PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Avison, W. R.
TI  - Single motherhood and mental health: implications for primary prevention
DP  - 1997 Mar 01
TA  - Canadian Medical Association Journal
PG  - 661--663
VI  - 156
IP  - 5
4099  - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/156/5/661.short
4100  - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/156/5/661.full
SO  - CMAJ1997 Mar 01; 156
AB  - In this issue (page 639) Dr. Ellen L. Lipman and colleagues show that single motherhood is associated with an increased risk of affective disorder and poverty and with increased rates of mental health services utilization. These findings have important implications for primary prevention interventions that focus on the social determinants of family health. Studies have shown that higher levels of psychological distress among single mothers are more closely related to their exposure to stressors than to their personal vulnerability to stress. Research has also shown that the stresses that affect single-parent families are greater in degree but not in kind than those that affect other families. Therefore, intervention programs that address the needs of all families are preferable to those that target specific types of families. Community-based primary prevention programs can promote the well-being of all families by improving the social and economic conditions in which they live.