By: Julie Hambleton, Gazette Staff

A study done in London on single mothers is challenging the belief that children from two-parent families are more successful later in life.

The 14-year study titled, Family Structure and Children’s Socio-Economic Attainment: A Canadian Sample, followed single mothers and their children from 1993 to 2008.

“It’s really the first of its kind in all of Canada to follow-up [on kids] this many years ahead of time and to see the influence that the type of family has when a kid grows up and their type of success,” said Jamie Seabrook, PhD and co-author of the study.

The study suggests that the type of family children grow up in doesn’t determine how successful they are later on in life, rather other factors such as the educational status of the mother have a greater impact on a child’s educational attainment.

William Avison, principal investigator and director of the study, said the study’s focus on childhood influences and later success developed over time.

“Well initially when we first started this study many years ago, we were interested in the psychological well-being of the single mothers and their children, and then we decided to follow these children and mothers up longer term,” Avison said.

Avison elaborated that the study suggests growing up in a single parent family, at least in London, Ontario, doesn’t put kids at any additional risk in terms of their educational achievements or their initial success in the labour market.

“This puts to rest the previous general opinion that single parent families are at a disadvantage due to familial structure than two-parent families are,” Avison said.

He added the study has the ability to help families on a societal level. Researchers found that the amount of educational disparity in Canada is considerably less than that in the United States, where most single-parent studies have been done. Avison stated the study highlights the importance of having an educational system that is accessible to people of all backgrounds.

“We think that part of the difference between what we find in our study and what others have found in the US is that educational attainment is very much influenced by poverty and by the lack of opportunity to be a part of a strong educational system,” Avison said.

The study was conducted in three waves. The first two waves consisted of two hour structured interviews given to the mothers in their homes were done in 1993 and 1994. The researchers then followed up with the families for the third wave between 2005 and 2008, when they interviewed the mothers and their children independently. Each participant also completed a “life history calendar” in which they recorded all of their important life experiences throughout the time period of the study.

“From a policy point of view, it suggests that in Canada we might be doing the right thing in keeping schools relatively open to all children, making educational opportunities relatively equitable,” Avison said.