Single parenthood alone doesn't cause severe outcomes. The children of widows for instance don't do nearly as badly as children of never-married mothers.

I've long thought that the single parenthood effect is primarily genetic: Women are choosing men to have sex with and not choosing men for marriage (thanks to the welfare state supporting such a thing) - these men are more likely to be short-term thinkers, aggressive, but sexually appealing - these men have children who then have aggressive short-term life strategies (just like their dads).

Single parenthood alone doesn't cause severe outcomes. The children of widows for instance don't do nearly as badly as children of never-married mothers.

I've long thought that the single parenthood effect is primarily genetic: Women are choosing men to have sex with but choosing men for marriage (thanks to the welfare state supporting such a thing) - these men are more likely to be short-term thinkers, aggressive, but sexually appealing - these men have children who then have aggressive short-term life strategies (just like their dads).