Single mothers 'most socially isolated'

Women will continue to delay having families at the best time for their health and fertility unless policies enabling men play a greater role in child-rearing are introduced, a major study published today finds.

The Family Support Agency-funded study Attitudes to Family Formation in Ireland was published by Minister for Children, Frances Fitzgerald, this morning.

It also finds single mothers are the most lonely and socially isolated of all family groups, that a majority of people feel it is more acceptable for man in his 30s to be single than a woman and that married people (25 per cent) and couples with children (21 per cent) were most likely to attend religious service once a week.

The study was authored by Dr Margret Fine-Davis, director of the social attitudes and policy research group in the School of Social Sciences at Trinity College and is based on a survey of 1,400 people aged between 20 and 49. It examines attitudes to family formation and having children.

It finds strong support among both men and women for women’s financial independence.

“In spite of the widespread support for women’s economic independence, their progress in the workplace was perceived by more than half of the sample as posing a threat to some men.” More women (67 per cent) than men (50 per cent) felt this.

There are still traditional views about roles in the domestic sphere.

While men recognised women had less time to spend on housework, 73 per cent of women and 48 per cent of men felt the men didn’t recognise they had to contribute more than they used to. Women with children were the most likely to feel this way.

“The findings suggested that women’s success in the workplace may come with a personal price... The issue of housework was found to be linked with perceptions concerning men’s respect for women.”

There was strong support for marriage as an institution (75 per cent), but 84 per cent believed it was better to co-habit with someone before marriage and over two thirds believed deciding to have a child with someone was more of a commitment than getting married.

There was wide agreement (69 per cent) that “there is a lot more pressure on women to get married than there is on men” while 80 per cent felt “women worry more than men about finding someone to marry”.

Some 65 per cent thought that it is “more acceptable for a man in his late 30s to be single and on his own than it is for a woman of the same age.”

Most people did not think it necessary to have a child to be happy, with just 39 per cent saying “a woman has to have children in order to be fulfilled.”

Even fewer (29 per cent) thought “a man has to have children in order to be fulfilled”.

The average age for women to have their first child is now 31 and fertility rates are falling.

There are economic constraints, with 78 per cent believing most couples could only afford two children, and value judgments including 64 per cent believing it’s better to have fewer children as “you can give them more”.

There is almost unanimous support for the universal provision of childcare, with 91 per cent believing “there should be a national programme of childcare facilities for preschool aged children”.

There is a strong connection in people’s minds between work-life balance for parents and the provision of free or subsidised childcare. “If people have to spend a lot on childcare they are more likely to have fewer children,” agreed 85 per cent.

Ms Fine-Davies notes: “Young men and women who want to start families, while at the same time fulfilling their own needs for autonomy and development, are facing dilemmas. These issues are particularly facing women with higher education, who are making strides in the labour force.

“It is often difficult to make the choice to have a child since childcare is so expensive and flexible working not always available.

“Unless social policy facilitates the sharing of childrearing by both parents, women will continue to face dilemmas which prevent them from forming family relationships at an optimal time in terms of their fertility. It is time for policies to broaden to acknowledge the role of father as parent.”