Single parents struggle with poverty, parenting challenges, psychological, emotional and medical problems and self-reliance. Their households survive on only one income, thus, they have less financial resources than two-parent families. A major dilemma for single parents is deciding whether to spend their time earning an income to support the needs of the family, or spend time interacting with their children. In many instances, single parents gravitate towards earning an income because earned income addresses the basic family needs.

The stress of having to find ways to provide food, shelter and clothing for the family consequently places single parents at risk of becoming detached from their children, and compromises their ability to effectively parent. Effective parenting is characterized by consistent supervision and monitoring of children’s activities, emotional support, discipline, direct interactions, displays of affection, and secure attachment.
John Bowlby’s attachment theory suggests that secure attachment between parents and children make parenting easier. On the other hand, insecure attachment (which is likely to be seen in the relationships between absent single parents and their children) can result in the ineffectiveness of parenting strategies, and an overwhelming amount of stress on parents as they endeavor to carry out their parenting responsibilities.

Family disruption, regardless of the circumstances often occurs after family conflict, leads to unexpected change, and is often the source of loss and grief. Traumatic experiences such as broken homes and family dysfunction results in depressive symptoms. Moreover, studies have also associated broken homes and family dysfunction to mental and physical health issues.

Like individuals who lose their partners as a result of death, those who experience divorce also go through a healing process which is exemplified through denial, guilt, anger, depression and isolation. Some victims of family disruption seek healing by engaging in risky behaviors that serve to numb their pain such as drug and alcohol use and thus, further compromise their emotional health, while also risking their physical health.
According to theoretical perspective of Sigmund Freud, the human psyche is by nature pleasure seeking. This therefore implies that in situations of emotional crisis and sadness it is an appropriate response for a single parent who is experiencing the pain of separation to resort to behaviors, which although may be risky, provides her with the gratification she may need to deal with the pain.

In order to take care of their family’s needs, single parents rely on a plethora of external supports in. They solicit the support of friends and family, and the social welfare system. Results of studies indicate that a high percentage of single parents are welfare dependent, particularly those who have minimal education and are unable to acquire a job that supports the cost of childcare in addition to the other needs of their families.

For years, policy makers have focused on weaning single parents off welfare and empowering them to become more self-reliant. Even though they have advocated that work force participation is the antidote to welfare dependency, they struggle in their efforts to encourage some single parents to deviate from the complacency of not having to work and unemployment among single mothers is very profound.

There is a theoretical argument why some single parents prefer to be dependent on the social welfare system instead of going to work. B.F. Skinner’s theory of operant conditioning suggests that individuals tend to repeat behaviors that lead to favorable results. Therefore, aligned with Skinner’s theory is the notion that due to the positive reinforcement of single parents’ welfare dependency, they are resistant to becoming self reliant because they have experienced that being on welfare will allowed the opportunity for them to parent their children while being afforded the means to address additional family needs. Furthermore, childcare issues and single parents’ inability to manage their time between parenting and work responsibilities negate the efforts to encourage single-mother self-reliance.

Studies reveal that most single mothers who opt to obtain full-time employment and get off welfare ultimately earn only a minute amount more than welfare recipients which is used for additional expenses related to them working such as childcare and transportation costs.