ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the situation, problems and needs of single-parent families. It reviews welfare policy and programmes for the single-parent family in Taiwan, set against what should be the characteristics of a comprehensive family policy. Help with rising and caring for children is needed by both single-parent and dual-parent families in Taiwan. Female single parenthood is one of the high-risk factors for long term poverty, what J. Millar called persistent poverty. The financial problems of the single-parent family, especially for the female-headed family, can easily become severe. Single parents usually gradually withdraw from their previous social network, or move away from a residence or change their employment. Children of single-parent families are more likely to have psychological and emotional adjustment problems, a low self-concept, find it hard to trust anyone, have a sex-role differentiation problem, poor internal and external control, and be given to deviant behaviour.
