SOC 3371 Lecture Notes - Lecture 23: Judith Wallerstein

• School: University of Houston
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 3371
• Professor: Luis Salinas

Document Summary

Many fathers fade from their children"s lives because they cannot or will not contribute to their children"s support. Custodial mothers are hit hard economically when they end a relationship with the fathers of their children: do not receive child support. Single-father families have been growing: single fathers tend to have higher incomes than single mothers. Between 1980 and 2018, the number of single-father families increased from 690,000 to 2. 1 million: 18 percent of single-parent families are now headed by men, 19 percent had incomes below poverty line in 2016. Both custodial parents and children experience difficulties during the first year or two after separation. Results in diminished parenting: distracted and distressed parents have difficulty providing emotional support and moderate, consistent discipline on a daily basis, parents may seem emotionally distant and preoccupied, prone to ignore the child"s misbehavior. Majority of children resume normal development: six years after disruption, 20 to 25 percent of young adolescents displayed serious behavior problems.