Paternal Investment Prospects and Cross-National Differences in Single Parenthood

Abstract

Previous research has shown that when young women have diminished prospects of paternal investment in their children, they are more likely to reproduce as teens. This study investigated whether high rates of nonmarital births for 85 countries would be predicted by diminished prospects of paternal investment as measured by high male unemployment, low wealth (gross national product [GNP]), low sex ratios, and high teen birth rates. It was predicted that single parenthood would increase with female literacy, used as an index of career orientation. In correlational and regression analyses, single parenthood rates generally declined as paternal investment increased. Single parenthood increased with female literacy in the regression analysis, possibly because the greater economic power of women in developed countries makes them less reliant on economic support from husbands. Single childbearing can thus be seen either as a response to diminished prospects of or diminished reliance on paternal investment.