單親家庭一個樣？家長性別、與祖父母同住對家庭經濟福祉的影響

Abstract

隨著台灣家庭型態日趨多元，單親家庭已成為不可忽視的社會現象，其經濟福祉長期是社會政策關注的焦點。既有文獻雖已指出單親家庭面臨較高的貧窮風險，且女性單親家長的處境往往較男性嚴峻，但對於「與祖父母同住」（三代同住）作為非正式支持機制，是否確實能改善單親家庭的經濟福祉，以及此效果是否因單親家長性別而異，實證研究仍相當有限。本研究以行政院主計總處2022年及2023年《家庭收支調查》為次級資料，聚焦於工作年齡（15-64歲）單親家長，探討四項研究問題：（一）單親家庭經濟福祉的影響因素為何；（二）此些影響因素是否因單親家長性別而異；（三）單親三代家庭的經濟福祉是否因所得依親、照顧依親、住所依親或職業效益而改善；（四）此些效果是否因單親家長性別而異。研究採獨立樣本t檢定、卡方檢定及多元線性迴歸分析，並以Chow test檢驗男女單親模型間的結構性差異。研究樣本共2,358戶，其中單親二代家庭占74.94%、單親三代家庭占25.06%。 研究發現：（一）控制居住型態、照顧負擔、學歷與職業等因素後，男女單親家庭的等值可支配所得整體差距未達統計顯著，但Chow test顯示兩性經濟結構存在顯著差異，顯示性別不平等隱藏於影響機制而非所得水準；（二）單親家長碩士以上學歷對女性單親的所得溢價遠高於男性，而職業技術層次的效果則具性別中立性；（三）依賴比是影響單親家庭經濟福祉最關鍵且性別中立的因素，育有學齡前子女對男性單親的經濟助益則顯著大於女性；（四）三代同住對單親家庭經濟福祉呈現顯著負向的整體效果，此與既有文獻對代間支持經濟效益的預期不一致，主因在於多數單親三代家庭仍由單親家長本人擔任經濟戶長，代間支持方向實為單親家長向上向下的雙重負擔；（五）進一步聚焦單親三代家庭，發現所得依親與照顧依親的正向效果對男性單親較為顯著且穩健，女性單親則須具備較高學歷才能選擇性進入三代同住安排。 本研究之發現對台灣現行「家庭責任優先」的政策邏輯提出實證反思，並據此提出強化中低人力資本單親家長就業支持、發展性別敏感的托育政策、檢討社會救助親屬互助責任規定、檢討「特殊境遇家庭扶助條例」的單親認定標準，以及建立代間支持政策性別影響評估機制等政策建議，期能為單親家庭政策的性別敏感設計提供實證基礎。

As family structures in Taiwan continue to diversify, single-parent families have become a significant social phenomenon, and their economic well-being has long been a focus of social policy. While prior literature has established that single-parent families face heightened poverty risk—with female-headed households typically faring worse than male-headed ones—empirical evidence remains limited regarding whether co-residence with grandparents (three-generation cohabitation), as a form of informal support, actually improves the economic well-being of single-parent families, and whether this effect varies by the gender of the single parent. Using secondary data from Taiwan’s 2022 and 2023 Family Income and Expenditure Survey, this study focuses on working-age (15–64) single parents and examines four research questions: (1) what factors influence the economic well-being of single-parent families; (2) whether these effects differ by the gender of the single parent; (3) whether the economic well-being of three-generation single-parent families improves through income dependency, care dependency, housing dependency, or occupational returns; and (4) whether these effects differ by gender. The study employs independent-samples t-tests, chi-square tests, and multiple linear regression, with Chow tests used to examine structural differences between male- and female-headed models. The final sample comprised 2,358 households, of which 74.94% were two-generation and 25.06% were three-generation single-parent families. Key findings are as follows. First, after controlling for housing arrangement, care burden, education, and occupation, the overall gap in equivalized disposable income between male- and female-headed households was not statistically significant; however, Chow tests revealed significant structural differences between the two gender-specific models, suggesting that gender inequality is embedded in the underlying mechanisms rather than in overall income levels. Second, a graduate degree yielded a substantially larger income premium for female single parents than for male single parents, whereas the effect of occupational skill level was largely gender-neutral. Third, the dependency ratio was the strongest and most gender-neutral predictor of economic well-being, while having a preschool-age child benefited male single parents significantly more than female single parents. Fourth, three-generation cohabitation was associated with a significant overall negative effect on economic well-being—contrary to the generally positive expectations found in prior literature—largely because in most three-generation households the single parent, rather than the grandparent, remained the primary income earner, meaning that intergenerational support more often flowed from the single parent both upward and downward rather than from grandparents to the single-parent household. Fifth, within three-generation families specifically, the positive effects of income and care dependency on grandparents were more robust for male single parents, while female single parents generally required higher educational attainment to be selectively able to enter three-generation living arrangements in the first place. These findings offer an empirical critique of Taiwan’s prevailing “family-responsibility-first” policy logic and inform several policy recommendations, including strengthening employment support for single parents with lower human capital, developing gender-sensitive childcare policies, reviewing the kinship mutual-support provisions in social assistance regulations, addressing the often-overlooked needs of male single parents, and establishing a gender-impact assessment mechanism for intergenerational support policies—together offering an empirical foundation for gender-sensitive design of single-parent family policy.