Disability, partnership and parenting

Summary

Partnerships and parenthood can have important effects on economic,
social and psychological well-being. We provide new long-term analysis
of how disability affects both parental status and partnerships.
Analysis of the new Life Opportunities Survey, which is based on social
model approaches, demonstrates that disabled people are more likely than
non-disabled people to face disadvantages in terms of family formation.
Disabled people are more likely to remain single over time, although
there is less evidence for any differences in rates of relationship
breakdown for those who enter them. Allied to these conclusions,
disabled adults are less likely to form households where there are
dependent children. These conclusions are supported by longitudinal
results from the British Household Panel Survey.