The dissertation explores the Swedish child welfare officer system (barnavårdsmannainstitutionen) using gender as an analytical tool. The child welfare officer system was a public program designed to support single mothers and monitor the welfare of children born out of wedlock. The study concentrates on the first half of the 20th century, and particularly covers the introduction of this system in 1917/18 and the changes it underwent in 1938, after an income maintenance law (bidragsförskott) for children of unwed mothers was introduced. In 1917, Sweden was one of the first countries in Europe to introduce legislation that formalized men’s obligations towards children born out of wedlock. Consequently, state officials, called child welfare officers, were required to perform mandatory investigations of paternity. Their task was also to make sure that fathers provided economic support and mothers carried out sufficient care. The 1938 income maintenance law was one of the social policy initiatives of the 1930s. Single mothers were assured payment from the state for child support and the child welfare officers then sought to reclaim the money from the absent father. The history of the child welfare officer system is used as a case to investigate the power dynamics of gender and class, and the relationship between the state, the social work professionals and the individual citizen, concurrent with the birth of the Swedish welfare state. The political debates, the institutional arrangements and the practices connected to this policy area have been analyzed. Thus, politicians, social workers and unwed mothers and fathers are all brought into focus. An analytical point of departure is that the welfare state ”does gender”, i.e. that the welfare state regulates and directs the relation between men and women. However, the state is also treated as a complex and changeable entity, where state and welfare policy also functions as a means to change gender relations. Thus, the study argues that the introduction of the child welfare officer system opened up a new public arena for women – as politicians, social workers and as mothers – in which they were able to renegotiate the meaning of gender and their relation to the state. Prevalent ideas of gender were questioned and challenged in the public sphere of politics and labor as well as in the private sphere of the family. The study consists of a number of empirical chapters in which this social bureaucracy is scrutinized from various perspectives. The child welfare officer system is analyzed both on a national and local level. The latter is done through a case study of the local work in Stockholm. Gender was a vital component to all these levels.

Ensamstående mödrar kan utifrån samhällets normer betraktas som ett socialt problem, eller en social framgång. Forskning har funnit att ensamstående mödrar ofta har sämre livsvillkor än andra samhällsgrupper, även i jämförelse med ensamstående fäder. Följande studie undersökte hur de ensamstående mödrarna själva såg på sin situation, utifrån stigma och social exklusion i det svenska samhället. Studien baserades på en kvalitativ metod i form av semistrukturerade intervjuer, med sju ensamstående mödrar. Resultaten visade att majoriteten av informanterna har upplevt stigmatiserande och socialt exkluderande behandling från såväl samhällsinstanser som övriga samhällsgrupper. Resultaten visade också på att samtliga informanter upplever att den generella förståelsen och det tillgängliga stödet för deras livssituation är bristfällig.

The purpose of this study was to explore how social institutions in South Africa and Zimbabwe respond to the mainstreaming of pregnant learners in formal education. A case study was used as the strategy of inquiry. Utilising a phenomenological, social constructivist and interpretivist lens and guided by a theoretical framework of action science theory, this exploratory qualitative study set out to investigate and compare how various stakeholders in South Africa and Zimbabwe respond to the policy of mainstreaming pregnant learners in schools. Data collection methods took the form of focus group and key participant semi-structured interviews, document analysis and a researcher observation and reflective journal. Two research sites comprised the case study. The sample at each of the identified sites consisted of 12 pregnant and former pregnant learners; 12 mainstream learners; 6 parents/legal guardians; 6 teachers; 6 community representatives on the school governing body. Data analysis consisted of a mix of hermeneutic, content and discourse analysis. Three findings emanated from this study. First, the socio-cultural beliefs, norms, practices and expectations of the community about pregnancy and ideal motherhood were more influential governing variables to educational access and participation of pregnant teenagers than the official school policy. Second, educators at both sites were found to have inadequate capacity to assist pregnant learners with schooling. Third, the South African school was found to provide more access to pregnant learners because of the more liberal and open response to teenage pregnancy. In contrast the conservative tendency to conceal the problem was observed at the Zimbabwean site. This study revealed that institutional policies that do not take into consideration the social, cultural and lived experiences of the relevant stakeholders are difficult to implement. The proposition is that there is usually a split between policy and practice, and that policy can be nothing more than political symbolism. An all-inclusive and consultative approach to policy formulation processes is recommended as an intervention strategy that could be used to counteract the problem. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

INTRODUCTION: This study explores the relationship between single motherhood during pregnancy and dental caries, considering factors like socioeconomic status and oral health practices. METHODS: This cross-sectional study utilized data from the NHANES cycles 2011-2018. Inclusion criteria were positive pregnancy status, age 20-44 years, complete survey response, and completion of the dental health component. Participants were analyzed based on the presence or absence of active decay. The key independent variable was relationship status (pregnant single mother (single/widowed/divorced) vs. pregnant partnered (married/living with partner). Variables included age, race/ethnicity, poverty income ratio, education level, history of high blood pressure, health insurance status, smoking status, sugar intake, and timing of the last dental visit. Statistical methods included descriptive analysis and crude and adjusted logistic regression models, utilizing SAS-9.4 to account for NHANES' sampling design. RESULTS: Crude analysis indicated that partnered pregnant individuals had a higher prevalence of untreated dental caries (OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.08, 1.39) compared to single pregnant individuals. However, this association was not statistically significant after adjusting for potential confounders (adjusted OR = 1.02, 95% CI: 0.83, 1.26). Significant predictors were lower income, education, and smoking status. DISCUSSION: After adjusting for confounders, single motherhood alone was not a statistically significant predictor of dental caries. However, lower income, lower education levels, smoking status, and infrequent dental visits were significant predictors. These findings highlight the need for targeted public health interventions that address socioeconomic determinants, improve educational opportunities, provide financial support, and integrate oral health education into prenatal care programs.

This thesis aims at examining the relationship between single motherhood and the health and academic performance of children in different countries. It was geared toward understanding whether single motherhood has an impact or consequences on the health and academic performance of children. In order to attain this goal, this thesis was sub divided into three main parts (sections) namely; examining whether single motherhood has consequences on the health outcome of children, examining whether single motherhood has consequences on the academic performance of children and finally ascertaining the impact of single motherhood on children's health and academic performance in different economies (Sweden and Germany).  Furthermore, this study adopted the quantitative and cross-cultural approach where quantitative data was obtained across different countries. The Health Behaviour of School aged Children (HBSC) constituted the main source from which responses, respondents and data collection instrument was obtained.  After thorough statistical analysis, the regression mode was used to establish that single motherhood reduced the quality of health and academic outcome of children and thus reflecting a negative impact of single motherhood on the child's health and academic performance.  A cross comparison approach was used to ascertain the economies of Sweden and Germany and compared against the impact of single motherhood on the children's health and academic performance in these two countries. It was then revealed that the impact of single motherhood on children's health and academic performance was dire and common in Germany than Sweden. The study finally concluded that single motherhood negatively impacted the health and academic performance of children with varying impact in different economic context. / Denna uppsats syftar till att undersöka förhållandet mellan ensamstående moderskap och barns hälsa och akademiska prestationer i olika länder. Det var inriktat på att förstå om ensamstående moderskap har en inverkan eller konsekvenser för barns hälsa och akademiska prestationer. För att uppnå detta mål delades denna uppsats upp i tre huvuddelar (avsnitt), nämligen; undersöka om ensamstående moderskap har konsekvenser för barns hälsoutfall, undersöka om ensamstående moderskap har konsekvenser för barns akademiska prestationer och slutligen fastställa effekterna av ensamstående moderskap på barns hälsa och akademiska resultat i olika ekonomier (Sverige och Tyskland). Vidare antog denna studie det kvantitativa och tvärkulturella tillvägagångssättet där kvantitativa data erhölls i olika länder. HBSC (Health Behavior of School Age Children) utgjorde den huvudsakliga källan från vilken svar, respondenter och datainsamlingsinstrument erhölls. Efter noggrann statistisk analys användes regressionsläget för att fastställa att ensamstående moderskap minskade barns hälsa och akademiska resultat och därmed återspeglade en negativ inverkan av ensamstående moderskap på barnets hälsa och akademiska prestationer. En tvärjämförelsestrategi användes för att fastställa ekonomierna i Sverige och Tyskland och jämfördes mot inverkan av ensamstående moderskap på barnens hälsa och akademiska prestationer i dessa två länder. Det avslöjades sedan att ensamstående moderskaps inverkan på barns hälsa och akademiska prestationer var hemskt och vanligt i Tyskland än Sverige. Undersökningen drog slutligen slutsatsen att ensamstående moderskap påverkade barns hälsa och akademiska prestationer negativt i olika ekonomiska sammanhang.