Veteran Single Parents Are Surviving but Not Thriving
Research Questions
- What are the demographic characteristics of post-9/11 veteran single parents and how do they compare with veteran coupled parents and nonveteran single parents?
- How do veteran single parents compare with nonveteran single parents and veteran coupled parents in terms of financial stability?
- How do veteran single parents compare with nonveteran single parents and veteran coupled parents in terms of mental and physical health and health care access?
The demographics of the veteran population are changing. Veterans who served after September 11, 2001 (post-9/11 veterans), are more likely to be female and identify as a person of color than their older counterparts. They are also more likely to be raising children, many of them without support from a partner. This report provides a comprehensive look at the financial, physical, and mental health of veteran single parents; explores the differences across these factors by race, ethnicity, and gender; and includes recommendations on policies and programs that can better support veteran single parents and their children.
Key Findings
- Veteran single parents are more likely to be women and less likely to be White than veteran coupled parents.
- Veteran single parents face greater financial insecurity than veteran coupled parents but have greater financial security than nonveteran single parents.
- Veteran single parents report relatively similar mental and physical health to veteran coupled parents but lower access to health care services.
- Veteran single parents are using their G.I. Bill benefits to pursue higher education; Black and Hispanic single mothers report the highest rates of school enrollment across all veteran single parents.
- Veteran single parents enrolled in higher education reported significant barriers to using their G.I. Bill benefits and achieving academic success.
Recommendations
- Create transition services that target single parents as a unique group.
- Provide financial support for child care for veterans.
- Rethink elements of the G.I. Bill to better support veteran single parents (and parents in general) who are pursuing higher education (e.g., address in-person attendance requirements and part-time attendance disincentives, which are key barriers for single parents).
- Develop targeted outreach to connect single mothers with mental health care and encourage single fathers to seek out primary care.
Table of Contents
-
Chapter One
Introduction
-
Chapter Two
Methodology and Demographic Overview
-
Chapter Three
Financial Well-Being of Veteran Single Parents
-
Chapter Four
Mental and Physical Health and Well-Being of Veteran Single Parents
-
Chapter Five
The Experience of Veteran Single Parents in Higher Education
-
Chapter Six
Conclusions and Recommendations
-
Appendix
Intersectional Analysis: Race and Gender
Funding for this publication was made possible by a generous gift from Daniel J. Epstein through the Epstein Family Foundation, which established the RAND Epstein Family Veterans Policy Research Institute within RAND Education and Labor.
This report is part of the RAND Corporation Research report series. RAND reports present research findings and objective analysis that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND reports undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity.
This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.
The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.
