Solo mothers: perceptions of their role

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to assess how solo mothers view their role as solo mothers and how they view the role of women. The research instrument, a postal questionnaire, contained two Likert type attitude scales. Scale One consisted of thirty items pertaining to the situation of solo mothers and Scale Two consisted of twenty five items pertaining to the social role of women. A respondent obtaining low total scores on both scales was described as having a conservative attitude toward solo mothers and women. Conversely, a respondent obtaining high total scores on both scales was described as having a liberal attitude toward solo mothers and women. The research hypothesis states that respondents who obtain a low score on Scale One will also obtain a low score on Scale Two. Thus, respondents who had a liberal attitude toward women would also have a liberal attitude toward solo mothers (and the converse). The research hypothesis was accepted. In the theoretical chapters, a family ideology and a gender ideology were described. These ideologies by their basic premises do not incorporate the one parent family. It was assumed that women who strongly identified with the above ideologies would have an ambivalent or perhaps negative attitude toward their role as a solo mother. The research showed that solo mothers who strongly identified with the gender ideology (obtained low scores on Scale Two) also obtained low scores on the Solo Mother Scale.