Читать книгу Counseling the Contemporary Woman - Suzanne Degges-White - Страница 87

Over the last decade or so, the U.S. divorce rate began falling and has continued this trend (U.S. Census Bureau, 2018). This change might reflect millennials’ attitudes toward marriage, suggesting that young people are doing things differently. They tend to marry later in life, often after they have completed their education and are more financially stable; this contributes to marriage longevity. However, emerging and young women are more likely to divorce than older women (U.S. Census Bureau, 2018), leaving many of them single mothers, unless they marry again. About 75 percent of divorced women will remarry, usually around three years after a divorce (U.S. Census Bureau, 2018). Single mothers face multiple stressors associated with gender, work, socioeconomic status, and marital status. While two-thirds of single mothers are employed outside the home, only half of single mothers are employed full-time all year long. The median income for single mothers is $41,700 as compared to $90,380 for a married couple. Not only do single mothers earn less, only a third of them receive child support. Out of ten million low-income working families with children, 40 percent were headed by single working mothers. The proportion is much higher for African Americans (65 percent), compared to whites (36 percent). In terms of education, only 34 percent of single mothers have earned college degrees; a lack of funding for education can lead to a lifetime of earnings inequity. Despite all the challenges that single mothers might face, they are more likely than earlier generations were to choose divorce when they are stuck in an unhappy marriage.

In a society where access to and attainment in education have mushroomed for women, many will choose to postpone marriage and childbearing until much later than their mothers. They may also choose to raise a child on their own, a path that was dubbed “the single mother by choice” when it emerged in the 1980s. This choice may be driven by a variety of forces, such as the absence of a significant other and concerns about the “biological clock” ticking. To accomplish this, a woman must intentionally initiate and plan the conception of a child. Everything from technological advances or agreements and encounters with friends may produce the desired outcome. All in all, however, it is estimated that only 3 percent of women who are not cohabitating or are not married will choose to have a child on their own (Hayford & Guzzo, 2015). As social expectations have shifted, the expectations for relationship milestones have also changed as well. In addition, the timing of relationship developments may be affected by engagement in educational and occupational pursuits.