The chart topping singer Beyonce’ has let it be known that there is nothing wrong with claiming single lady status and expressing your independence as a strong, successful woman. However, there are instances when being single is not all fun and games and as carefree as it sounds. This is especially true when it comes to raising a child.
Being a single mother is something that millions of women across the world are experiencing at this very moment. And as time progresses, the numbers of unwed mothers continues to grow rapidly, especially amongst minority female populations. Financial problems are known to plague the lives of those entering single motherhood. But did we know exactly how much it affects the physical and mental health of these women?
A study was led by associate Sociology professor Kristi Williams at Ohio State University targeting how raising a family with no male companion in the home to share the responsibility with affects women. What Williams and her team have discovered has shown that not making your way down the aisle can not only be emotionally stressful, sometimes causing women to go into depression. But it can be place a huge strain on their overall health.
The severity of these health problems can vary depending on the racial background of the female. With the single mother percentage being around 40% in the U.S., many of them are part of minority groups. Hispanic women however appear to be the ones who are not as affected by not having an official spouse but simply having a male companion living in the home with them.
Hispanic women have been shown to be less affected by health problems related to them remaining unmarried. Researchers say that this is due to the fact they often have children out of wedlock but it is with a man who they have shared a home with for an extended period of time.
When it comes to other minority women, namely Black women, researchers have found that being ring-less can cause issues in multiple areas according to Williams:
“Marriage tends to help by providing women with economic and social support, but black women are disadvantaged in marriage in both of those respects,”
This piece of information is probably very accurate seeing as though women from minority groups are predisposed to certain illnesses merely because of their genetic makeup. As African American women, we already are affected by a number of diseases and conditions including diabetes and high blood pressure, despite whether or not we are married with children. So imagine how intense these can potentially become if we are raising kids alone?
As this study has provided some very vital information on how our health can be affected, there is something quite interesting about this particular study. This just so happens to be the first one conducted in the United States that highlights the correlation between unwed mothers and the quality of their health. Hopefully the findings from this case study will influence further research on this topic as many women across the globe are dealing with this on a daily basis.
Living the single life does have its perks. But when it comes to motherhood, raising a child on your own can bring about additional stresses that we were once unaware of, those that can cause much more than financial issues.
Source: Ivanhoe
