Objectives: The researchers analyzed the relative influences of socio-demographic characteristics, parenting
hardships, and social support on the mental health of single parents. Methods: This study used data from
the 2012 Single-Parent Family Survey collected by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. Results:
In regard to the mental health of single parents, women fared more poorly than men, and temporary
employees, or day-workers, and unemployed people were much more vulnerable. Regarding parenting
hardships, women experienced more challenges than men in accessing academic resources and guidance.
Social networks for women were larger than those for men, and a significant gap was found between the
sizes of social support networks for permanent employees and those for the unemployed. The level of social
support had an overall positive impact on mental health. Conclusions: The mental health of female single
parents was negatively affected by a lack of both academic and daily-life guidance; in comparison, the
mental health of male single parents was negatively affected only by a lack of academic guidance. There
was a statistically significant positive effect of social supports on female single parents.