Singled out no longer: The changing narratives and types of single‐parent families

Abstract Single parenthood has risen dramatically in the United States over the last 50 years, along with social science research on these families. Some of this early research centered on causes as well as the consequences of single parenthood, especially on children, the latter of which many scholars argue reifies differences as problematic in single‐parent families by comparing them against the “normative” framework of heterosexual, married‐parent families. More recently, however, there has been much growth in social science research that examines the lived experiences of single parents and their children. In this review, I focus on this expanding field of inquiry and present research that highlights the diversity and complexity of single‐parent families. In particular, I summarize the classed, raced, and gendered media and public discourse on single parents, the changing demographics of single parenthood in the United States, and the ways that poor, Black single mothers are shifting the narrative on these families. I also discuss three types of single‐parent families that have received increasing scholarly attention: single parents in multigenerational homes, single fathers, and single parents “by choice.” These subtypes further nuance discussion of single parenthood by highlighting the growing diversity of these families. New developments and future directions for research on single parenthood are also discussed.