Single Parenting In The United States

In a traditional family, a mother and father live in the same home raising their children together. In the United the States, modern families are deviating from these traditional views. In particular, single parent households are becoming more prevalent. Since the 1970s, the percentage of single parent families has steadily increased. One in three families with children under the age of eighteen consisted of only one parent in 2013. The increasing rate of single parenting raised public concern and is recognized as a social problem. Consequently, sociologists study the rising trend of single parenting and the many social problems that contribute to its growth. The number of single parent families is increasing because of the growing number of

In the United States fifty percent of marriages end in divorce within twenty years. The recent increase in the number of divorces issued in the United States is partially due to the fact that divorces are now easier to obtain. Policies like the no-fault divorce policy make it easier for couples to end marriages in divorce. Before the passing of such policies, a divorce was only granted if one partner admitted to being at fault for the deterioration of the marriage. Unsurprisingly, as more couples seek to end their marriage in divorce, the number of single parents also increases as one parent receives custody of the children.

Furthermore, poverty is a serious issue for single parent families, especially for families lead by a mother. Single mothers often struggle to provide for their families from a single income. Therefore, in some divorce cases the non-custodial parent is required to pay child support. However, only 57 percent of single parents actually receive child support. Moreover, this is a prevalent problem in African-American families because 47 percent of African American families lead by a single mother live in