After controlling for other demographic factors, children in lone-parent households are 2.5 times as likely to be sometimes or often unhappy. They are 3.3 times as likely to score poorly on measures of self-esteem.42
Among children aged five to fifteen years in Great Britain, those from lone-parent families were twice as likely to have a mental health problem as those from intact two-parent families (16% versus 8%).43
A major longitudinal study of 1,400 American families found that 20%–25% of children of divorce showed lasting signs of depression, impulsivity (risk-taking), irresponsibility, or antisocial behaviour compared with 10% of children in intact two-parent families.44
Have more trouble in school
Children from lone-parent families are more likely to score poorly on tests of reading, mathematics, and thinking skills.45
After controlling for other demographic factors, children from lone-parent households were
3.3 times more likely to report problems with their academic work, and
50% more likely to report difficulties with teachers.46
Tend to have more trouble getting along with others
After controlling for other demographic factors, children from lone-parent households are three times as likely to report problems with friendships.47
Children from lone-parent households are more likely to have behaviour problems or engage in antisocial behaviour.48
Boys from lone-parent households are more likely to show hostility to adults and other children, and be destructive of belongings.49
Have higher risk of health problems
It has been estimated that parental divorce increases children’s risk of developing health problems by 50%.50
In England and Wales during 2000, the sudden infant death rate for babies jointly registered by unmarried parents living at different addresses was over three times greater than for babies born to a married mother and father (0.66 per 1,000 live births as compared with 0.18). Where the birth was registered in the sole name of the mother, the rate of sudden infant death was seven times greater than for those born within marriage (1.27 per 1,000 live births as compared with 0.18).51
After controlling for other demographic factors, children living in lone-parent households were 1.8 times as likely to have psychosomatic health symptoms and illness such as pains, headaches, stomach aches, and feeling sick.52
Are at greater risk of suffering physical, emotional, or sexual abuse.
According to data from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), young people are five times more likely to have experienced physical abuse and emotional maltreatment if they grew up in a lone-parent family, compared with children in two-birth-parent families.53
All studies of child-abuse victims which look at family type identify the step-family as representing the highest risk to children54 – with the risk of fatal abuse being 100 times higher than in twobiological- parent families according to international from 1976.55 However, the use of the term step-father has become problematic, as, whilst it used to refer to men who were married to women with children by other men, it is now used to describe any man in the household, whether married to the mother or not. An NSPCC study of 1988 which separated married step-fathers from unmarried cohabiting men found that married step-fathers were less likely to abuse: ‘for nonnatal fathers marriage appears to be associated with a greater commitment to the father role’.56
Analysis of 35 cases of fatal abuse which were the subject of public inquiries between 1968 and 1987 showed a risk for children living with their mother and an unrelated man which was over 70 times higher than it would have been for a child with two married biological parents.57
Are more likely to run away from home
Children from lone-parent families are twice as likely to run away from home as those from two-birth-parent families (14% compared to 7%).58
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