Single‐Parent Family Discourse in Popular Magazines and Social Science Journals

LaRossa, Ralph

doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2008.00595.x

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…This gap in attitudinal research is puzzling given concerns among certain constituencies regarding the putative harms of single‐parent and same‐sex parent households. Critics of single‐parent families contend that relying on just one parent contributes to a host of problems for their children, such as lower educational attainment, delinquency, teenage pregnancies, poverty, and welfare dependency (Blankenhorn, 1995; Pearlstein, 2011; Popenoe, 2009; for competing discussions of single‐parent households in the U.S., see Amato et al, 2015; Brooks, 2002; Downey & Powell, 1993; Hamilton et al, 2011; Larossa, 2009; Usdansky, 2009). In contrast, critics of same‐sex parent homes often root their opposition in the claim that children's well‐being is maximized when they live with their mother and father.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

One parent, two parents, one sex, two sexes: Public attitudes toward single and same‐sex parents

Cheng

Kelley

Powell

2022

J of Marriage and Family

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The aim of this study is to compare public opinion regarding single and same-sex parents. Background: Comparing attitudes about the effectiveness of single-parents to same-sex parents shows how much importance the public places on the number of parents compared to the sex of the parents; however, surprisingly little research examines attitudes about single and samesex parenting ability. Method: We use data from the 2012 General Social Survey "Family-and-Changing-Gender-Roles" module (N $ 1200) to compare perceptions of the effectiveness of single parents (vs. two parents) and same-sex parents (vs. a mother and a father). We construct a measure that captures whether individuals hold more positive attitudes about single parents or same-sex parents. We then rely on multivariate models to examine the impact of sociodemographic characteristics on these perceptions, and explore the influence of attitudes regarding gender, sexuality, and childcare policy.Results: Approximately half of the respondents provided similarly positive or negative responses regarding the effectiveness of single and same-sex parents; of the remaining half, slightly more provided higher ratings to single parents. Several sociodemographic factors-gender, age, marital status, region, and sexual minority statussignificantly shape attitudes about same-sex and single parents in similar directions-although, in some cases, these factors also predict differences in these attitudes. For example, compared to men, women are more positive about both single parents and same-sex parents, but they still rate single parents higher. In contrast, other sociodemographic factors-notably, race/ethnicity and education-predict attitudes about same-sex and single parents, as well as the difference between these two parental types. Some of these patterns occur via respondents' religiosity. Of the attitudinal factors, attitudes regarding

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

One parent, two parents, one sex, two sexes: Public attitudes toward single and same‐sex parents

Cheng

Kelley

Powell

2022

J of Marriage and Family

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Why do Americans continue to express ambivalence toward divorce, nonmarital childbearing, and single‐parent families decades after these pathways to family formation became commonplace? This question emerges from my own research published in this issue of the Journal of Marriage and Family (Usdansky, 2009) as well as from the three thoughtful accompanying commentaries by Cherlin (2009), Thornton (2009), and LaRossa (2009). Between 1900 and 1998, negative depictions of single‐parent families created by divorce plummeted in popular magazines and in social science journals (Usdansky, 2009).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Ambivalent Acceptance of Single‐Parent Families: A Response to Comments

Usdansky

2009

J of Marriage and Family

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Single‐Parent Family Discourse in Popular Magazines and Social Science Journals

Cited by 2 publications

References 2 publications

One parent, two parents, one sex, two sexes: Public attitudes toward single and same‐sex parents

One parent, two parents, one sex, two sexes: Public attitudes toward single and same‐sex parents

Ambivalent Acceptance of Single‐Parent Families: A Response to Comments

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