Single mothers are more likely to suffer from poor health later on in life due to less social support, according to a new study.
Researchers at the Harvard Centre for Population and Development Studies in Cambridge, Massachusetts, analyzed the data of more than 25,000 women with ages 15 to 49 from 15 different countries to determine a link between single motherhood and social support.
The study considered factors such as the number of children, marital status, personal hygiene, daily activities, lifestyle and self-reported health.
The analysis showed that single mothers are more likely to earn less and be married compared to those who never experienced single motherhood. They are also at greater risk of physical disability and poor health compared to those who have husbands.
About 25 percent of the participants are single mothers. Scandinavian countries have the most single mothers at 38 percent while southern Europe have the least at 10 percent. One is considered a single mother if she had a baby before 18 years old and didn't marry.
The study explained that the risk is higher for single mothers because they receive less social support and are often abandoned by their families. Single mothers from the U.K., U.S., and Scandinavia showed the highest risks.
"Our results identify several vulnerable populations. Women with prolonged spells of single motherhood; those whose single motherhood resulted from divorce; women who became single mothers at young ages; and single mothers with two or more children, were at particular risk," the researchers wrote in a press release.
The researchers believe that single mothers can be protected if lawmakers will create policies that will address their health disadvantages. It will also help if the government will create programs that will provide better income to single mothers who are not receiving financial support from anyone.
The study was published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.
