Divorce Single Parenting and Remarriage Today a significant number of children are part of families made up of never-married single widowed or divorced parents. Watkins and Waldron 2017 report that as of 2016 nearly half of all married couples separate through a divorce while the other 50 percent end in widowhood. The number of single parents registered a sharp increase in the 1970s but has in the last four decades remained comparatively constant at 13 percent since 1980 Wang 2013. Single parenting can be a difficult task with a majority of single parents using ineffective parenting techniques including less parental involvement supervision and control. Also, they are more likely to be demanding and critical of their children. In some instances, the single mothers may have an extensive support network and depend on family support in comparison to single fathers. Nonetheless, a majority of widowed or divorced adults end up remarrying with about 70 percent of such unions involving teenagers who consider the new parent as a step-parent. In comparison to other families with children under the age of 17 single parents are young. Hispanic or black and are less likely to have attended college. However single mothers who have never married are relatively younger than those who are either divorced or widowed. According to Wang 2013, about 4 percent of never-married parents are 30 years or younger while about 50 percent are in their 40s. In contrast, about 11 percent of the widowed or divorced parents are 30 years or younger while 67 percent are between age 30 and 50 with 22 percent above age 50. The majority of never-married parents are from ethnic minorities. For instance, about 40 percent are African Americans compared to 24 percent Latino. However the divorced or widowed parents depict a comparatively insignificant racial skew with about 58 percent white, 19 percent Latino, and 17 percent African Americans Wang 2013.
