Antonopoulou Dionisia
Introduction: Breakdown of family life or the family unit consisting of two parents and the building or the formation of more individualized forms of families, such as single-parent families, cohabitation or consensual unions and changes in gender roles and family values, are expressed as forms of family. Aim: The aim of the present study was to explore characteristics of single-parent families in Greece. Material-Method: Sample of the study were 206 leaders of single-parent families living in the large urban centres of Athens and Thessaloniki and in the province and have dependent children. Data were collected by the completion of a questionnaire, constrycted by the researcher for the needs of the present study. The survey was conducted in the period from January 2010 to May 2010. Statistical analysis was performed with the statistical package SPSS, version 16.00 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL). Results: 181 single parents (87.7%) were female single parents and only 25 single parents (12.1%) were male. Data analysis showed that their age was over 27, 38.3% were divorced single parents, 21.4% were widowed single parents, 18.9% were separated single parents, 12.6% were unmarried single parents due to abandonment and 8.7% were single parents due to personal choice. The 41.7% of single parents have one child, the 41.3% of single parents have two children, 13.6% have three children, 2.9% have four children and 0.5% has five children. Conclusions: The adoption of a specific family policy, in the broader context of a social policy, which will contribute to the normal functioning of the family in relation to the reconciliation of professional and family life, the conducting of researches aiming at the investigation of both specific and broader factors disrupting intrafamily relationships and the specification of the roles within the family, is essential.
