The parenting practice of single mothers in turkey: challenges and strategies

Serap Kavas, Suleyman Sah University
Ayse Gunduz-Hosgor, Middle East Technical University

The purpose of this study is to examine single parenting experience of divorced professional women in Turkey. Drawing on 24 interviews to single mothers, the study probes into the various cultural and structural factors facing single mothers and the strategies they devise to handle all the hardship managing to bring up a child alone as well as standing up for themselves as single mothers in a patriarchal society. Based on this qualitative sample, results demonstrate that single mothers in this study face numerous challenges ranging from the hardship of maintaining authority in the new family setting they formed; struggling to keep the sense of a complete family; handling negative attitudes to single mothers and to their children. We argue that through the strategies they devised these mothers rebuild their families in line with traditional Turkish family system. As well, while they are constantly re-forming their families they also have to cope with additional challenges as well as ambivalence. We draw on the literature on boundary ambiguity and role ambiguity, as theoretical framework for understanding these women’s ambivalence in the process. The shortage of data and research attention has made it difficult to document many of the dimensions of single mother families living in Turkey. The current study, thus, aims to fill this gap by providing a starting point for subsequent research as well as implications to create policies to help change many of the negative circumstances that are facing these women. Finally, the sample and context of this work allows us to generate cross-cultural discussion on the issue of single parenting. Through qualitative study of one landmark society we hope that some new light will be shed on the current condition and future of changing family structures in developing countries. Keywords: single mothers; professional women; qualitative method; challenges & strategies