Stephanie Coontz

Stephanie Coontz maintains in the following viewpoint that broad generalizations about the risks associated with single parenthood perpetuate the myth that two-parent families are always better than single-parent families. In fact, she contends, there are potential advantages and disadvantages to both single- parent and two-parent families. Moreover, the author argues that two-parent families that are abusive or conflict-ridden can be more harmful to children than families in which no father is present. Stephanie Coontz, a family historian at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, wrote The Way We Never Were: American Families and the Nostalgia Trap (1992) and The Way We Really Are: Coming to Terms with America’s Changing Families (1997).

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to the author, what are the potential disadvantages of two-parent...