Although the single-parent family is becoming an increasingly common family structure, it is associated with a great many hardships. Owing to the heavy responsibilities which fall on single parents, most fail to meet all of the needs of their children, particularly with respect to the financial needs which are entailed by providing educational necessities, safe, stable and permanent accommodation, adequate food and nutrition and healthcare. This study adopted the parental loss perspective, the economic hardship perspective and the interparental conflict perspective in investigating the experiences of young adults who were raised in single-parent families. A qualitative approach was adopted to conduct the research and data was collected from 26 male and female participants between the ages of 22 and 39 years who resided within the Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality. The researcher sought permission to conduct this study from all the community leaders including the councillors and chiefs, thereby acquiring the first referrals. The study made use of purposive sampling and snowballing to select the research sample. The data was collected by using semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions and analysed through the use of thematic analysis. The principal findings of the study indicate that although children who are raised in single-parent homes can attain high levels of education and have solid functional relationships in later life, a lack of finance and active parental involvement in their educational activities and social lives can serve to limit their development. As single-mother households face more economic hardships than any other family structures, financial assistance from both the government and their communities would undoubtedly increase the likelihood of children in single-mother families attaining their true academic potential. In addition, free counselling services would also help children who are forced to live under these circumstances overcome the emotional burden which inevitably accompanies either losing or being separated from one parent.

M.Ed. (Psychology of Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

The single-parent family can no longer be viewed as a non-traditional family type. As more single-parent families become prevalent in our society, interest in this family type has increased. Research associated with single-parent families often focus on the pathology associated with single-parent families. It is apparent that single-parent households, whether headed by a mother or father often have more to deal with than the traditional two-parent family. However, as a single-parent herself, the researcher also knows that this family type has much to offer. This research is undertaken in an exploratory and interpretive manner to illuminate the influence which the extended family have on the social and moral development of the child in the single-parent family. The researcher, just like Monama (2007:iv) before her, wishes to elevate the view of single-parents from the stereotypical victims to responsible archetypes. As this research is undertaken with the eco-systemic perspective of Bronfenbrenner as theoretical orientation, it therefore focuses on the systems in which the child is nested and more specifically the extended family as part of the child’s microsystem. This research aims to be beneficial to single-parents, families, members of community organizations, educators and other allied professionals.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1986.

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf [114-119]).

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf [114-119]). Also available in print.

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

No description available.

Tang, Mun Yu. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 473-493). / Abstracts in English and Chinese; appendices in Chinese. / Abstract --- p.i / 摘要 --- p.iii / Acknowledgments --- p.iv / Table of Contents --- p.vi / List of Figures and Tables --- p.xiii / Chapter Chapter One --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter Two --- Literature Review on Adolescent Development with Particular Reference to Poor Adolescents --- p.11 / Chapter 2.1 --- Theories of adolescent development --- p.11 / Chapter 2.1.1 --- Micro theories --- p.11 / Chapter 2.1.2 --- Macro theories --- p.15 / Chapter 2.1.3 --- Ecological model --- p.17 / Chapter 2.1.3.1 --- Introduction --- p.17 / Chapter 2.1.3.2 --- Application to understand the development of adolescents experiencing adversity ´ؤ Resilience Model --- p.18 / Chapter 2.1.3.2.1 --- Definitions of resilience with specific to children and adolescents --- p.18 / Chapter 2.1.3.2.2 --- Models of resilience --- p.20 / Chapter 2.1.4 --- Summary --- p.22 / Chapter 2.2 --- Existing findings on the development of adolescents growing up in poor families --- p.22 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Poor adolescents perceive poverty --- p.23 / Chapter 2.2.1.1 --- Conceptualization of beliefs about causes of poverty --- p.23 / Chapter 2.2.1.2 --- Review of previous studies --- p.29 / Chapter 2.2.1.3 --- Limitations --- p.34 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Development of adolescents experiencing poverty --- p.38 / Chapter 2.2.2.1 --- Development of poor adolescents in their present lives --- p.38 / Chapter 2.2.2.1.1 --- Psychological well-being and magnitude of having behavioral problems --- p.38 / Chapter 2.2.2.1.2 --- Educational outcomes --- p.45 / Chapter 2.2.2.1.3 --- Limitations --- p.52 / Chapter 2.2.2.2 --- Perceptions of future lives --- p.56 / Chapter 2.2.2.2.1 --- Review of previous studies --- p.56 / Chapter 2.2.2.2.2 --- Limitations --- p.64 / Chapter 2.3 --- Directions for future research --- p.69 / Chapter Chapter Three --- Research Questions and Research Design --- p.77 / Chapter 3.1 --- Research questions --- p.77 / Chapter 3.2 --- Proposal for a qualitative research approach --- p.79 / Chapter 3.3 --- Research design --- p.81 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Sample --- p.87 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Data collection --- p.92 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- Data analysis --- p.95 / Chapter 3.3.3.1 --- Reliability of the findings --- p.99 / Chapter 3.3.3.2 --- Validity of the findings --- p.100 / Chapter Chapter Four --- Findings --- p.106 / Chapter 4.1 --- Perceived economic disadvantage experienced by their families --- p.107 / Chapter 4.1.1 --- Beliefs about the causes of their families in need for financial support from the Government --- p.108 / Chapter 4.1.1.1 --- Individualistic causes --- p.108 / Chapter 4.1.1.1.1 --- Causes in relation to parents --- p.108 / Chapter 4.1.1.1.2 --- Causes in relation to mother --- p.109 / Chapter 4.1.1.1.3 --- Causes in relation to father --- p.110 / Chapter 4.1.1.1.4 --- Causes in relation to children --- p.111 / Chapter 4.1.1.2 --- Societal causes --- p.115 / Chapter 4.1.1.3 --- Fatalistic causes --- p.117 / Chapter 4.1.1.4 --- Summary --- p.119 / Chapter 4.1.2 --- Perceptions of being a CSSA recipient --- p.119 / Chapter 4.1.2.1 --- Personal views --- p.120 / Chapter 4.1.2.2 --- Perception shaped by mother --- p.125 / Chapter 4.1.2.3 --- Perceptions related to peers --- p.126 / Chapter 4.1.2.3.1 --- Perceptions related to peers' financial circumstances --- p.126 / Chapter 4.1.2.3.2 --- Perceptions related to peers' reactions towards their financial backgrounds --- p.127 / Chapter 4.1.2.3.3 --- Perceptions related to the level of closeness with peers --- p.129 / Chapter 4.1.2.4 --- Perceptions related to the views of general public --- p.129 / Chapter 4.1.2.4.1 --- Views of general public influenced by the Government --- p.130 / Chapter 4.1.2.4.2 --- Views of general public influenced by the media --- p.130 / Chapter 4.1.2.4.3 --- Views of general public influenced by with or without personal experiences of receiving CSSA or personal contacts with CSSA recipients --- p.133 / Chapter 4.1.2.4.4 --- Views of general public influenced by the dominant societal ideologies --- p.134 / Chapter 4.1.2.5 --- Perceptions related to CSSA claim procedures --- p.138 / Chapter 4.1.2.6 --- Perceptions related to special policy for CSSA recipients --- p.139 / Chapter 4.1.2.7 --- Perceptions related to attitudes of staff in CSSA unit --- p.140 / Chapter 4.1.2.8 --- Summary --- p.141 / Chapter 4.1.3 --- Perceived quality of life under the CSSA and the related factors --- p.142 / Chapter 4.1.3.1 --- Perceived quality of life under the CSSA --- p.143 / Chapter 4.1.3.1.1 --- Primary school --- p.143 / Chapter 4.1.3.1.2 --- Secondary school --- p.145 / Chapter 4.1.3.1.3 --- University --- p.146 / Chapter 4.1.3.2 --- Perceived quality of life under the CSSA in relation to mothers' financial management --- p.150 / Chapter 4.1.3.2.1 --- Ways of monitoring family finance --- p.150 / Chapter 4.1.3.2.2 --- Ways of fulfilling unmet needs --- p.151 / Chapter 4.1.3.3 --- Perceived quality of life under the CSSA in relation to self financial management --- p.153 / Chapter 4.1.3.3.1 --- Being self-disciplined of spending money --- p.153 / Chapter 4.1.3.3.2 --- Saving money --- p.155 / Chapter 4.1.3.3.3 --- Doing part-time jobs and summer jobs --- p.157 / Chapter 4.1.3.4 --- Perceived quality of life under the CSSA in relation to other sources of financial support --- p.161 / Chapter 4.1.3.4.1 --- Financial support from relatives --- p.161 / Chapter 4.1.3.4.2 --- Financial support from non-relatives --- p.163 / Chapter 4.1.3.5 --- Summary --- p.166 / Chapter 4.1.4 --- Comments on the staff in the CSSA unit --- p.166 / Chapter 4.1.4.1 --- Positive comments --- p.166 / Chapter 4.1.4.1.1 --- Attitudes --- p.167 / Chapter 4.1.4.1.2 --- Performance --- p.167 / Chapter 4.1.4.2 --- Negative comments --- p.169 / Chapter 4.1.4.2.1 --- Attitudes (from personal experiences) --- p.169 / Chapter 4.1.4.2.2 --- Attitudes (from mothers' experiences) --- p.171 / Chapter 4.1.4.2.3 --- Performance --- p.172 / Chapter 4.1.4.3 --- Summary --- p.176 / Chapter 4.1.5 --- Comments on the CSSA scheme --- p.177 / Chapter 4.1.5.1 --- Positive comments --- p.177 / Chapter 4.1.5.1.1 --- Nature of the CSSA scheme --- p.177 / Chapter 4.1.5.1.2 --- Strict policy for preventing abuse of the scheme --- p.179 / Chapter 4.1.5.2 --- Negative comments --- p.180 / Chapter 4.1.5.2.1 --- Amount of support in the CSSA scheme --- p.180 / Chapter 4.1.5.2.2 --- Policy on the CSSA scheme --- p.183 / Chapter 4.1.5.2.3 --- Claim procedures in the CSSA scheme --- p.187 / Chapter 4.1.5.3 --- Summary --- p.191 / Chapter 4.1.6 --- Circumstances of women in economic disadvantaged and female-headed families --- p.192 / Chapter 4.1.6.1 --- Struggles on financial adversity --- p.192 / Chapter 4.1.6.2 --- Consequences of receiving financial support from the Government --- p.194 / Chapter 4.1.6.2.1 --- Influences on self-image --- p.194 / Chapter 4.1.6.2.2 --- Influences on psychological state --- p.195 / Chapter 4.1.6.3 --- Pressure of taking up the parental roles --- p.197 / Chapter 4.1.6.4 --- Summary --- p.199 / Chapter 4.1.7 --- Recommendations for improvement in the CSSA service --- p.200 / Chapter 4.1.7.1 --- Staff training --- p.200 / Chapter 4.1.7.2 --- Quality of the service --- p.201 / Chapter 4.1.7.3 --- Other recommendations --- p.204 / Chapter 4.1.7.4 --- Summary --- p.195 / Chapter 4.1.8 --- Recommendations for improvement the policy in the CSSA scheme --- p.207 / Chapter 4.1.8.1 --- Subvention policy --- p.207 / Chapter 4.1.8.1.1 --- Subvention for students --- p.207 / Chapter 4.1.8.1.2 --- Subvention for households --- p.209 / Chapter 4.1.8.1.3 --- "Subvention for children, elderly, disabled and chronic illness patients" --- p.211 / Chapter 4.1.8.2 --- Claim procedures --- p.214 / Chapter 4.1.8.3 --- Employment-related policy --- p.216 / Chapter 4.1.8.3.1 --- Employment-related policy for single parents --- p.216 / Chapter 4.1.8.3.2 --- Employment-related policy for general able-bodied CSSA recipients --- p.219 / Chapter 4.1.8.4 --- Other recommendations --- p.222 / Chapter 4.1.8.5 --- Summary --- p.224 / Chapter 4.1.9 --- Service gaps for economic disadvantaged and single-parent families --- p.225 / Chapter 4.1.9.1 --- Services for CSSA families --- p.225 / Chapter 4.1.9.1.1 --- Emotional support services --- p.225 / Chapter 4.1.9.1.2 --- Household support services --- p.227 / Chapter 4.1.9.2 --- Services for women in economic disadvantage and marital disruption --- p.229 / Chapter 4.1.9.2.1 --- Employment-related support services --- p.229 / Chapter 4.1.9.2.2 --- Counseling services --- p.230 / Chapter 4.1.9.3 --- Services for the single-parent families --- p.232 / Chapter 4.1.9.3.1 --- Emotional support services --- p.232 / Chapter 4.1.9.3.2 --- Public education --- p.233 / Chapter 4.1.9.4 --- Summary --- p.234 / Chapter 4.1.10 --- Overall summary of Section 4.1 --- p.235 / Chapter 4.2 --- Perceived past lives --- p.237 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Area 1: Perceived quality of life before receiving the CSSA --- p.237 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Area 2: Reactions towards economic disadvantage --- p.241 / Chapter 4.2.2.1 --- Feelings about living under the CSSA --- p.241 / Chapter 4.2.2.2 --- Perceived influences of economic disadvantage in their past lives --- p.246 / Chapter 4.2.2.2.1 --- Experienced different from those of their peers --- p.246 / Chapter 4.2.2.2.2 --- Influenced on their study plans --- p.248 / Chapter 4.2.2.3 --- Summary --- p.253 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- Area 3: Views on mother's employment status --- p.253 / Chapter 4.2.4 --- Area 4: Perceptions of one's roles in the family --- p.257 / Chapter 4.2.5 --- Area 5: Perceived source of influences on one's development --- p.265 / Chapter 4.2.5.1 --- Aspect 1: Family backgrounds --- p.266 / Chapter 4.2.5.1.1 --- Experiences of economic disadvantage --- p.266 / Chapter 4.2.5.1.2 --- Single-parent family Other people --- p.278 / Chapter 4.2.5.1.3 --- Summary --- p.289 / Chapter 4.2.5.2 --- Aspect 2: Significant others --- p.290 / Chapter 4.2.5.2.1 --- Mother --- p.290 / Chapter 4.2.5.2.2 --- Other people --- p.298 / Chapter 4.2.5.2.3 --- Summary --- p.304 / Chapter 4.2.5.3 --- Aspect 3: Beliefs --- p.304 / Chapter 4.2.5.4 --- Summary --- p.306 / Chapter 4.2.6 --- Overall summary of Section 4.2 --- p.307 / Chapter 4.3 --- Perceived experiences of their present lives --- p.309 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Area 1: Meanings of becoming a university student --- p.309 / Chapter 4.3.1.1 --- Familial meanings --- p.309 / Chapter 4.3.1.2 --- Personal meanings --- p.313 / Chapter 4.3.1.3 --- Summary --- p.326 / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Area 2: Perceived differences with the peers in university --- p.326 / Chapter 4.3.3 --- Area 3: Economic circumstances --- p.333 / Chapter 4.3.3.1 --- Personal financial circumstances --- p.334 / Chapter 4.3.3.2 --- Perceived meanings of with or without financial support from the Government to their families --- p.347 / Chapter 4.3.3.3 --- Summary --- p.350 / Chapter 4.3.4 --- Area 4: Perceptions of one's roles in the family --- p.351 / Chapter 4.3.5 --- Overall summary of Section 4.3 --- p.357 / Chapter 4.4 --- Perceived future lives --- p.359 / Chapter 4.4.1 --- Expected lives after graduation and the related contributory factors --- p.359 / Chapter 4.4.1.1 --- Area 1: Work --- p.359 / Chapter 4.4.1.2 --- Area 2: Life style --- p.369 / Chapter 4.4.1.3 --- Area 3: Economic circumstances --- p.372 / Chapter 4.4.1.4 --- Area 4: Marriage --- p.380 / Chapter 4.4.1.5 --- Area 5: Spouse --- p.383 / Chapter 4.4.1.6 --- Area 6: Quality of relationship in future family --- p.389 / Chapter 4.4.1.6.1 --- Marital relationship --- p.389 / Chapter 4.4.1.6.2 --- Parent-child relationship --- p.392 / Chapter 4.4.1.7 --- Summary --- p.396 / Chapter 4.4.2 --- Feelings about their future lives --- p.397 / Chapter 4.4.3 --- Overall summary of Section 4.4 --- p.403 / Chapter 4.5 --- Summary of the findings and findings deserving special attention --- p.404 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Discussion and Recommendation --- p.423 / Chapter 5.1 --- Discussion of nine aspects of findings --- p.423 / Chapter 5.1.1 --- Aspect 1 -- Role of education in life --- p.423 / Chapter 5.1.2 --- Aspect 2 -- Absence of father as the main cause of economic hardship --- p.425 / Chapter 5.1.3 --- "Aspect 3 -- Being a ""good child""" --- p.427 / Chapter 5.1.4 --- Aspect 4 -- Difficult growth trajectory --- p.430 / Chapter 5.1.5 --- Aspect 5 -- Poverty: Blessing in disguise --- p.434 / Chapter 5.1.6 --- Aspect 6 -- Family of origin's influence on expectations of future life --- p.437 / Chapter 5.1.7 --- Aspect 7 -- Five protective factors in development --- p.440 / Chapter 5.1.8 --- Aspect 8 -- Mothers experiencing economic disadvantage: Long-suffering women guarding their children --- p.443 / Chapter 5.1.9 --- Aspect 9 -- Balanced view of the CSSA scheme --- p.446 / Chapter 5.1.10 --- Summary --- p.452 / Chapter 5.2 --- Theoretical contributions and implications of the present findings --- p.455 / Chapter 5.3 --- Practical implications and recommendations of the present findings --- p.459 / Chapter 5.4 --- Limitations of this study --- p.461 / Chapter Chapter Six --- Conclusion --- p.463 / Chapter 6.1 --- Summary of findings --- p.463 / Chapter 6.2 --- Evaluation of the quality of this qualitative study --- p.468 / Chapter 6.3 --- Directions for further study --- p.470 / Bibliography --- p.473 / Appendix I: Written Consent Form --- p.494 / Appendix II: Interview Guide --- p.495