The experience of parenting a child with dyslexia - A UK perspective with single parents

Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty that affects the development of literacy and language-related skills, unrelated to intellectual ability. While the impact of parenting an individual with dyslexia (IWD) for married parents has been widely studied, little is known about the impact on single parents. This study explored the lived experiences of single parents of an IWD. Six female participants completed semi-structured interviews discussing their experience of the diagnostic process, support received and general parenting perspectives. Interview transcripts were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Three main themes were identified: Navigating the diagnosis; Various levels of support; Battling Misconceptions and Lack of Knowledge. Findings suggested that single parents had a mixed experience, both after receiving the diagnosis and in terms of the support they received from family and schools. Differences in the quality of statutory support were highlighted, implicating the need for improved dyslexia support in schools. Unique challenges of parenting an IWD as a single parent were also identified, highlighting important implications. Future research should explore differences in single fathers' experiences and the impact of dyslexia comorbidities on single parents.

Double Disadvantage in a Nordic Welfare State: A Demographic Analysis of the Single-Parent Employment Gap in Finland, 1987-2018

This study demonstrates how an evolving negative educational gradient of single parenthood can interact with changing labour market conditions to shape labour market inequalities between partnered and single parents. We analysed trends in employment rates among Finnish partnered and single mothers and fathers from 1987 to 2018. In the late 1980s' Finland, single mothers' employment was internationally high and on par with that of partnered mothers, and single fathers' employment rate was just below that of partnered fathers. The gaps between single and partnered parents emerged and increased during the 1990s recession, and after the 2008 economic crisis, it widened further. In 2018, the employment rates of single parents were 11-12 percentage points lower than those of partnered parents. We ask how much of this single-parent employment gap could be explained by compositional factors, and the widening educational gradient of single parenthood in particular. We use Chevan and Sutherland's decomposition technique on register data, which allows us to decompose the single-parent employment gap into the composition and rate effects by each category of the background variables. The findings point to an increasing double disadvantage of single parents: the gradually evolving disadvantage in educational backgrounds together with large differences in employment rates between single and partnered parents with low education explain large parts of the widening employment gap. Sociodemographic changes in interaction with changes in the labour market can produce inequalities by family structure in a Nordic society known for its extensive support for combining childcare and employment for all parents.

Noncustodial parents, instrumental networks, and child support compliance

Research on child support compliance has focused on the characteristics of noncustodial parents (NCPs) that are associated with compliance, finding that compliance with child support orders is primarily related to the ability to pay support as demonstrated by earnings. Yet, there is evidence linking social support networks to both earnings and noncustodial parents' relationships with children. Using a social poverty framework, we show that relatively few NCPs are completely isolated: most have at least some people in their network who can loan money, provide a place to stay, or provide a ride. We explore whether the size of these instrumental support networks is positively linked to child support compliance both directly and indirectly through earnings. We find evidence of a direct association between instrumental support network size and child support compliance, but no evidence of an indirect association via increased earnings. These findings suggest the importance for researchers and child support practitioners to consider the contextual and relational factors of the social networks in which parents are embedded, and to more thoroughly examine the process by which support from one's network can lead to child support compliance.

"People Think It's Easy Because I Smile, But It's Not Easy": The Lived Experiences of Six African American Single Mothers

Grounded in Resilience Theory (Masten et al., 1990; Walsh, 1996; Walsh, 2002; Walsh, 2003) with a specific focus on parental resilience (Gavidia-Payne et al., 2015), this qualitative phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of low-income Female adult single parent (FASP) families. Each family had at least one adolescent aged 11 through 21 enrolled in special education classes and engaging in risk behaviors. Two central research questions were addressed. The first focused on the lived experiences of FASP and the second focused on their perspectives on how schools can enhance their support. Data were collected through face-to-face, in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Three major themes emerged: Life adjustment, The child is the priority, and Perseverance revealing their experience to be one of resilience. Participants also shared and provided insight on their perspectives regarding how schools can better support families. Findings revealed limited parent-school collaboration and highlight the need for further research with this population in the context of resilience. Suggestions for schools and communities working with such families are discussed.

[Parents' subjective burden of home schooling their children at times of the Corona-related lockdown in spring 2020]

The Corona-related school closures and the closure of childcare facilities in April and May 2020 meant an immense challenge for many parents. Suddenly, children had to be looked after and educated at home all day. In this paper, we address the question of the subjective burden that parents faced when schooling their children at home. In doing so, we pay special attention to the individual resources of the parents as well as to their family situation and their working life. In particular, we examine the subjective perception of stress of single parents. For our analyses we use data from the SOEP-CoV study, a special survey of the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) on the topic of Corona. Overall, we found moderate levels of stress from the demands of schooling their children at home among all parents surveyed (N = 1508, of which N = 243 were single parents). However, parents with a low level of education and single parents felt particularly burdened, especially if they were employed at the time of the school closures. Our analyses suggest that precisely these groups of parents had problems comprehensively meeting the demands of home schooling under the given circumstances.

Factors affecting the quality of life of single mothers compared to married mothers

BACKGROUND

In this study, we aimed to compare the quality of life (QOL) of single mothers with that of married mothers and to identify the sociodemographic and psychological factors affecting single mothers' QOL. We identified the factors that were similar and different between single and married mothers.

METHODS

We analyzed survey data obtained from 195 single mothers and 357 married mothers living in an urban community in South Korea. The QOL was assessed with the World Health Organization Quality of Life-abbreviated form (WHOQOL-BREF). All participants completed the following self-report questionnaires: the Global Assessment of Recent Stress, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale, the Scale for Suicide Ideation, the Korean version of the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test, and the WHOQOL-BREF. These self-rating scales were used as continuous variables. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to examine the association of quality of life with the sociodemographic and psychological factors for single and married mothers.

RESULTS

Single mothers showed lower QOL than married mothers. Older age, high income and education level, and professional job status were positively correlated with the QOL of single mothers. Residential instability, higher stress levels, depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and alcohol-related problems were negatively associated with the QOL of single mothers. Multiple regression analysis suggested that residential instability (public rental housing: β = - 10.779, p <  0.001; Jeonse rental housing: β = - 0.324, p = 0.01) and alcohol-related problems (β = - 0.522, p <  0.001) were independent factors affecting lower QOL, whereas professional job status (β = 8.452, p = 0.037) was independently associated with higher QOL in single mothers. However, these factors were not associated with the QOL of married mothers. Higher education level was independently associated with higher QOL in both groups (β = 3.149, p <  0.033 in single mothers, β = 12.052, p <  0.001 in married mothers).

CONCLUSIONS

Higher education level was associated with higher QOL in both groups. Unlike in married mothers, type of residence and occupation (related to the economic level) had a significant impact on QOL in single mothers. Alcohol-related problems were significantly correlated to QOL in single mothers compared to married mothers.

Single men seeking adoption

It was once impossible anywhere in the world for single adults to adopt children, and this is still the case in many jurisdictions. Elsewhere, however, single adults are now being actively recruited primarily because they are more willing than are married couples to adopt older or disabled children or to adopt across racial or other barriers. This is true for single men as well as for single women, but single men seeking to adopt continue to be widely viewed with skepticism and are reportedly often judged to be inappropriate parents. This paper reviews the sparse fostering and adoption literature on single heterosexual males and addresses the evident ambivalence with which parenting by single men is held among both child and adult mental health professionals. The paper also discusses the parenting styles of mothers and fathers, the ways that the central nervous system in both sexes has been found to respond to parenthood, the similarity of outcomes between single male and single female parenting, and the availability in North America of support and training for foster and adoptive single parents. The paper concludes that, in general, single men have as much to offer an adopted child as do single women and that seeming discrimination against them by childcare agencies requires investigation.

The Impact of Financial Hardship on Single Parents: An Exploration of the Journey From Social Distress to Seeking Help

Single parent families are at high risk of financial hardship which may impact on psychological wellbeing. This study explored the impact of financial hardship on wellbeing on 15 single parents. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed using constructivist thematic analysis. Participants described food and fuel poverty, and the need to make sacrifices to ensure that children's basic needs were met. In some cases, participants went without food and struggled to pay bills. Isolation, anxiety, depression, paranoia, and suicidal thoughts were described. However, participants reported that psychological services not able to take the needs of single parents in to account. Support for single parents must acknowledge the impact of social circumstances and give more consideration economic drivers of distress.

National data study showed that adolescents living in poorer households and with one parent were more likely to be bullied

Aim

The aim of this study was to assess whether sociodemographic household characteristics were associated with which Swedish adolescents were more likely to be bullied.

Methods

The data were derived from the Swedish Living Conditions Survey and its child supplements from the survey years 2008–2011. The analyses included information on 3951 adolescents aged 10–18 years. Exposure to bullying was reported by adolescents, and information on sociodemographic household characteristics was reported by parents and obtained from official registers. Binary logistic regression was used to analyse the data.

Results

Adolescents were more likely to be bullied if they lived in households with no cash margin, defined as the ability to pay an unexpected bill of 8000 Swedish Kronor or about 800 Euros, and if they lived with just one custodial parent. In the unadjusted analyses, elevated risks were identified if adolescents lived in working class households and had unemployed and foreign‐born parents. However, these associations were at least partly accounted for by other sociodemographic household characteristics, in particular the lack of a cash margin.

Conclusion

This study showed that Swedish adolescents living in households with more limited financial resources had an increased risk of being bullied, supporting results from previous international research.