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It goes without saying that intimate relationships and family structures have dramatically changed over the course of time. In preindustrial societies, kinship systems were the main form of social organization that provided members cooperated by marriage, adoption, or common ancestry with basic life necessities (Kendall, 2014). In turn, in industrialized societies, some functions of families started to be fulfilled by other social institutions. As a result, in the present day, the main responsibilities of family members include socializing children, regulating sexual activity, and providing companionship and affection to each other.
In the past, extended families composed of relatives besides parents and children were prevalent. Subsequently, due to urbanization and industrialization, they were almost driven out by nuclear families. However, since the 1970s, primarily female-headed single-parent households have been rapidly increasing, especially in developed societies. While in 1970, 10.8% of children had only a mother, and 1.1% had only a father, in 2014, these percentages were 23.6% and 3.9%, respectively (Kendall, 2014). In general, the major factors that significantly contribute to this tendency are higher divorce rates and childbirth outside of marriage (Kendall, 2014). In turn, these factors are determined by multiple reasons, including why people divorce or do not want to marry at all.
In general, reasons for remaining single may be divided into voluntary and enforced. In other words, some people reject marriage by choice some believe that family will inevitably limit career opportunities and exciting lifestyles; others want more than one sexual partner, freedom to experiment, and self-sufficiency (Kendall, 2014). In turn, people may be forced to stay single, opposite to their desire, by the inability of an appropriate life partner or financial restraints. As a result, a woman may decide to have a child independently for herself. In addition, divorce leads to the formation of single-parent households as well. In the present day, the most common reason for divorce is irreconcilable differences (Kendall, 2014).
For instance, a woman who has equal civil rights, financial stability, and relatives support will not tolerate unsuccessful marriage if a man does not want to take his responsibilities or treat her without respect. Another reason is family violence, and in this case, the switch to a single-parent household is fully justified for childrens physical and emotional safety. Moreover, additional reasons for single parenting are personal characteristics, including a lack of responsibilities, egoism, lustfulness, and a tendency to lie, external influence of relatives or circumstances on marriage, and a partners death.
Despite the growing number of single-parent families, they may experience substantial problems determined by macro-level social forces, including unemployment, economic crises, and negative attitude of society to single parents. According to researchers, the increased number of single-parent families leads to situations where children receive less-effective parenting and experience lower standards of living and a lack of attention, affection, and communication (Kendall, 2014).
As a single parent is responsible for full financial support, such factors as unemployment or low-paid employment due to economic challenges will cause his or her focus on job search and earnings instead of a childs needs and wishes. Moreover, in the case of a parents violence, indifference, or substance abuse, children are more vulnerable as there is no second parent that may take care of them. Finally, if society has a negative attitude to single parents, their children may experience bullying in schools or public places.
Reference
Kendall, D. (2014). Sociology in our times (10th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing.
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