Leaving Lone Parenthood: Analysis of Repartnering Patterns in the U.K.

Alexandra J Skew, University of Southampton
Jane C. Falkingham, University of Southampton
Ann Berrington, University of Southampton

Despite a wealth of research in the U.K. on the stock of lone parents, in recent years there has been a lack of research on the flows into and out of lone parenthood. By capturing women who become lone mothers during the period 1991-2004, using data collected by the British Household Panel Survey, this study explores whether repartnering patterns are different depending on the route into lone parenthood. Specifically it will examine the timing to repartnering and how this varies by demographic and socio-economic factors. It will also investigate whether the effect of covariates on the probability of repartnering changes over the length of time spent as a lone mother. Event history analysis indicates that age is the most important factor in leaving lone motherhood, while the duration is not related to the probability of repartnering. A mixture of demographic and socio-economic factors are also important.