Friday, June 28, 2002

A story published today by the Western Daily Press reports that alone, poor and shunned by society, many single mothers are plunging into depression as they struggle to bring up a child on their own.

The problem is expected to escalate as the number of single mothers rises, according to the National Survey of Psychiatric Morbidity.

Lone parents and support groups said depression was a common complaint and more help was needed.
Gingerbread, the national organization for single parents in Britain, said more support was needed to stop single parents suffering depression.

A spokesman said: "Lone parents cite financial difficulties and social isolation as the most difficult things about bringing up children alone.

"The majority cope admirably well under such circumstances. However, those who do not receive adequate support run a high risk of being affected by depression and anxiety.

"Gingerbread would like to see the underlying causes of financial hardship and social isolation tackled to establish a decent quality of life for single parents and their children."

More than 5,000 women aged 16 to 64 were interviewed for the study.

Researchers found less than 15 percent were employed full-time and 54 percent were economically inactive.

This compared with supported mothers of whom more than 20 percent worked full-time and only a 30 percent were economically inactive.

The report said: "Lone mothers were clearly disadvantaged in social terms. Economic and social disadvantage was sufficient to explain nearly all the association between lone motherhood and depression."