ABSTRACT
Over the past two decades, America has generally witnessed a dramatic transformation in the structure of families. Households headed by never married, separated and divorced women with children have grown from being statistically insignificant to commonplace (McLanahan and Garfinkel 1989; McLanahan 1995; McLanahan and Sandefur 1994). Recently, single-parent households have become the political and economic scapegoats of some politicians and religious groups, receiving the blame for some aspects of America's so-called moral erosion. It is important to underscore, therefore, that this study does not address the moral ramifications of single-parent households, and its implications should not be construed as a statement on the same.
