WELFARE GENEROSITY’S RELATIONSHIP WITH ATTITUDES TOWARDS SINGLE-PARENT HOUSEHOLDS A comparative study on single parents’ ability to raise a child

Abstract

What makes individuals have more positive views towards the ability of single parents to raise a child? One potential explanatory factor is welfare generosity, as it could improve the actual ability of single parents to support a child, and thus lead other individuals to have more positive attitudes towards them. However, the relationship between welfare generosity and attitudes towards single parents remains understudied, partially because of data availability. In this thesis, I explore the relationship between welfare generosity and attitudes towards single-parents (mainly examining European countries), through two different analyses. First at the country-level, I examine whether countries with more generous welfare systems have more positive attitudes towards the ability of single-parents to raise a child. I subsequently explore whether countries’ welfare generosity correlates with single-parent attitudes at the individual-level. The findings are inconclusive. However, both analyses hint at a possible relationship where welfare generosity may have an impact on whether people believe one parent can raise a child as well as two parents together.