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This qualitative study explores the experiences of mothers who have children with developmental disabilities. I sought to understand both the positive aspects of mothering a child with a disability, as well as understand the potential negative aspects of mothering a child with a developmental disability. I also explored how the mothers reflected on this experience of mothering a child with a disability. Furthermore, I sought information on what services and/or supports these mothers found helpful, and why. Six mothers were interviewed for this study. From these interviews, six themes were identified: 1. positive experiences and emotions; 2. mothering a child with a developmental disability as difficult, stressful, and overwhelming work; 3). mothers’ fears for their children; 4). mothers’ sense of loss; 5). mothers’ relationships with their non-disabled children; and 6). mothers’ perceptions of the helpfulness of formal and informal supports.

The purpose of the study was to obtain information on the circumstances surrounding the lives of young mothers who resort to killing their babies, and what could be done to address the problem of infanticide. An exploratory multiple-case study design was implemented using the qualitative approach. These types of approach were to explore the same phenomenon of infanticide in a diversity of situations and with a number of subjects. The focus was on determining the dynamics of why the subjects of the investigation think or behave in a particular manner; on getting an insight in the circumstances, structures and institutions in society that contribute to infanticide. A systematic inquiry was implemented so as to get an understanding of human beings and the nature of their interactions with themselves and their surroundings. The subjects were drawn from the police cases since the independence of the Republic of Namibia. A non-probability sampling was done on a spur-of-the moment basis to take advantage of available respondents. Data was derived from questionnaires, interviews and observations of 7 girl-children. Three were from the Windhoek prison and four were from the community. The following were identified: Ignorance about their sexuality let to unwanted and/or unplanned pregnancy. Economic dependence put the girls at the receiving end. This led to a situation in which they have to pay in kind leading to unwanted and/or unplanned pregnancies. It was also observed that support systems to help the girl-children to overcome these obstacles of knowing their reproductive system and to empower them financially to exist in the community are lacking. Much still needs to be done to make the girl-child a valued member of society. Such factors as education, access to productive health services and law-making need to be modified to advantage the girl-child. / (M.Soc.Sc.) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2005

Although there is a strong body of existing research on women’s career-life development and on women’s entrepreneurship, there is a lack of understanding of the experiences of mother entrepreneurs specifically. This dissertation addresses the question how do self-employed women with children manage their multiple life roles. Context and the rationale for conducting the proposed study is discussed, followed by a literature review, which begins by describing the key career development terms, offering an overview of career theory with a focus on women’s career development and entrepreneurship, followed by a discussion of modes of inquiry considered appropriate for this study. An outline of the research methodology is presented, with further rationale for a qualitative approach, specifically Grounded Theory. This research includes a description of the basic social problem Being a Mother Entrepreneur, as well as proposing a substantive theory to explain how mother entrepreneurs manage their multiple life roles. This process is explained in the core category Keeping Going, which is recursively fueled and affected by seven key properties: feeling supported, making choices, adapting creatively, remembering the push, remembering the pull, envisioning the future, and living my values. The finding of Keeping Going as the basic social process of how mother entrepreneurs manage their multiple life roles, underscores the importance of understanding the role of values on the process of career-life development of self-employed women with children. Finally, implications for further research, including the extension of the proposed substantive theory to other groups, and implications for counselling practice are discussed. / Graduate / 0525 / 0519 / rehb@shaw.ca

Although there is a strong body of existing research on women’s career-life development and on women’s entrepreneurship, there is a lack of understanding of the experiences of mother entrepreneurs specifically. This dissertation addresses the question how do self-employed women with children manage their multiple life roles. Context and the rationale for conducting the proposed study is discussed, followed by a literature review, which begins by describing the key career development terms, offering an overview of career theory with a focus on women’s career development and entrepreneurship, followed by a discussion of modes of inquiry considered appropriate for this study. An outline of the research methodology is presented, with further rationale for a qualitative approach, specifically Grounded Theory. This research includes a description of the basic social problem Being a Mother Entrepreneur, as well as proposing a substantive theory to explain how mother entrepreneurs manage their multiple life roles. This process is explained in the core category Keeping Going, which is recursively fueled and affected by seven key properties: feeling supported, making choices, adapting creatively, remembering the push, remembering the pull, envisioning the future, and living my values. The finding of Keeping Going as the basic social process of how mother entrepreneurs manage their multiple life roles, underscores the importance of understanding the role of values on the process of career-life development of self-employed women with children. Finally, implications for further research, including the extension of the proposed substantive theory to other groups, and implications for counselling practice are discussed. / Graduate / 0525 / 0519 / rehb@shaw.ca

No description available.

Everyday demands and hassles can elicit some form of stress upon the child rearing experience (Crnic & Lowe, 2002). Previous research using meta-analysis (Bos, van Balen & van den Boom, 2005) found that lesbian and heterosexual families are similar in nature with one important distinction, the stigmatization attached to their sexual orientation. Lesbian mothers are subjected to sexual stigma that other sexual minority individuals face, but in addition they experience stigma attached to the idealization of the nuclear family. As a consequence of this dual prejudice, moderators should be examined specifically for lesbian mothers to identify shared and possible unique factors for parenting stress. Based on the data collected for the present study, the current research supported the extensive literature documenting moderates of parenting stress in heterosexual mothers (social support, relationship satisfaction and life stressors). Moreover this study highlighted some of the unique and possible moderators of parental stress in the lesbian family dynamic (minority stress, and stigma perception). While doing this, the current research revealed some interesting inter-correlations that were not the primary area of investigation. In addition, the comparison of the respondents when designated into high and low scorers, gave the impression that the current study was heading in the right direction but needed additional participants to ensure that the hypotheses were correctly tested. Future research should aim to recruit a higher number of participants from various areas that may not have LGBT specific support. Moreover while utilizing an online questionnaire; steps should be taken to ensure that respondents do not become uninterested or fatigued while testing (e.g. shorten the survey).

This thesis reports comparative analyses of the work and family nexus for a group of working mothers in Adelaide, Australia and Harare, Zimbabwe.

Thesis (M. P. H.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1987. / Typescript. Title from title screen (viewed Nov. 15, 2007). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 137-147). Online version of the print original.