An exploratory study of the challenges experienced by single mother university students
- Authors: Mapasa, Yolisa Yvonne
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Teenage mothers -- South Africa , Women college students -- South Africa.
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9962 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020170
- Description: This treatise reports on a qualitative exploratory study that was aimed at identifying and describing the challenges experienced by single mothers who were students at a South African university. The researcher is of the view that single parenthood is a global challenge but very little has been done to explore this phenomenon in South Africa. A purposive convenience sample of four voluntary full time registered single mother students at a university in the Western Cape Province was utilised in the study. The participants ranged in age between eighteen and twenty three years and were English second language speakers. In-depth individual interviews were conducted with the four participants and the data were analysed into qualitative themes. The following main challenges for the sample of single mother university students emerged from the data: (i) Financial challenges. (ii) Concern for the general wellbeing of children. (iii) Difficulties regarding the separation of mother and child. (iv) The importance of tertiary education in finding future employment. (v) Dual role stress. Sub-themes within these main themes were also identified and discussed. Recommendations for future research, based on the findings of this study, are also offered.
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- Date Issued: 2013
Pregnant teenagers' readiness for motherhood: a quantitative investigation in Nkonkobe Municipality, Eastern Cape
- Authors: Pitso, Tsolo Joseph
- Date: 2013-01
- Subjects: Teenage mothers -- South Africa , Teenage pregnancy -- South Africa , Motherhood -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/27440 , vital:67298
- Description: The issue of teenage motherhood has been a concern, globally, continentally and locally. The quantitative study assessed whether the pregnant teenagers were ready for motherhood. This report analysed the current positions of women whose first child was to be born when they were teenagers in the rural Eastern Cape setting. The structured questionnaires were given to 106 pregnant teenagers who visited the War Memorial clinic for pregnancy check-up and convenient sampling was used to select these respondents. The items of the questionnaire were divided into the following sub-topics: prenatal and postnatal challenges and roles and responsibilities of motherhood. The study found that most of the pregnant teenagers were aware of the prenatal and postnatal challenges but they were not ready to perform the roles and responsibilities associated with motherhood. The analysis of data was divided in terms of descriptive and inferential statistics. The binary regression model was used to assess the factors affecting the pregnant teenagers’ readiness for motherhood. The finding of this study indicated that most (about 79%) of the pregnant teenagers were not aware of the roles and responsibilities of motherhood In addition to being not ready to face the psycho-social challenges of motherhood. Hence they indicated low level of readiness to motherhood. The psycho-social theory of Erikson posited that children who had strong and intact psycho-social relationships with the caregivers might have a high possibility of acquiring their identity during adolescent stage and this will help them to interact both effectively and efficiently with their peers and the society at large. While those do had negative psycho-social development have a high chance of facing identity crisis/confusion. As a result, they might lead them to being victims of psycho-social interaction such as early pregnancy. , Thesis (MSoc) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2013
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- Date Issued: 2013-01