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Single mothers in various living arrangements: differences in economic and time resources
American Journal of Economics and Sociology, The, July, 1996 by Karen Fox Folk
I
Introduction
The number of single-parents with children under age 18 doubled from 3.8 million in 1970 to 9.4 million in 1988, and single-parents now make up 27% of all family groups with children (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1989). Researchers who have compared single-parent mothers to married mothers have documented the lower economic status, higher stress levels, and lack of time for sleep and leisure among single-parent mothers (McLanahan, and Booth, 1989; Sanik and Mauldin, 1986), as well as the negative consequences of these stresses on their children (see review of research results in Garfinkel and McLanahan, 1986).
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Researchers concerned about the stresses on both single-parents and their children have investigated economic, time, and social resources available to these families. However, most of these studies have compared single-parent with married-couple families, a comparison that ignores the growing diversity of living arrangements among single mothers. Although the majority of single-parent families are still independent, mother-headed households, 1 in 5 single-parents (and their children) are identified as subfamilies living within other households (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1989). Subfamilies may live within the parental household, cohabit, or share their own household with other adult relatives, roommates or same-sex partners (Bumpass and Raley, 1995; Ghosh, Easterlin and Macunovich, 1993). Bumpass and Raley (1995) argue that these changes mean that living arrangements have become more important than marital status for demographic analysis. They estimate that, for children who spend some time living in a single-parent family, about one-third of that time is now spent in either a cohabiting family situation or a grandparent's home.
Several recent studies show substantial differences in the economic well-being of single mothers in differing living arrangements (Bumpass, and Raley, 1995; Congressional Budget Office, 1990; Ghosh, Easterlin and Macunovich, 1993; Winkler, 1993). These studies found that female single-parents living in subfamilies, whether cohabiting or living with relatives, had higher levels of household income adequacy than female-headed households. Winkler (1993) examined these differences further, and showed that income adequacy varies for single mothers who live in subfamilies, with not all arrangements having greater income adequacy than independent single-parent households. Single mothers who lived with another related single mother with children (most likely their own mother) had average household incomes at 80% of the poverty threshold. They were somewhat worse off than single-parents in independent households who had average incomes at the poverty line. In contrast, single mothers who lived with married parents or who cohabited with males had average household incomes twice the poverty threshold and were much better off than the independent single mother households.
It is likely that the differences in the economic resources of single-parents who cohabit, live with relatives, or live independently also extend to noneconomic resources that may increase the overall well-being of single-parents and their children. A previously uninvestigated advantage to shared living arrangements may be a reduction in the amount of time needed for household work, which could provide more time and energy for attending to children or for needed sleep and leisure. Time-use research has documented the time overload of many single mothers, especially those who are employed (Rowland, Nickols, and Dodder, 1986; Sanik and Mauldin, 1986). Single-parents living in subfamilies may be able to rely on additional adults to perform household work and child care, which could reduce time strains, but no research has compared the time use of single mothers in differing living arrangements.
Hence, this study aims more clearly to compare both the economic and the time resources of single mothers in differing living arrangements. Data from the 1987 National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH) are used to examine the relationship between living arrangements of single-parents and their economic and time resources. First, the levels of economic and time resources among single-parents in different living arrangements are described. Second, the relationship of variables such as type of living arrangement, education, and employment to single mothers' levels of economic and time resources is investigated, while controlling for differences in sociodemographic characteristics.
Because of the previous documentation of differences in marital status and living arrangements of single-parents by race, blacks and whites are examined separately in this study. Winkler (1993) found that white single mothers had higher rates of cohabitation (9.6%) than black single mothers (6.0%). Bumpass and Sweet (1989) also found lower rates of cohabitation for blacks than for non-Hispanic whites. In Winkler's analysis, whites lived with married parents (8.4%) more often than did blacks (5.6%) and black single mothers had higher rates of living with a single related female (usually their mother) than whites (17.9% for blacks; 6.0% for whites). Chow tests in the multivariate analyses also indicate that black and white single mothers should be treated as separate populations.
