Adulthood wellbeing lower for single-parent kids – new research

People who grew up in single-parent families have lower levels of wellbeing and life satisfaction in adulthood, new University of Warwick research shows. Individuals brought up by a single parent earn 30% less, are 9% less likely to be in a romantic relationship and have fewer friends , researchers find 20% of children in Germany and 24% in the UK currently being raised in single-parent households People who grew up in single-parent families have lower levels of wellbeing and life satisfaction in adulthood, according to new research by the University of Warwick. Dr Sakari Lemola from Warwick's Department of Psychology, and Dr David Richter from the German Institute for Economic Research, have discovered that individuals who were brought up by a single parent for their entire childhood earn on average 30% less and are more likely to be unemployed. Furthermore, on average they were 9% less likely to be in a romantic relationship and had a smaller number of friends, according to the research. In a study of over 24,000 adults aged 18-66, the researchers identified 641 individuals who spent their entire childhood with a single parent and 1539 who spent part of their childhood with a single parent. The sample group was asked how satisfied they are with life in general, using an 11-point scale - ranging from zero (completely dissatisfied) to ten (completely satisfied). They were also asked who they lived with for the first fifteen years of their life.