Single Motherhood in Vietnam and the Disadvantages in the Living Condition

Abstract

This thesis complements extant studies of single motherhood and its related living condition in the Vietnamese context that only exist in qualitative research methods. It also provides a complement analysis to the existing study by providing evidence from a developing country to a literature that is dominated by evidence from developed countries. The research is based on the individual-level sample of the Population and Housing Census from the years 1999 and 2009, provided by IPUMS International Project. Generally, the results on average indicate that single-mother household is more likely to face more difficulty in living conditions regarding home ownership and having durable goods, than two-parent family. It is clear that two-parent families are at least twofold more likely to have both home ownership and durable goods than single mother families. Moreover, single mothers who are a household head, who lives with only children face more difficulty in living condition indicated by dwelling ownership, basic amenities and durable goods than single mother who are not a household head, who live with other adults and mothers from two parent families. In addition, single mothers who have separate and divorce statuses have more difficulty in terms of home ownership compared with other types single mothers after marital dissolution. In stark contrast, single mothers who have single status have more difficulty in terms of basic amenities and durable goods compared with other kinds of single mothers.