Melbourne, Dec 19 : Financial insecurity is forcing single Aussie mums to fall into serial live-in relationships, which may otherwise harm their kids, according to a new study.

Andrew Cherlin, Professor of Sociology and Public Policy at Johns Hopkins University, revealed that struggling single parents rush into new relationships that they might otherwise have avoided if they were financially stable.

The study found that single parents on limited or welfare income, who were allowed to keep all their child support payments, were less likely to get into new relationships than those whose payments were taxed.

"The increased source of income may have allowed some lone mothers to avoid the sort of short-term cohabiting relationships that might not have had much potential for benefiting their children and might not have lasted very long," News. com. au quoted Cherlin as writing in Family Matters, released by the Australian Institute of Family Studies.

"I am not suggesting that lone parents make decisions about relationships primarily for economic reasons, but the promise of support could make a difference in some cases," he added. (ANI)