Editing Single parent (section)

== Causes of single-parenthood ==
===Widowed parents===
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===
{{See also|Implications of divorce}}
[[Child custody]] in reference to [[divorce]] refers to which parent is allowed to make important decisions about the children involved. [[Physical custody]] refers to which parent the child lives with. Among divorced parents, "parallel parenting" refers to parenting after divorce in which each parent does so independently; this is most common.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Detrick|first1=Sharon|title=A Commentary on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child|date=1999|publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers|isbn=978-9041112293|page=176|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QB6UB1SCxbsC|access-date=3 October 2017}}</ref> In comparison, cooperative parenting occurs when the parents involved in the child's life work together around all involved parties' schedules and activities, and this is far less common. After a certain "crisis period," most children resume normal development; however, their future relationships are often affected, as they lack a model upon which to base a healthy long-term relationship. Nonetheless, as adults children of divorcees cope better with change.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Baker|first1=A.L.|author2=Ben-Ami, N.|title=Adult Recall of Childhood psychological maltreatment in "Adult Children of divorce": Prevalence and associations with concurrent measures of well being|journal=Journal of Divorce & Remarriage|volume=52|issue=4|pages=203–219|doi=10.1080/10502556.2011.556973|year=2011|s2cid=143613787}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Thomas|first1=D.A.|author2=Woodside, M.|title=Resilience in adult children of divorce: A multiple case study|journal=Marriage & Family Review|volume=47|issue=4|pages=213–234|doi=10.1080/01494929.2011.586300|year=2011|s2cid=144236587}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Cherlin|first=Andrew|title=Public and Private Families|year=2010|publisher=McGraw Hill|location=New York, NY|isbn=978-0-07-340435-6}}</ref>

Keeping in touch with both parents and having a healthy relationship with both mother and father appears to have the most effect on a child's behavior; which leads to an easier time coping with the divorce as well as development through the child's life.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hess|first1=Robert D.|last2=Camara|first2=Kathleen A.|date=1979-10-01|title=Post-Divorce Family Relationships as Mediating Factors in the Consequences of Divorce for Children|journal=Journal of Social Issues|language=en|volume=35|issue=4|pages=79–96|doi=10.1111/j.1540-4560.1979.tb00814.x|issn=1540-4560}}</ref> Children will do better with their parents divorce if they have a smooth adjustment period. One way to make this adjustment easier on children is to let them "remain in the same neighborhoods and schools following divorce."<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.5559/di.23.1.01|url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/4d0ccfaf8eec904ea8d42bc9dc107ab7/1|title=The Consequences of Divorce for Adults and Children: An Update|journal=Društvena Istraživanja|volume=23|pages=5–24|year=2014|last1=Amato|first1=Paul R.|doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Unintended pregnancy===
{{main|Unintended pregnancy}}
Many out-of-wedlock births are unintentional. Out-of-wedlock births are frequently not acceptable to society, and they often result in single parenting.  A partner may also leave as he or she may want to shirk responsibility of bringing up the child. This also may harm the child.<ref name="Negative Impact">{{cite web |url=http://nydivorcefirm.com/single-parent-households-does-affect-children/|title=Single Parent Households – How Does it Affect the Children? |access-date=23 April 2014}}</ref> Where they are not acceptable, they sometimes result in [[forced marriage]], however such marriages fail more often than others.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

In the United States, the rate of unintended pregnancy is higher among unmarried couples than among married ones.  In 1990, 73% of births to unmarried women were unintended at the time of conception, compared to about 57% of births overall (1987 data).<ref name="BestIntent">{{cite book |author1=Eisenberg, Leon |url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK232124/ |title=The best intentions: unintended pregnancy and the well-being of children and families |author2=Brown, Sarah Hart |publisher=National Academy Press |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-309-05230-6 |location=Washington, D.C. |url-access=registration}}</ref><!-- page 2 -->

Mothers with unintended pregnancies, and their children, are subject to numerous adverse health effects, including increased risk of violence and death, and the children are less likely to succeed in school and are more likely to live in poverty and be involved in crime.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

"Fragile families" are usually caused by an unintended pregnancy out of wedlock. Usually in this situation the father is not completely in the picture and the relationship between the mother, father, and child is consistently unstable. As well as instability, "fragile families" are often limited in resources such as human capital and money. The kids that come from these families are more likely to be hindered within school and don't succeed{{Clarify|date=August 2022}} as well as kids who have strictly single parents or two parent homes.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Waldfogel|first1=Jane|last2=Craigie|first2=Terry-Ann|last3=Brooks-Gunn|first3=Jeanne|date=2010-01-01|title=Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing|journal=The Future of Children |volume=20|issue=2|pages=87–112|issn=1054-8289|pmc=3074431|pmid=20964133|doi=10.1353/foc.2010.0002}}</ref> Usually within these families the father plans to stick around and help raise the child but once the child is born the fathers do not stay for much longer and only one third stay after five years of the child's birth.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=McLanahan|first1=Sara|last2=Beck|first2=Audrey N.|date=2010-01-01|title=Parental relationships in fragile families|journal=The Future of Children|volume=20|issue=2|pages=17–37|issn=1054-8289|pmc=3053572|pmid=20964130|doi=10.1353/foc.2010.0007}}</ref> Most of these fragile families come from low economic status to begin with and the cycle appears to continue; once the child grows up they are just as likely to still be poor.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=McLanahan|first=Sara|date=2009-01-01|title=Fragile Families and the Reproduction of Poverty|journal=The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science|language=en|volume=621|issue=1|pages=111–131|doi=10.1177/0002716208324862|issn=0002-7162|pmc=2831755|pmid=20204078}}</ref> Most fragile families end with the mother becoming a single parent, leaving it even more difficult to come out of the poverty cycle. The gender of the baby seems to have no effect if the father is not living with the mother at the time of the birth, meaning they are still likely to leave after one year of the child's birth. Yet there is some evidence that suggests that if the father is living with the mother at the time of the birth he is more likely to stay after one year if the child is a son rather than a daughter.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lundberg|first1=Shelly|last2=McLanahan|first2=Sara|last3=Rose|first3=Elaina|title=Child gender and father involvement in fragile families|journal=Demography|language=en|volume=44|issue=1|pages=79–92|doi=10.1353/dem.2007.0007|pmid=17461337|issn=0070-3370|year=2007|s2cid=21148498|doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Choice===
Some women use artificial insemination to become single mothers by choice.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fiese |first1=Barbara |title=Single Mothers by Choice: Mother–Child Relationships and Children's Psychological Adjustment |journal=J Fam Psychol |date=2016 |volume=30 |issue=4 |pages=409–418 |doi=10.1037/fam0000188 |pmid=26866836 |pmc=4886836 }}</ref> Others choose to adopt. Men may also choose to become single fathers through adoption or surrogacy.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kale |first1=Sirin |title='I always wanted to be a dad': the rise of single fathers by choice |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jan/29/i-always-wanted-to-be-a-dad-the-rise-of-single-fathers-by-choice |website=The Guardian |date=29 January 2020 |access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref>

===Adoption===
[[File:Doing the best she can.jpg|thumb|right|A single mother and child]]
Single parent adoptions are controversial. They are, however, still preferred over divorcees, as divorced parents are considered an unnecessary stress on the child.<ref name="Single Parent Adoptions: Why Not?">{{cite web |last=Cake-Hanson-Cormell |title=Single Parent Adoptions: Why Not? |url=http://www.adopting.org/adoptions/single-parent-adoptions-why-not-2.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206130647/http://www.adopting.org/adoptions/single-parent-adoptions-why-not-2.html |archive-date=6 December 2008 |publisher=Adopting.org |year=2001 |url-status=dead |access-date=23 April 2014 }}</ref> In one study, the interviewers asked children questions about their new lifestyle in a single-parent home. The interviewer found that when asked about fears, a high proportion of children feared illness or injury to the parent. When asked about happiness, half of the children talked about outings with their single adoptive parent.<ref name="Single Parent Adoptions: a Longitudinal Study">{{cite journal |title=Single Parent Adoptions: A Longitudinal Study |journal = Children and Youth Services Review|volume = 7 | issue = 4 | year = 1985 |pages=321–334 |first1=Joan F. |last1=Shireman |first2=Renny R. |last2=Johnson |doi=10.1016/S0190-7409(85)80005-0}}</ref> A single person wanting to adopt a child has to be mindful of the challenges they may face, and there are certain agencies that will not work with single adoptive parents at all. Single parents will typically only have their own income to live off of, and thus might not have a backup plan for potential children in case something happens to them.<ref name="Single Parent Adoption">{{cite web|title=Single Parent Adoption |url=http://www.adoptionservices.org/adoption_special/adoption_single.htm |publisher=Adoption Services |access-date=23 April 2014}}</ref> Traveling is also made more complex, as the child must either be left in someone else's care, or taken along.<ref name="Single Parent Adoption: Challenges of Single Adoption">{{cite web |title=Single Parent Adoption: Challenges of Single Adoption |url=http://www.adoptionstogether.org/ResourcesandSupport/SingleParentAdoption.aspx |publisher=Adoptions Together |access-date=23 April 2014 |archive-date=24 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140424061926/http://www.adoptionstogether.org/ResourcesandSupport/SingleParentAdoption.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref>