Single Parents redirects here. For the abc television series, see

Causes of single-parenthood[edit]

Widowed parents[edit]

Statue of a mother at the Yasukuni Shrine, dedicated to war widows who raised their children alone
Historically, death of a partner was a common cause of single parenting. Diseases and maternal death not infrequently resulted in a widower or widow responsible for children. At certain times wars might also deprive significant numbers of families of a parent. Improvements in sanitation and maternal care have decreased mortality for those of reproductive age, making death a less common cause of single parenting.

Divorced parents[edit]

Divorce statistics[edit]

In 2009, the overall divorce rate was around 9/1000 in the United States. It was also found that more influence came from the south, with the rates there being about 10.5/1000, as opposed to the north where it was around 7/1000.[37] This resulted in about 1.5% (around 1 million) children living in the house of a recently divorced parent in the same year.[38] Along with this, it has been shown that for the past 10 years or so, first marriages have a 40% chance of ending in divorce.[citation needed] And, for other marriages after a first divorce, the chance of another divorce increases. In 2003, a study showed that about 69% of children in American living in a household that was a different structure than the typical nuclear family. This was broken down into about 30% living with a stepparent, 23% living with a biological mother, 6% with grandparents as caregivers, 4% with a biological father, 4% with someone who was not a direct relative, and a small 1% living with a foster family.[39]
Around the mid-1990s, there was a significant number of single parents raising children, with 1.3 million single fathers and 7.6 million single mothers in the United States alone.[citation needed] However, many parents desire, or attempt, to get sole custody, which would make them a single parent, but are unsuccessful in the court process. There are many parents who may single parent, but do so without official custody, further biasing statistics.[citation needed]

Children and divorce[edit]