Child Influences, Attitudinal and Behavioral Comparisons between Single Parent and Dual Parent Households in Grocery Shopping Decisions

Female-headed single parent families are the fastest growing family type in the United States. Using a mail-out survey this study tests several hypotheses that differences exist between this family type and two parent families on grocery shopping attitudes and behaviors. Single mothers and married mothers hold similar attitudes toward grocery shopping. It is the behavior of the children and the interaction of the parent with the children that represents the major source of difference between the two family types. Family shopping is three times as common for single parent families, and children of single parents shop alone for the family at three times the rate of children raised in dual parent households. Potential marketing implications are discussed.