to configure ,single parents' , including divorcees, unmarried parents and widowed parents , as ,unfortunate' and constituting an unhealthy trend, in opposition to the normal, dual-parent household. This paper examines how single parents in Singapore reconfigure their definitions of the family both discursively and through practical means, in response to the ,traditional', Confucian concept of the complete family propounded by the government. Through in-depth interviews with middle-class Chinese Singaporean single mothers and fathers, this paper also explores how single parents employ strategies at two levels: in practical decisions relating to childcare; and discursively, through the articulation of remarriage and fertility desires, in which patriarchal notions of the roles of husband/wife and mother/father are embedded. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Does Maternal Age Affect Children's Test Scores?

THE AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 1 2010
Andrew Leigh
We estimate the relationship between maternal age and child outcomes, using indices aimed at measuring overall outcomes, learning outcomes and social outcomes. In all cases, we find evidence that children of older mothers have better outcomes. Not only do children born to mothers in their twenties do better than children born to teen mothers, but children born to mothers in their thirties do better than children born to mothers in their twenties. However, when we control for other socioeconomic characteristics, such as family income, parental education and single parenthood, the coefficients on maternal age become small and statistically insignificant. The only exception is an index of social outcomes, which is positively associated with maternal age, even controlling for socioeconomic factors. For cognitive outcomes, young motherhood appears to be a marker, not a cause, of poor child outcomes. [source]