Eventual differences in maternal behavior, childrearing practices and children’s behaviors in single-mother and two-parent families are analyzed. Fourteen families, 7 constituted by single mothers (mother and child) and 7 by married mothers (mother, father and child), selected in hospitals and health units of Porto Alegre RS Brazil, participated in the study. The families were matched according to age, education and socioeconomic level. Using a protocol with several categories an observation session of the family at lunchtime in the participants’ home, when the children were 30-36 months old, was used to examine the maternal behavior and childrearing practices, as well as the children’s behaviors. Mann-Whitney test indicated no significant differences between single and married mothers for the categories examined. Results suggest that the family structure investigated do not necessarily affect maternal behaviors, childrearing practices and children’s behaviors.
Single mothers; married mothers; maternal childrearing practices
