The World Family Mapc/o Child Trends
Adults in Asia show the widest range of beliefs on this indicator. In China, less than one-quarter of adults believe that one parent can raise a child as well as two parents, whereas in India, the Philippines, and Taiwan, over one-half of adults think that one parent can. Data are very limited for sub-Saharan Africa, and South America, but where they are available, adults tend to believe that one parent can raise a child as well as two: in South Africa, 69 percent of adults affirm that, and in South America, as represented by Argentina and Chile, about 60 percent do.
Adults in North America and Oceania are more skeptical of single-parent families, with just under half of adults believing that one parent can raise a child as well as two parents in Canada, Australia, and United States. In both Western and Eastern Europe, about half of adults believe that one parent can raise a child as well as two parents, with agreement ranging from 39 percent to 60 percent.
For the countries with available data, attitudes about whether children need two parents generally align with behaviors. In South Africa, adults have the world’s highest level of endorsement for one-parent families, and more than half of children grow up living with a single parent. Single parenthood is less widespread in areas with lower levels of endorsement for single parents’ abilities to raise children alone. For example, in North America and Oceania, where less than one-half of adults believe that one parent can raise a child as well as two, over three-quarters of children live with two parents (with the exception of the United States).
Support for Working Mothers
The 2014 edition of the World Family Map cautioned against drawing conclusions about support for working mothers because the most recent data available were from the turn of the millennium. Fortunately, the ISSP included this question in their most recent round of survey data collection around 2012. The countries for which data are available are not identical to those covered in the 2014 edition, and again it is important to be cautious in comparing this year’s reported data to those in last year’s report due to the different data sources.
Across the world, one-half of women aged 15 and older participate in the labor force.74 In line with this trend, as Table 4 indicates, a majority of adults in all countries surveyed around the globe believe that a “working mother can establish just as warm and secure a relationship with her children as a mother who does not work.”
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Source: Family Trust and Single Parent: World Values Survey 2000-2014.
Two Parents and Working Mothers: ISSP 2012: Family and Changing Gender Roles IV. Data were collected circa 2012. “
