Magister Artium - MA / Self Determination Theory (SDT) proposes that individuals are motivated to have goals and aspirations which are either intrinsic or extrinsic in nature. Intrinsic life goals are associated with greater psychological health and well-being. Research shows that family structure plays a role in the way children are raised and has implications for later adult adjustment. In South Africa 42.8% of children are raised in a single parent household. This study aimed to compare the goals and aspirations of learners from single and married parent households. The study used a quantitative methodology with a cross-sectional comparative research design. The sample consisted of 853 Grade 11 learners from schools in the Northern, Southern and Metro Central Education Districts in the Western Cape. The data was collected using a selfreport questionnaire that consisted of two sections, demographical information and the Aspirations Index. The Aspirations Index assessed the life goals of the learners and categorised the goals and aspirations into intrinsic and extrinsic life goals. The data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences V20 (SPSS). The results suggest that there was a significant main effect of family structure on certain goals and aspirations of Grade 11 learners in secondary schools. These goals and aspirations included wealth, image, personal growth, relationships and health. Furthermore, participants from single parent households placed more emphasis on intrinsic goals than participants from married parent.

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Double standard effects in inferences about quality of parenting and adult sexual outcomes for children were investigated under five conditions of single-parent sexual behavior. The sample comprised six hundred married parents from three major metropolitan areas in Texas. Subjects were administered a scenario about a hypothetical single parent family. The scenario varied with respect to parent gender, child gender, and type of parental sexual activity (e.g., abstinence, limited affairs away from home, involvement with a live-in lover, frequent partners spending the night, and a control condition containing no sexual message). Subjects were asked to rate a parent from the scenario on quality of parenting and predict the adult sexual behavior of the child. Hypothesized double standard effects did not emerge. A double standard in judgments about sexually active single parents and parenting did appear. Main effects were found for child gender and sexual lifestyle of the parent (e.g., parents with boys rated less favorably than parents with girls; promiscuous fathers were rated lower than promiscuous mothers). Several interaction effects among parent gender, child gender, and sexual lifestyle condition were also found (e.g., promiscuous parents were rated lower as parents and seen as negatively influencing the child's sexual development). Recommendations for future research include refining the two scales used in this study; extending the study to include data from single parents; examining whether the judgments of sexually active single parents affect the quality and quantity of interactions others have with either the parent or child.

This diploma thesis deals with social policy towards single-parent families in the Czech Republic with focus on alimony policy. I deal more closely with the standard of living by single-parent families and obligated parents. This problem is explored on the basis of theoretical framework called social construction of the target populations. Social policy towards single-parent families does not reflect their needs at the right time. Different approach could lead to improvement of their standard of living. The Czech society has not come with an agreement on reforming the social system to more benefit the single-parent families. Despite the fact that the concept of supporting single-parent families has been formally accepted by European Union and Czech government as one of the top priorities, this proclamation has not brought any real change to the single-parent families` standard of living. I try to understand a present situation/image of social policy towards single-parent families in regard to alimony policy with an application of theoretical framework social construction of the target population basis. For this purpose, I identify the real social construction of single-parent families and obligated parents in the political discourse. I examine the policy suggestions on alimony, and the...

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This thesis explores how single parents utilise online forums, particularly Reddit, to navigate parenting challenges and mental health issues. The study involves a mixed-method approach which includes sentiment analysis and thematic analysis.  Through a comprehensive analysis of forum posts and comments, the research identifies key themes and support mechanisms expressed by single parents in addition to the quantitative data from sentimental analysis representing the emotional tone of the text in the posts. The findings reveal that online communities serve as crucial platforms for emotional support, knowledge exchange, and community building. This research contributes to understanding the role of digital spaces in supporting single parents and offers insights for designing more effective online social support intervention by addressing AI-driven features, expert moderation and bridging the gap between online and offline social support for single parents.

by Kwok Yung, Florence. / Includes questionaire in Chinese. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 55-60 (2nd gp.)). / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Predictors of Parent and/or Child Adjustment in Single-parent Families --- p.3 / The Parental Loss Hypothesis --- p.3 / The Interparental Conflict Hypothesis --- p.4 / The Economic Hardship Hypothesis --- p.5 / The Life Stress Hypothesis --- p.6 / The Length of Separation Hypothesis --- p.6 / The Social Support Hypothesis --- p.6 / The Family Functioning Hypothesis --- p.8 / Purpose of the Study --- p.11 / Chapter II. --- METHODS --- p.13 / Subjects --- p.13 / Measures --- p.14 / Procedure --- p.20 / Statistical Analyses --- p.21 / Chapter III. --- RESULTS --- p.22 / Demographic Data --- p.22 / Descriptive Statistics of Predictors and Dependent Variables --- p.25 / Correlation between Predictors and Dependent Variables --- p.31 / Multiple Regression Analyses --- p.37 / Chapter IV. --- DISCUSSION --- p.44 / Parent and Child Adjustment --- p.44 / Financial Stress --- p.45 / Interparental Conflict and Parental Loss --- p.46 / Length of Separation and Socioeconomic Status --- p.47 / Accumulation and Co-occurrence of Stress --- p.48 / Family Functioning and Social Support --- p.51 / Limitations of this Study --- p.52 / Conclusion --- p.53 / REFERENCES --- p.55 / APPENDIX --- p.61

MGS / Institute of Gender and Youth Studies / In most developing countries, poverty is concentrated in female headed households especially in rural areas. Notably, these rural areas are fast becoming female spaces, as most men migrate to urban areas and neighbouring countries. The critical role of rural women in eradicating poverty through agricultural labour force, subsistence farming and rural development in sub-Saharan Africa, has been recognised by scholars yet they are the poorest and their contribution has not been fully acknowledged by the community or governments. To understand this phenomenon this study investigated the socio-economic challenges faced by female headed households, causes of high vulnerability and their coping strategies in Manama village, Matabeleland South province, Zimbabwe. This study was informed by feminist theoretical approaches of conducting research as it employed several qualitative research methods, namely key participant individual in-depth interviews; Focus group discussions; field participatory observation and documentary reviews to collect data. The findings of the study were that, due to the country’s economic situation, constrained mobility and lack of collateral security to secure credit, women have a double burden of responsibility with numerous challenges such as unequal wages in hired labourer work, inadequate food for the family, financial burdens. However they have their own coping strategies such as voluntary community networks. This study concludes by making recommendations, for gender mainstreaming in policy, agricultural extension services for Female headed households, creation of markets, counselling and psychosocial support. This research contends that although these women find themselves in a patriarchal frame they have decided to outgrow it and be autonomous as they fight the socio-economic challenges they face. They have numerous socio-economic challenges but the participants themselves are self-asserted. They are not stopped by patriarchy and are exemplary as they work hard and venture outside the domestic space to engage in honest work to take care of their households. / NRF

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

Zugl.: Erfurt, Univ., Diss.