Changing Lone Parenthood Patterns: New Challenges for Policy and Research

Abstract

The growth of lone parent families has been one of the most striking changes in family forms in European countries over the last 50 years. Although it is now well documented that children are significantly more likely to be poor if they live with only one parent, few analyses examine the changes in lone parent profiles and therefore the challenges of the change in lone parenthood regime for both social research and social policies. This paper compares the prevalence and characteristics of lone parents in Europe with a specific focus on France. The paper explores how lone parents concur to the diversity and complexity of family forms. It also explores how their development and changing patterns tackle not only the concepts used to define lone parent families but also the concepts of parenthood and parental responsibilities. Social policies are also questioned by the poverty and deprivation risks incurred by children living with a lone parent and the policies’ ability to reduce this poverty.