How have the attitudes towards women affected the status of single-parent families?
"Two parents are always better than one" according to the parental loss perspective. At least one half of all American children will spend part of their growing years in a single parent family. One of the key characteristics of a single parent family is the limited number of resources available to them and nearly 60% of today's mother-child families live in poverty. The vast majority of mother headed families have a disadvantage in society because they are mainly characterized by poverty, and relatively low education. They also represent a group with pressing social and economic needs.
There are a number of factors that have lead to an increase in the number of single parent families. To name a few, the changing attitudes towards the role of women, rising divorce rates, government benefit support, increasing financial independence and more.
Single parent families have become a permanent and noticeable feature in many societies today. Long term changes are taking place in family patterns and gender relations. This is a result of people's choices about how they live their lives within a context of economic, cultural and social change. Some of these changes include the pressures of life, this is a major factor. In general the old Fashioned way of spending time was with families, at home, which is now spent on the computer, on the phone and in the car.
Since early history, the situation of women in Western society has always centered on ambiguity where women have only been viewed as a creative source of human life and men have been the primary breadwinners. Historically, they have also been considered intellectually inferior to men. During the late 1700s stereotyping were not major topics. At the time the adult female role included the passive responsibility to have a raise children and running a household under the eye of a husband. Running a household and caring for children was certainly a full time job and often included cleaning, cooking and providing all needs for the husband and children. Women have found it hard to compromise with the discrimination put against them, especially to do a man’s task or job. Throughout the years women have longed and fought for opportunities to try and be successful outside of the home and every time these opportunities were argued for they were often complimented with emotional conflicts. Today's single parent mother does not fit the old stereotype of an unmarried teen living on welfare. Women have gone through many disconcerting and disruptive adjustments into an ever-changing society. These changes have been caused by modernization of communication and transportation systems, the women’s movement and the economy. The widespread theory of men being the head of the family is now blurred because women are now receiving higher incomes, salaries and have acquired equal status, by law, with men and within a couple.
