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Objective: The aim of this article is to extend our knowledge about child deprivation in single-parent families from a comparative European perspective. We first analyse the relationship between the employment status of single parents and child deprivation. Furthermore, we examine whether gender equality in the labour market and family cash benefits reduce deprivation and alleviate the consequences of unemployment and employment precariousness. Background: Children from single-parent families suffer deprivation mainly due to their parents' job insecurity and the fact that, in general, there is only one breadwinner in their households, usually a woman. However, the situation of these children may differ between European countries according to gender equality and family policies. Method: We use cross-sectional data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions 2014 and multilevel logistic regressions. The analysis is based on a sample of single-parent households (N = 5910) from 28 European countries. Results: The results indicate that temporary employment and unemployment are associated with a greater risk of child deprivation in single-parent families. The results also show that gender equality in the labour market reduces child deprivation, especially in families where the parent has a temporary employment. Redistributive family policies have a more limited impact. Conclusion: The main findings indicate that advances in gender equality in the labour market are essential to combat child deprivation in single-parent families in Europe.

This work examines whether the increase of single parenthood in Italy and Spain, specifically amongst women in an unfavourable socioeconomic position, has repercussions for child well-being, understood here as material deprivation. In particular, our main objective is to analyse the possible differential impact of single parenthood on children's material deprivation in relation to mothers' level of education. Using the 2014 EU-SILC Module on material deprivation, we identify five areas of child deprivation based on the EU-MODA approach: nutrition, clothing, education, leisure, and social life. In the case of Italy, our main results indicate that, compared to children from two-parent households, children of single mothers with a low level of education have a higher risk of nutrition and clothing deprivation. In Spain, living in a single-parent household is associated with a higher risk of deprivation in terms of social life for those children whose mothers do not have a high level of education. Therefore, the findings suggest that in both countries the growth of single parenthood amongst women with a lower educational level may have an impact on child well-being inequality. This article contributes empirical data to the growing literature on the rise of child poverty in Southern European countries.

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to analyse the relationship between household employment insecurity and the risk of children's exposure to household material deprivation in Spain and Portugal. Specifically, using EU-SILC microdata for 2012, 2016 and 2020, it examines how this relationship evolved during the Post-Great Recession period. Although in both countries there was an improvement in the employment situation of individuals and families after the Great Recession, the main findings reflect an increase in the risk of children's exposure to material deprivation in households where no adults have a secure job. However, there are some differences between the two countries. In the case of Spain, the results seem to indicate that the incidence of household employment insecurity on material deprivation was higher in 2016 and 2020 than in 2012. In Portugal, the increase in the effect of employment insecurity on deprivation seems to have occurred only in 2020, the year the Covid-19 pandemic began.