... Sociology Professor Sobel POVERTY IN SINGLE MOTHERS Poverty is defined as “the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money” (http://www.ask.com/wiki/Poverty). Poverty continues to be an epidemic we face in the United States. “According to an analysis of census data, 7.9 million people live in high-poverty neighborhoods. About 30 percent of the population in these neighborhoods is Black, 29 Hispanic, and 24 percent White. (Chapter 10/Social Class, pg.255; handout). As we take a closer look, poverty is at an all time high in single mothers. “In 1970, the number of single-parent families with children under the age of 18 was 3.8 million. By 1990, the number had more than doubled to 9.7 million” (http://www3.uakron.edu/schulze/401/readings/singleparfam.htm). According to textbook Sociology Matters by Richard T. Schaefer, “since World War II, women have constituted an increasing proportion of the poor people in the United States” (Schaefer, 2013, pg 146). The factors that lead women into poverty include the departure, disability, or a death of a husband. Single mothers are also more likely to be poor because of the lower income earnings, inadequate public assistance and lack of child support from fathers. The conflict theory is highly depicted among poverty in single women. “Conflict theorists and other observers trace the higher rates of poverty among women to three distinct factors; the difficulty in finding...
Words: 730 - Pages: 3
...Reasons Single Mothers Live in Poverty Tonya Norwood COM/150 February 16, 2014 Shyree Latham Reasons Single Mothers Live in Poverty According to Jennifer Wolf (2014), custodial single mothers are twice as likely to live in poverty as the general population. In 2009, 14 percent of the United States general population lived in poverty. 30 percent of custodial single mothers and their children lived in poverty. Moreover, thirteen million kids live in poverty in the U.S. The children living in poverty are affected in many different ways psychologically, socially, and physically. The federal poverty guideline for a family of four is $23,050.00 and that guideline compares to a median U.S. household income of $50,054.00 (Breslow, 2012). Many of these single mothers living in low income have low education. Nationally, over 80 percent of families headed by a parent without a high school diploma lives in poverty, compared to 54 percent of families headed by a parent a high school diploma, and only 22 percent of families headed by a parent with at least some college education. Single mothers live in poverty because they lack higher education and are products of poverty themselves. Lack of Education Thirty years ago less than twenty percent of birth occurred to single women. Today that number has doubled. At one time race was a huge factor, however. Today, education is a key factor. In 1990, ten percent of birth occurred to white single mothers with some...
Words: 1692 - Pages: 7
...The Effects of Living in Low-Income Single Mother Families Student Liberty University Abstract This article serves as an in-depth analysis of lives of low-income single mothers and their children. The cycle that happens with single mothers, the absence of the biological fathers and the stress that is often brought upon low-income single mothers all have the ability to affect the social, emotional and the cognitive development of the child. This article will be useful to anyone wondering about some of the struggles of low-income single mother households and the adverse effect on the child. Empirical articles were used to support the research of this article. The article supports the notion that low-income single mothers are often in a great struggle to pull themselves out of poverty. More readily available resources for single mothers including on-the-job training and financial resources for single mothers to be able to go back to school would greatly help low-income single mothers as they try to successfully raise their families. Keywords: single mother, low-income families, poverty The Effects of Living in Low-Income Single Mother Families The number of single-mother families in the United States has continued to increase steadily in the past few years. With close to 25 percent (one-fourth) of the 75 million children that are under the age of 18 in the United States being raised by single-mothers, this specific demographic is clearly one that cannot be ignored (Mather...
Words: 3100 - Pages: 13
...Society has viewed single mothers as an issue that only affects women of poverty. When a social issue of many races and cultures. It is portrayed that single mothers are African American or Latino. There are single mothers in all areas of the social ladder. Single motherhood happens for numerous reasons. When you think of reasons the first that comes to mind is divorce. Although this is one of the main reasons, it is one of many. Single women dating sometimes experience an unexpected pregnancy, and because of religious beliefs abortion is not an option, or they just chose to have the baby. Many Single mother homes struggle economically, because of the rise in cost of living, and one income households. These single mothers usually live under poverty level, ad struggle to pay their bills. These parents usually relay on some type of government assistance to survive. Many of these women don't have a healthy social life for themselves. This is because they tend to put all of their free time into their children, to try to compensate for the time spent at work. Those who choose to date have a difficult time, because they have to be careful of whom they introduce to their kids. This makes their love life almost nonexistent. These mothers experience high levels of stress trying to manage work and family life. Although the mother gives love to the child and interact as a family, she can sometimes feel alone, because of lack...
Words: 897 - Pages: 4
...people did not want to better themselves or their children's life. After much research, and a personal encounter with the system I came to realize that this was not so for many families on welfare. Poor single mothers were supplementing their regular income with some combination of "off the book" employment and money from relatives, lovers, and the fathers of their children. A handful of single mothers consumed goods and services whose value exceeded the official poverty line. What is the official poverty line? In 1999 poverty level for a family with one child was $8,240.04 annually, at this income level they were considered at 100% poverty scale. Is it too low? How did I know what constituted a poor families need, or any other families needs? I have commented on food stamps recipients who purchase a luxury item. The fact that they purchase such items must mean that they must not be in too much hardship, why would they purchase something that they can forgo. Prior to becoming acquainted with the system and many families on welfare I had never thought of the little luxuries that makes life enjoyable. How true it is that we cannot live on bread alone. How can I expect a poor person to live by those standards, after all they are human beings? Should my perception of a single mother that finds a way to supplement her welfare money by means other than...
Words: 866 - Pages: 4
...The Single Mom NURS 440 April 26, 2015 Deanna Radford There are a lot of assumptions out there about single parents and particularly single moms. For example, there are people who believe that most single moms choose to raise their kids solo, are unemployed, and receive government assistance. While every story is different, most don’t support these assumptions. Once largely limited to poor women and minorities, single motherhood is now becoming the new “norm”. This prevalence is due in part to the growing trend of children born outside marriage, a societal trend that was virtually unheard of decades ago. When you examine U.S. Census data, the actual single parent statistics may surprise you. Single Parents by the Numbers According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are approximately 13.7 million single parents in the United States today, and those parents are responsible for raising 22 million children. This number represents approximately 26% of children under 21 in the U. S. today. Despite negative assumptions that most single moms “selfishly” chose to raise their kids solo, the majority of individuals raising children alone started out in committed relationships and never expected to be single parents. Of all single-parent families in the U.S., single mothers make up the majority. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, out of about 12 million single parent families in 2014, more that 80% were headed by single mothers. Today...
Words: 896 - Pages: 4
...Institute for Research on Poverty Discussion Paper no. 1044-94 Long-Term Poverty and Child Development in the United States: Results from the NLSY Sanders Korenman Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs and Center for Population Analysis and Policy University of Minnesota Jane E. Miller Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research Rutgers University John E. Sjaastad Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs University of Minnesota September 1994 This research was funded by a grant from the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin. An earlier version of part of this paper appeared as part of Office of Population Research Working Paper No. 93-5, Princeton University, June 1993, which contains supplemental analyses and is available from the authors. We thank participants in seminars at the University of Maryland, the University of Michigan, Princeton University, the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the 1993 meetings of the Population Association of America for their comments. Abstract The authors describe developmental deficits in early childhood associated with long-term poverty in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). They compare estimates of the effects of long-term poverty (based on a thirteen-year average of income) to estimates of the effects of poverty based on a single year of income (at the time of developmental assessment). They find substantial developmental deficits among...
Words: 4410 - Pages: 18
...Effects of Single Parent Homes on Children Abstract Throughout the world, there are numerous children being raised in single parent homes. This paper is a summary of the increase of children raised by single parents and the effects it has on them. Single parent homes will consist of households with at least one child under the age of 18 and only one parent as a result of divorce, death, or parents having never been married. The effects on cognitive, social, and emotional development of these children will be compared to that of children raised in two-parent homes. Effects of Single Parent Homes on Children The American family dynamic has seen a drastic shift in the past few decades. The nuclear family structure, consisting of a father, mother, and children, has been rapidly decreasing as more and more children are being raised in single-parent homes. Divorce, parental death, or couples having never been married are some common circumstances leading to single-parenthood. Being a single-parent and sole provider for children can be a difficult and overwhelming task. Having to single handedly juggle all the responsibilities of career, maintaining a household, and raising children is hard on not only the parent but it takes a toll on the children, as well. When compared to their married-couple counterparts, the effects on cognitive, social and emotional development of children raised in single parent homes is made apparent. They are placed at a disadvantage and their...
Words: 2206 - Pages: 9
...with the future of the citizens in this country. Throughout my life poverty has been Americas "Darkest Secret". I never Really hear news Reports on the growing percentage of Americans living in poverty, or the ways the government is trying to fix this issue. I grew up in Detroit, Michigan where more than a third of residents live below the poverty line (Sasha Abramsky, "America's Shameful Poverty Stats"). Throughout my childhood I have watched many friends' families struggle financially. Sometimes my friends would go without eating for a couple of days simply because they could not afford it. I would offer them food but they would kindly decline because they were so embarrassed because of their situation. They would wear clothes that wouldn't fit them because they couldn't afford to buy new clothes. They would miss school to watch their little siblings because their mom was a single parent and had to work all day everyday just so she could feed them. They didn't even apply to college because they knew they had to immediately pick up a crapy job so they could help their mom pay the bills. The list goes on. All of this is happening under your supervision and it doesn't seem like much is affectively fixing this issue. America's lowest percentage of citizens living below the poverty line was 11.1 percent in 1973. It reached 15.2 percent in 1983 then dropped again to 11.3 percent in 2000 (Peter Edelman, "Poverty in America; Why Can't We End It?"). That just proves the government...
Words: 1621 - Pages: 7
...Socioeconomic Status and Food-Insecurity in Single-Mother-Families Rana Hassan & Douaa Mostafa Shopping List Project, Highway to Health 2000A Tuesday, November 18th , 2014 Introduction: In Canada, women’s health is affected by several social, economic and physical determinants. Single mothers are women, who are single, divorced, widowed or separated and care for one or more child with no assistance from a spouse. Single-mother families constitute 13% of Canadian families and they are more likely to experience a lower quality of life compared to families with two parents [3]. Also, poverty rates among families led by single mothers remain unacceptably high compared to the other demographic groups [3]. In 1999, poverty rate in single mothers was 51.8%, which is five-fold greater than the poverty rate among two-parent families (10.4%) [2]. Despite Canada’s efforts to reduce poverty among single-mother-families, the percentage of poor children living with their mothers continued to grow substantially over the last two decades [3]. Many studies conducted in Canada and the United States demonstrate that single mothers are significantly more likely to be young (less than 25 years of age), generally unhealthy, on welfare and poorly educated [9]. Also, single mothers tend to have higher rates of unemployment due to their deteriorating health states and their lower educational backgrounds [9]. The financial situation of a single-mother-family is worsened by additional children...
Words: 2539 - Pages: 11
...Poverty: What Determines either growth from or permanent placement Poverty is determined by learned behavior and cultural differences, not one of circumstance and opportunity. What factors allow a person to either advance or stay in poverty. Many people live in poverty due to many reasons; some by sudden unforeseen extreme circumstances, others by inheritance. I’m going to focus on those that have inherited poverty, mainly families using government assistance. Although many people have risen from such families, there are a number of people that still choose to live in poverty, instead of trying to rise above it. There are a lot of ways for people to get out of this lifestyle. What makes them stay? I have lived in a neighborhood that shared space with Section 8 Housing. Being in the same neighborhood I got the chance to see firsthand that maybe poverty is something caused by learned behavior and cultural differences and not one of circumstance and lack of opportunities. When I talk about cultural differences, I’m not talking about race so much. My neighborhood was multiracial. I think there are certain things that affect people’s decisions when it comes to poverty that either allows them to rise out of it or stay there. One thing I noticed that some of the families that lived there were proud of the things that the material things that they were able to buy because they didn’t have to spend money on all the essentials that most people do...
Words: 1561 - Pages: 7
...Poverty can be described and explained many different ways. When one looks up the defintion of the word poverty they will find, “ a general scarcity or dearth, or the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money.” So, in other words a lack of money and materials that are needed for everyday life. Vivienne Adair, “Reclaiming the Promise of Higher Education: Poor Single Mothers in Academe,” mentions what she felt while living in poverty, “Homelessness, hunger, lack of medical and dental care, fear, and despair.” She talks about how poverty is not just not having money but rather a life of hurt, fear, and not knowing where your next meal is coming from. She goes on to explain how higher education was what was able...
Words: 412 - Pages: 2
...Addressing Public Policy in Regards to Poverty Abstract This paper explores two published articles that report on results from research conducted on poverty in America and various ways in which to address the problem. Each article brings up various stats and studies in which poverty has been research and certain programs and ways in which we can help improve the issue. Haskins (2015) focuses more on the welfare program and how it was reformed for women to provide an incentive to work and Kearney, Harris, and Anderson (2014) focuses more on improving the education of the youth. With information provided by the authors listed above I have compiled a paper addressing the issue of poverty and what programs I think would help Americans improve the life of the needy which in turn would help stimulate the economy. While the United States has made improvements in social policy in regards to addressing the issue of poverty in America, it is still a glaring issue that has yet to be conquered. Research provided by Haskins (2015) shows a decline in poverty in three important groups among Americans: children, children in female-headed families, and the elderly. The latter of the groups has a distinct rate of reduction compared to the others and this can be attributed to the Social Security program. The majority of the elderly in America receive a monthly stipend from the government that is usually adequate enough to keep them above the poverty line. Progress for the other two groups...
Words: 1025 - Pages: 5
...reasons and mothers who are in real need of support, do not get help often and well enough. The government should invest more money, in order to prevent problems and provide the best help. Firstly, young single mothers are claimed to have a baby to secure local-authority housing. Moreover, 75 per cent of young mothers were surviving below the official poverty line during the last 15 years. Finally, young mothers prefer not to work, and live at taxpayers expenses. The government should improve the facilities for young single mothers (Storry & Childs 134-136). Firstly, it is claimed that young mothers become pregnant in order to secure scarce local-authority housing. According to Storry & Child in British Cultural Identities, young people do not receive housing subsidies easily; therefore they are having a child and skip the waiting list to live in houses provided by the local-authorities. The fact that young women choose to be a mother and they do not have to live on the streets is a wrong reason for women to have a child. The government should provide more houses for young tenants in the first place, so that these young girls do not need to have a baby in order to have a place to stay. Additionally, 75 per cent of young mothers have subsisted below the official poverty line during the last 15 years (Storry & Childs 136). The amount of money needed for a single woman in Britain is estimated on 13,400 pounds (BBC 1). According to BBC news, 600,000 new mothers have been helped...
Words: 610 - Pages: 3
...condition of the welfare state contribute to the growing number of single mothers living in poverty and this attracted so many social welfare organisations like UN, UNICEF, PLAN international amongst others to support women through giving them soft loans and food. ii. Empowerment, since women have to work for themselves. iii. Freedom/flexible in decision making b) Disadvantages of female headed household Female headed households are always under the threat of rapist, womanizers and often become easy targets of criminals. i. As females are less equipped with the skills of high income generation such as tertiary education, they are not able to take up better jobs in labour market, their mobility to search job at various workplaces is also restricted, several times they are less preferred at workplace in comparison with their male counterparts and they get lesser wage or salary for the same job. Thus it makes a female headed households vulnerable to shock of poverty and risk of survival. ii. This not only restricts time with children, but opportunities for personal rest and recreation, not to mention the active cultivation of links with kin, friends and neighbours and workmates which might enhance their access to ‘positive social capital’ such as mutual aid. 2) * Economic stress. The single parent may feel stress being the sole financial supporter. If you are newly single, you may have to adjust to living on less money than you are accustomed...
Words: 1225 - Pages: 5
