THE SELF-REPORTED HEALTH-STATUS OF LONE PARENTS

A number of studies have shown that lone parents have poorer health st atus than the general population. However, what is missing from the ex isting literature is any systematic assessment of the contribution tha t lone parents' relatively poor socioeconomic circumstances make to th eir relative health disadvantage. This paper aims to fill this gap. It employs a large national dataset based on three consecutive years of the British General Household Survey (1992/1993 to 1994/1995) to asses s the relative health status of lone parents in comparison to couple p arents, and to evaluate the importance of different explanations for t heir health differences. The results confirm that lone parents, partic ularly lone mothers, have poor health status relative to parents livin g as couples. The observed health differences mirror variations in soc ioeconomic circumstances. However, even when a wide range of demograph ic and socioeconomic circumstances are included in multivariate models , lone mothers still have significantly poorer health than couple moth ers for four out of five health variables. The paper concludes by disc ussing alternative explanations for the health differences between lon e and couple parents - such as the absence of an intimate/confiding re lationship, the stress and stigma associated with becoming a lone pare nt and health selection - and by highlighting future options for polic y and research in this area. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.