Single-Parent Family and the ChildrenĄ¯s Mental Health
...headed by lone parents. Of these families, 81.3 percent (1,065,997) were headed by lone mothers (Census 2001). In the United States, there were 11.9 million single-parent families in 2000. Between 1970 and 2000, the number of single mothers increased from 3 millions to 10 millions (Kids). In addition, 28 percent (20 millions) of all children in the US under 18 live with one parent; while, the percentage of children who live with two parents has been declining among all racial and ethnic groups(Quick). What do we know about children from single-parent families, especially their mental health? In Canada, an applied research in 2002 indicated that some 41% of children in single-mother families presented one or several emotional problems. In comparison, 26% of children in all families had similar problems (Growing). Experts indicated that approximately 4 out of 100 teenagers get seriously depressed each year in US (Depression). As its worst, depression can create such feelings of despair that a person thinks about suicide (Depression). Every 78 seconds a teen attempts suicide and every 90 seconds they succeed. Unbelievably, 63 percent of suicides are individuals from single parent families (Facts)! More and more research and reports showed that childr...