Single parents may do as well as two
Monday, September 14th, 2009
According to Claire Kamp Dush, an assistant professor of human development and family science at Ohio State, family stability (regardless of whether it’s a one or two parent household) may help a child succeed in school and life. Her findings appear in “Marriage and Family: Perspectives and Complexities,” a recently published book that she co-edited.
She looked at information gathered from nearly 5,000 households nationwide during two long-term periods over three decades. While many past studies show an advantage for children growing up in married households, Kamp Dush notes those did not distinguish between family structure and family stability. “Our results suggest that the key for many children is growing up in a stable household, where they don’t go through divorce or other changes in the family, whether that is in a single-parent home or a married home,” Kamp Dush said.
Lindsay wrote a post about the stress of being a single parent. Click here to read her tips for coping.
