Being parents is a great challenge: it is a full-time activity and there are no vacations. If this task is carried out by one person alone, we can imagine that things are even more difficult. To the stigma that society still assigns to them, in many cases we can add economic disadvantages and lack of a solid support network made up of people to whom they can turn in times of need or urgency.
And so, single mothers, even those who become single, between the ages of 16 and 50, are at increased risk for poor health later in life, according to a new study in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.
The researchers wanted to know if mothers who started out single or became single before age 50 were at greater risk of poorer health; and whether being alone was, in the long run, worse in countries with relatively weak social security support networks.
Single parenthood was classified as having a child while still under 18 years of age and being unmarried rather than living with a partner. The findings indicated that any period of single parenthood was associated with higher risks of certain levels of physical disability and poor health later in life, compared with two-parent families.
These results are based on the responses of more than 25,000 women aged 50 or younger to questions about motherhood and marital status. They reported any limitations in their abilities for daily routine activities, such as personal hygiene or dressing; and instrumental daily activities, such as driving or shopping; and they also rated their own health.
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They were at particular risk of disability and poor health later in life
All of the women had taken part in one of three biennial nationally representative surveys: the Health and Retirement Study, in the United States; the England Longitudinal Study of Aging; or the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (in which 21 countries were represented).
In general, single mothers in each country studied were typically younger, less advantaged, and less likely to marry than women who remained married throughout their motherhood. In the United States and England, single mothers were also likely to be less educated. The relationship between being a single mother and poor health was strongest in England, the United States, Denmark and Sweden.
Additionally, women who became single mothers before the age of 20, or as a result of a divorce, or who formed single-parent families for eight years or more, or who had two or more children; They were at particular risk of disability and poor health later in life.
The findings could reflect “selection and causality in cycles of disadvantage,” the researchers said. In other words, poverty could increase the risk of being single mothers, perhaps signaling early health disadvantages. And being a single mother could hinder a woman’s ability to get grades, have a career, and earn enough money; and all of this, in itself, could lead to poor health.
“The findings add to growing recognition that single parenthood could have long-term effects on mothers. While single motherhood is on the rise in many countries, policies that address the health disadvantages of single mothers could be essential to improve women’s health and reduce inequalities,” the researchers write.
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