Origin of the Concept ‘Single Parenthood’: An Exercise of Sociohistorical Contextualization

Abstract

Although single-parent families have existed throughout history, the concept that we currently use to refer to them is relatively recent as the social and structural conditions necessary for its existence did not arise until the second half of the 20th century. But what were these special conditions that made the coining of the term ‘single parenthood’ possible? What concepts were used up to that moment? Will this expression exist over the next decades or, on the contrary, will it undergo changes and in what direction will these changes go? To answer these questions, in this paper we analyze the evolution of the terminology used to designate single-parent families during the 20th century, paying special attention to the sociohistorical context in which the term originated and its yet unknown future.