Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Uppsala universitet, 2007. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Abstract The proportion of single-parent families has increased in the last few decades world-wide, mostly due to high divorce rates. Also in Finland growing numbers of children spend part of their childhood in single-parent families. The aim of this study was to investigate in a longitudinal perspective, the possible long-term effects of the childhood family structure on psychological, physical and criminal outcomes of an offspring during adulthood. A large, prospectively collected general population birth cohort (n= 11 017), the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort, was used as a study population. This database provided the information on childhood family structure of cohort members with additional information of sociodemographic factors of the family and of the child. Information concerning physical and psychiatric illnesses were gathered from the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register (FHDR). Death certificates and the information from national crime registers were also obtained. Females with a single-parent family background were more commonly hospital-treated (61.3 % vs. 56.7 %) for any physical condition than females with a two-parent family background. For males such difference in overall physical illness was not found. Both females and males from single-parent families had more commonly been hospital-treated for some diagnoses in the ICD-category of "injury and poisoning" than had other cohort members. Furthermore, females from single-parent families had also more commonly been treated due to pregnancy-related conditions such as induced abortions. During the follow-up time (16 to 28 years of age) 117 (90 males, 27 females) cohort members had died. Males with single-parent family background exhibited an increased mortality risk, especially due to suicides (OR=2.5, 95% CI 1.1-5.8, adjusted for psychiatric hospital diagnosis, parental social class). Criminality was more common among both males and females from single-parent families compared with other cohort members. The results showed that the risk of violent offending and recidivism was increased up to 8-fold if the cohort male member had been born and raised in a single-mother family over most of his childhood. Parental divorce also doubled the risk for both violent and recidivistic offending. Non-violent offences among males were associated only with parental death and divorce. Furthermore, drunk driving was more common among both males and females with single-parent background. Males who were born into single-mother families were at the highest risk of drunk driving offences in adulthood (OR=2.4, 95% CI 1.4-4.2, adjusted for maternal age, psychiatric hospital diagnosis, parental social class). In this study it was shown that young adults with single-parent families in childhood experienced a more stressful pathway from late adolescence to adulthood. However, most of the offspring of single-parent families did well during the follow-up time. Strategies to promote the well-being of children and adolescents in single-parent families are of prime importance for preventive health care.

The study examined dimensions of the family context associated with variations in parent involvement and parent perceptions of children's school achievement using data from 1,085 male and 2,239 female respondents with a child between the ages of 5 and 18 years collected in the 1987-88 National Survey of Families and Households. Small but significant differences in parent perceptions of school achievement were found in favor of children being raised in a first-married two-parent home. Negative effects on school outcomes were centered on children who experienced family disruption. Living in a one-parent household with a parent who was previous married was associated with parent reports of poorer performance for elementary school children and lower grades for adolescents. Neither living in a one-parent household with a continuously single parent nor living in a stepfamily was significantly related to achievement. Parent employment status was not directly related to children's achievement but did have indirect effects through parent involvement both at home and school. Parent involvement at school and in child-centered home activities was associated with perceptions of improved school performance for elementary school children and higher grades for adolescents. Mothers were more likely to be involved in children's schooling than fathers. Single and cohabiting mothers were less involved at school than first-married mothers, but single fathers tended to be more likely to participate than their first-married counterparts. There were no significant differences between the home involvement of single mothers and their first-married counterparts but single fathers were more involved at home than first-married fathers. For both mothers and fathers, receiving tangible aid from a wide network of relatives and friends was associated with higher levels of school and home involvement. Findings suggest that educators who have negative beliefs about single parents' engagement in school-family partnerships may be influenced by these parents' low presence at school. Recognizing that single parents are as involved with their children at home as parents in traditional families can lead to educational practices that support home involvement and result in positive effects on children's academic progress. / Graduation date: 1994

The vast majority of housing in the United States today has been created to conform to a family definition that does not match current demographic realities. The "traditional family" - a married couple with an employed husband, a homemaker wife, and several children has been the model family that housing designers have strived to accommodate on a grand scale since at least the mid-1940's. This type of family, however, comprises only 10% of all American families; the remaining 90%, despite being a majority, have had their housing needs ignored. One family group often considered to be non-traditional and often left out of housing considerations is the single parent family. This family type is an established household form in the United States; currently nearly one third of all American families are single parent families, most of which are headed by women. During the past few years housing projects have begun to appear that are designed to house "non-traditional families" such as single parent families. It has been generally assumed that the spatial needs of single parent families are different from those of nuclear families or the "traditional family". This research will focus on the analysis of housing as designed for single parent families in comparison to housing as designed for the American nuclear family. Floor plans of the two housing types were obtained from the following cities: Denver, CO, Hayward, CA, Providence, RI, and Minneapolis, MN. The intent of this study is to examine what, if any, differences occur in the spatial orientation of housing designed for single parent families and housing designed for the nuclear family: the single family detached home. The study examined room layout in relation to use and commonly accepted social function. Two methods of analysis were employed: gamma analysis as developed by Hillier and Hanson and annotated analysis developed specifically for this research. The method of gamma analysis was used to determine if the housing as designed for the two family types is different in form and social function, while the annotated analysis was used to measure the "fit" of the housing for each of the family types. It was originally expected that the single parent family dwellings would exhibit a higher degree of integration than the single family detached homes based on predictions gleaned form the literature. However, the gamma analysis revealed a lower mean relative asymmetry value for the single family detached houses (0.308), indicating a higher degree of integration, than the mean relative asymmetry value for the single parent family dwellings (0.368). This difference was not found to be significant (p = 0.276). The annotated analysis results indicated single family detached houses scored a better fit to their intended family type (mean annotated analysis score = 0.638) than did the single parent family dwellings to their intended family type (mean annotated analysis score = 0.533). Again, this difference was not found to be significant (p = 0.385). The findings of this study provide a glimpse at the interior spatial arrangements of housing as designed for the two family types in question. While the results of the two analysis methods seems to indicate that the interior spatial arrangement of housing is not meeting the needs of either family type, more research should be conducted to further substantiate the findings. These findings will be of interest to designers of homes, housing developers, planners and policy makers, and researchers in the field of housing, all of whom can have an effect on the shape of the housing environment and can help make it more suitable for all family types. / Graduation date: 1991

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 2005. / Not embargoed. Vita. Bibliography: 156-180.

This exploratory study investigated how four independent variables, namely post-marital residence, length of time in a single parent family, gender and change in relative age position in the family, affect the closeness of stepsibling relationships. This research focused primarily on families in which stepsiblings lived together in the same household; however, individuals who had stepsiblings living in another location were also included in the study. A sample of 139 people was generated through a purposive method of requesting names of eligible persons from county extension agents in four Western states (Utah, Idaho, Oregon and Arizona), and from ten introductory classes in Family and Human Development and Sociology during the fall and winter quarters of the 1984-1985 school year.Questionnaires were mailed out. Ninety surveys were returned, yielding a response rate of 65 percent . Seventy-five of the instruments were usable (N=75). The analysis consisted of a two way analysis of covariance for the first three variables. A Kruskal-Wallace was used for the dethronement variable given the small numbers in each of the cells. Post-marital residence and gender of the respondents had no discernible effect on the dependent variable in this study. While the variable months in a single parent family did not have a significant effect on the feelings of closeness towards stepsiblings, a positive trend was noted between the two. A strong but non-significant relationship was discovered between the variable of dethronement and the dependent variable. Further analysis was conducted on a separate independent variable, whether or not the respondents were informed about the parental remarriage, and on two dependent variables as follows: feelings towards stepsiblings at the time of remarriage as well as feelings about the actual remarriage, loving relationships between stepsiblings. A significant difference was noted between informed and non-informed respondents and the first dependent variable. A strong but nonsignificant relationship was discovered between the same groups of respondents and the second dependent variable. Implications for therapy were generated from the results of the study. Suggestions for the optimum times to introduce therapy were also given, as well as strategies that would be useful in enhancing stepsibling functioning.

The number of single-parent families has increased dramatically in the world. In South Africa, this increase has partly been due to the increased number of deaths as a result of the AIDS pandemic. The purpose of this study is to explore experiences of widowers as single parents. The study proposes to elevate the view of single-parent families, which classes them as stereotypes of victimization, to where such families come to represent responsible archetypes. Unstructured in-depth interviews were used to obtain data from two Black and two White widowed single fathers. Thematic content analysis was utilized to identify emerging themes from the fathers' stories. Fathers in this study challenged the deficit model's view of single parenting which claims that these families are broken. As far as its applicability is concerned, this study may be beneficial to psychotherapists, single parents and society as a whole. / Psychology / M.A.(Clinical Psychology)

單親幼童家長面臨單親生活時可能會遇到下列情況，如：經濟困境、子女照顧問題、缺乏外界資源、心理情緒困擾等。單親家庭能否於困境中適應，相關研究已指出與家庭資源以及復原力有關連性。在此研究者將影響復原力的因子分為三類：個體因子、家庭因子與社會因子。本研究採用半結構訪談方式進行資料的蒐集，並分析四位單親幼童家長的婚姻經歷、家庭資源需求面向及影響復原力的因素。 　　研究發現如下： 1.單親幼童家長婚姻危險因素與困境：涉及價值觀、經濟困境、孩子問題的差異。單親幼童家長生活過程中，經濟為最大的困境，其次為孩子個別差異、陪伴子女時間短、健康狀況不佳、負債等。 2.單親幼童家長資源需求：經濟、原生家庭資源與社會福利。單親家庭個別資源需求主要為學歷、健康；家庭內部資源為經濟協助、陪伴子女時間、教養問題；家庭外部資源為外界關懷、社會福利補助、親子課程等。 3.影響單親幼童家長復原力的因子：個體因子主要為擁有具復原性的個人特質、對未來有規劃或希望、和平離婚；主要的家庭因子為孩子、原生家庭影響；主要的社會因子為朋友支持、社會資源、新對象陪伴等。

本研究的目的係為了解單親隔代教養家庭樣貌，以及家庭中祖父母職的角色，並且探討單親隔代教養家庭之家庭系統。研究以質性研究方式進行，深度訪談10位單親隔代教養祖母，其中離婚之單親子女男女性別各半。研究發現，祖父母投入單親隔代教養家庭的原因包括：對於子女及孫子女情感的牽絆與不捨、由代間交換所獲得的愛與關懷、以及祖父母重視家庭的文化觀。單親隔代教養祖父母職的角色包括：社會性及象徵性的角色、工具性的角色、教育性角色以及情感性的角色。單親隔代教養之家庭系統議題包括「家庭週期」、「家庭角色」、「次系統及界線」，以及「權力及聯盟」。「家庭週期」的部分包括：祖父母從極力避免子女離婚至與子女一起度過離婚後的各種變動，如家庭重組、祖父母支持子女與其重新適應新生活的歷程；「家庭角色」的部分則包括：從子女離婚後的缺位替補、以及祖父母與其單親子女在家庭生活中共同建構新的家庭角色；「次系統及界線」的部分則包括：單親子女與孫子女重建親子次系統、祖父母協助避免親子系統形成僵化和疏離的界線，以及祖父母與其成年子女建立相互支持和緊密的成人的次系統；「權力及聯盟」部分包括：單親隔代教養家庭中存在單親家長「身為家長的權力」、祖父母「當家作主的權力」，以及不在家中的非監護權家長，也似乎影響著家庭的權力關係。此外，單親隔代教養中亦存在性別議題，包括離婚子女返家的經歷，女性返家須透過與父母商量，回家也可能只是過渡；家庭角色對男性的期待只需賺錢養家，但女性卻較被認為是照顧者的角色；另，祖父母對內、外孫的態度亦有所差異，有些祖父母認為自己對待孫子女無分內、外孫，但仍然有些祖父母出現內孫優先的想法。研究最後針對實務工作者、服務體系及社會政策三方面提出相關建議，以增進單親隔代教養家庭的福祉。 / The purpose of this study was to better understand the single-parent families that live with grandparents and the roles of grandparents in family systems theory. Qualitative method is employed in the study. Data were drawn from in-depth interviews with ten grandparent caregivers of divorced single-parent families.The findings indicated that the reasons why grandparents devoted to single-parent families’ caregiving tasks include: grandparents having deep feeling and love for their children and grandchildren, love and caring received from intergenerational exchange, and the cultural heritage of the family value.The roles of grandparents include:social and symbolic role, instrumental role, educational role and emotional role.The family systems of single-parent families which live with grandparents include: family life cycle, family roles, family subsystems and boundaries, and family power and coalitions. The family life cycle include : reorganization of family and supporting children to re-adapt to new life. The family roles include: substituting the absence of ‘family roles’, rebuilding new family roles; The family subsystems and boundaries include: rebuilding parental subsystem and preventing their parental subsystem from being rigid and isolated , rebuilding a supported and intimate subsystem between grandparents and the single parent；The family power and coalitions include: the parent as the power center , grandparents as being the power of decision makers and the unavoidable role of the non-custody parent relating to the power of the family. The gender issues also existed between divorced son and daughter in situations like the way they returning home, the family roles expected, and the grandchildren treated. Finally, implications were made from the aspects of practitioners, the service system, and social policy to enhance the well-being of the single-parent families that live with grandparents.

The number of single-parent families has increased dramatically in the world. In South Africa, this increase has partly been due to the increased number of deaths as a result of the AIDS pandemic. The purpose of this study is to explore experiences of widowers as single parents. The study proposes to elevate the view of single-parent families, which classes them as stereotypes of victimization, to where such families come to represent responsible archetypes. Unstructured in-depth interviews were used to obtain data from two Black and two White widowed single fathers. Thematic content analysis was utilized to identify emerging themes from the fathers' stories. Fathers in this study challenged the deficit model's view of single parenting which claims that these families are broken. As far as its applicability is concerned, this study may be beneficial to psychotherapists, single parents and society as a whole. / Psychology / M.A.(Clinical Psychology)