Single Parents’ Subjective Well-being in Europe: A Multilevel Analysis

Abstract

This study investigates how single parenthood is associated with subjective well-being across European countries, with a particular focus on financial satisfaction, social connectedness, and welfare policy. Moving beyond the traditional dichotomy between single and coupled parents, we introduce a four-category typology that distinguishes between parents who are single or in a couple, and whether they have experienced a divorce. Using multilevel data from the European Social Survey, we examine both individual-level and macro-level mediators/moderators of the relationship between family structure and life satisfaction. Results confirm that single parents report significantly lower subjective well-being compared to coupled parents. Financial satisfaction emerges as a key mediating mechanism, substantially reducing the well-being gap, although not eliminating it. Social connectedness plays a more consistent moderating role. At the macro level, generous and targeted welfare policies, particularly in childcare and parental leave, help narrow well-being disparities, but gaps persist even in the most supportive contexts. Our findings underscore the complex nature of disadvantage among single parents. They highlight the need for context-sensitive, targeted interventions that go beyond income support to address time poverty, caregiving strain, and structural exclusion.