Lone Motherhood in Twentieth-Century Britain : From Footnote to Front Page.

Cover -- Half Title Page -- Title Page -- Copyright -- PREFACE -- CONTENTS -- LIST OF FIGURES -- LIST OF TABLES -- ABBREVIATIONS -- Chapter 1: Introduction -- Understanding Continuity and Change -- Explaining Family Change -- Understanding Policy Shifts -- European Comparisons -- Chapter 2: The Changing Demography of Lone Motherhood -- Introduction -- Routes to Lone Motherhood -- Defining Lone Motherhood -- Never-Married Lone Motherhood-Trends -- Measures -- Pre-1950s -- The 1950s and Later -- Age and Marital Status -- Pathways to Never-Married Lone Motherhood -- Sexual Behaviour -- Contraception -- Abortion -- Bridal pregnancies -- Pregnancy outcomes -- Adoption -- Changing Marriage Patterns and the Rise of Cohabitation -- Summary -- Post-Marital Lone Motherhood -- The Decline of Widowhood -- The Rise of Divorce -- Children and Divorce -- Children and Lone Motherhood -- Pathways Out of Lone Motherhood -- Remarriage -- Re-partnering -- Summary -- Trends in Other European Countries -- Extramarital Childbearing -- Divorce in Europe -- Lone Parent Families -- Chapter 3: The Debate about the Law Affecting Marriage and Divorce In Twentieth-Century Britain -- In Search of a Higher Morality: 1880s-1920s -- The Promotion of Radical Sex Reform: the 1920s and 1930s -- Conservative Reaction: 1940s-1960s -- Radical Reform Revisited: the 1960s -- From the Regulation of Marriage to the Regulation of Parenting: 1970s-1990s -- Conclusion -- Chapter 4: Constructions of Unmarried Motherhood in the Post-War Period -- Abnormal and Victims: The Construction of the 195Os and Early 1960s -- Normal but Unfortunate: Constructions of the Late 1960s and 1970s -- Normal and Exercising Choice: Constructions of the 1980s and 1990s -- Conclusion -- Chapter 5: Lone Motherhood: Characteristics, Circumstances, and Consequences -- Introduction.

Characteristics of Lone Mother Families: 1970s-1990s -- Demographic Characteristics -- Employment Trends -- Housing Tenure -- Living Arrangements -- Educational Qualifications -- Economic Circumstances of Lone Mother Families -- Income -- Child Maintenance Payments -- State Support -- Remarriage -- International Comparisons -- Who Become Lone Mothers? -- Consequences of Family Breakdown -- Chapter 6: Social Security and Lone Mothers -- The 1950s -- The 1960s -- The 1970s -- The 1980s -- The 1990s -- Conclusion -- Chapter 7: Housing and Lone Mothers -- The 1950s and 1960s -- The 1970s -- The 1980s -- The 1990s -- Chapter 8: Lone Mothers, Employment, and Childcare -- The 1950s -- The 1960s -- The 1970s -- The 1980s -- The 1990s -- Chapter 9: Conclusion -- Putting the Genie Back in the Bottle I: Reducing Public Expenditure -- Putting the Genie Back in the Bottle II: Reducing the Numbers of Lone Mothers -- Defining the Problem as One of Mothers and Fathers -- The Need to Focus on Children and Supporting Parents -- BIBLIOGRAPHY -- INDEX.

During the 1990s lone motherhood has become a major political issue - but what is the problem actually about and to what extent is it new? This timely study, by three leading experts in the field, examines the changes that have taken place in the pathways into lone motherhood, in ideas about marriage, divorce and never-married motherhood, and in policies towards lone mothers in housing, social security, and employment. The findings illustrate both the complexity of the issues and the extent to which policies have reflected the changing way in which the problem has been defined.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.