View in EDS

Single Parenthood and the Poverty Debate: How Pathways and Policies Explain Cross‐National Differences.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Single Parenthood and the Poverty Debate: How Pathways and Policies Explain Cross‐National Differences.
Authors: Burciu, Roxana‐Diana1,2 (AUTHOR) rburciu@ced.uab.es
Source: Journal of Marriage & Family. Jun2026, Vol. 88 Issue 3, p743-759. 17p.
Subject Terms: *Single parents, *Family structure, Heterogeneity, Poverty, Cross-cultural differences, Social policy
Abstract: Objective: This study aims to reveal the heterogeneity of single parents by focusing on the variation in poverty risks across countries and across pathways into single parenthood. It also adjudicates between two contrasting explanations for cross‐national variation in single parent poverty. Background: Single parenthood's strong association with poverty has long been established in both public discourse and academic research, particularly in the context of the United States. However, the reasons for cross‐national differences in single‐parent poverty are unclear, with both institutional and individual perspectives offering credible arguments. Method: This study uses longitudinal panel data from the Cross‐National Equivalent File from five countries (Australia, Switzerland, Germany, the UK, and the US) to address two competing explanations for cross‐national differences in single‐parent poverty: (1) variation in pathways into single parenthood (never marrying, divorce, widowhood, and separation) and (2) differences in policy. Results: The research reveals substantial disparities in the prevalence of single parenthood across countries and time and exposes large heterogeneity in poverty outcomes by pathway into single parenthood. However, a decomposition analysis shows that policy remains the factor accounting for most of the cross‐national differences in poverty among single parents. Conclusion: Although pathways into single parenthood matter a lot in predicting poverty within countries, variation in social policy remains the most important factor in explaining cross‐national differences in single‐parent poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Marriage & Family is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
Header DbId: ehh
DbLabel: Education Research Complete
An: 193710961
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Single Parenthood and the Poverty Debate: How Pathways and Policies Explain Cross‐National Differences.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Burciu%2C+Roxana‐Diana%22">Burciu, Roxana‐Diana</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> rburciu@ced.uab.es</i>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Marriage+%26+Family%22">Journal of Marriage & Family</searchLink>. Jun2026, Vol. 88 Issue 3, p743-759. 17p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subject Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Single+parents%22">Single parents</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Family+structure%22">Family structure</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Heterogeneity%22">Heterogeneity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Poverty%22">Poverty</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cross-cultural+differences%22">Cross-cultural differences</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+policy%22">Social policy</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Objective: This study aims to reveal the heterogeneity of single parents by focusing on the variation in poverty risks across countries and across pathways into single parenthood. It also adjudicates between two contrasting explanations for cross‐national variation in single parent poverty. Background: Single parenthood's strong association with poverty has long been established in both public discourse and academic research, particularly in the context of the United States. However, the reasons for cross‐national differences in single‐parent poverty are unclear, with both institutional and individual perspectives offering credible arguments. Method: This study uses longitudinal panel data from the Cross‐National Equivalent File from five countries (Australia, Switzerland, Germany, the UK, and the US) to address two competing explanations for cross‐national differences in single‐parent poverty: (1) variation in pathways into single parenthood (never marrying, divorce, widowhood, and separation) and (2) differences in policy. Results: The research reveals substantial disparities in the prevalence of single parenthood across countries and time and exposes large heterogeneity in poverty outcomes by pathway into single parenthood. However, a decomposition analysis shows that policy remains the factor accounting for most of the cross‐national differences in poverty among single parents. Conclusion: Although pathways into single parenthood matter a lot in predicting poverty within countries, variation in social policy remains the most important factor in explaining cross‐national differences in single‐parent poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Marriage & Family is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=193710961
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1111/jomf.70043
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 17
        StartPage: 743
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Single parents
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Family structure
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Heterogeneity
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Poverty
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Cross-cultural differences
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social policy
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Single Parenthood and the Poverty Debate: How Pathways and Policies Explain Cross‐National Differences.
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Burciu, Roxana‐Diana
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 06
              Text: Jun2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 00222445
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 88
            – Type: issue
              Value: 3
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Journal of Marriage & Family
              Type: main
ResultId 1