Which factor is cited as contributing to more lone-parent families?

Which factor is cited as contributing to more lone-parent families?

• A. The greater economic independence of women
• B. Improved contraception, changing male attitudes, and fewer 'shotgun weddings'
• C. Reproductive technology is available to women
• D. Changing social attitudes

Answer: (A)

The factor being tested is how women's economic independence shapes family structure. When women gain financial autonomy through paid work and control over their earnings, they are less financially tied to a partner. This makes leaving an unsatisfactory marriage more feasible and raises the practicality of raising children on one income. As a result, lone-parent families become more common. In other words, the ability for women to support themselves and their children independently is the strongest driver behind the increase in lone-parent households.

Other options are less directly tied to the trend. Improvements in contraception and shifts in attitudes can influence birth patterns and marriage timing, but contraception often reduces pregnancies overall, which would not straightforwardly increase lone-parent families. Reproductive technology might enable single women to have children, but it’s a more limited, less pervasive factor. Changing social attitudes can lessen stigma around single parenthood, yet the clear economic capability to support a family alone explains the rise more directly.