ABSTRACT
Although
the causes and challenges of single mother hard in Nigeria have been explored a
bit, research on single parenthood in Ezeagu LGA is surprisingly birth
histories to explore single parenthood over the life course of women in Imezi-Owa
in Ezeagu LGA. We find out that in both locations, a substantial number of
women experience one part single parenthood before the age of 45. Women are far
more likely to become single mothers following a divorce or death of their
spouse rather than as a consequence of pre-marital birth.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
BACKGROUND OF STUDY
Globally, most families are undergoing
transition from two-parent families to one-parent families (Laundau and
Griffiths, 2007). This widespread phenomenon depicts a structural malfunctioning
in the society which calls for corrective measures if social enhancement is to
be achieved, the consequences of single mother families have been given huge
attention in many of the developed countries such as United States of America
and the United Kingdom (Biblarz and Gottainer, 2000: Kahn L et al, 2004).
Approximately 12million children in the United States under the age of 18 now
live with only one parent, with approximately 95% of these children living with
single mother families (Bilarz and Gottainer, 2000). In the United Kingdom (U.K), mothers
constitute over 90% of primary careers (single-parent,wikipedia,8 June 2011).
In Malaysia, based on the Malaysian Home and Population Census in 2010 carried
out by the statistics department, a total of 831,860 women were widowed,
divorced or permanently separated with heavy responsibilities on their shoulders.
Similar patterns have been found in sub-Saharan African Countries. This is
evident in the Demographic and health Surveys (DHS) data in some Sub-Saharan African
Countries on Children’s living arrangement. The proportion of Children living
in a mother only family differs depending on countries. For example, Nigeria
(10.1%), Uganda (16.9%), (Tanzania 17.3%) and Zambia (17.8%) have the lowest
percentages of children staying with mother only and higher percentages are
found in South Africa (34.4%) Namibia (27.3%) and Zimbabwe (26.3%) (Dlamini,
2006) However, this has changed with the ticking of the clock, in countries
with a high Muslim population such as Nigeria, out of wedlock pregnancy is
taboo and pregnant adolescents are forced into marriage by their parents.
However, in Southern Africa, AIDS related death and premarital child bearing may
explain the high proportion of children living in a single mother family (Moyo
and Kawewe, 2009). Ezeagu LGA Enugu State is not immune to this phenomenon and
there is little effort towards investigating the causes and consequences of
single parenthood especially among women, despite the high rate of crises that
has claimed several lives of men and women, rendering women to be widows, men
to be widowers and children orphaned, the main concern generally, is that single
parenthood seems to be associated with poverty and negative outcomes for
children (Kalil et al., 2001). This widespread phenomenon depicts a structural
malfunctioning in the society which calls for corrective measures if social
enhancements is to be ascertained, The rise in single mother families is
occurring within a climate of increased deprivation, which supports the feminization
of poverty thesis in the West (Moyo and Kawewe, 2009) and yet there are no
comparable public social services to support these families and their children
(Swaziland Single mothers Association, SWAMSO, 2010). Studies have revealed
that children from single mother families
are more likely to have poor
health status, be malnourished, drop out of school, have poor life attainment
and also are more likely to be single mothers or parents (Mclanahan and
Percheski, 2008; Kalil et al., 2001). A single mother family is one where a
woman who has had at least one child is living alone without a partner (Gonzalez,
2005). Unmarried mothers who live with their parents or other relatives face
fewer economic problems than mothers who live alone (Ellwood and Jencks, 2002).
The likelihood of women becoming single mothers
is affected by social, cultural, religious and economic factors with a
potential to further influence fertility and partnership decisions (Gonzalez,
2005). Thus single parenthood generally emerges through demographic and social
antecedents that occur in the societies such as divorce and premarital childbearing
voluntarily. One important source of single motherhoods is when a woman chooses
rationally not to get married but still want to have children either by
adoption or insemination (Mannis, 1999). There is no doubt that single parenthood is high in Ezeagu LGA and a
better understanding of the factors
associated with single mothers need to be investigated. This research
aims to examine the causes and challenges of single parenthood families and to
explore the possible interventions necessary to reduce the growing trend of
poor single mother families in Ezeagu LGA.
A single
mother is “an unmarried woman aged between 18 and 55 years living on her own
with her dependent children younger than 18” (Gordeev 2008: 105). In simple
terms a single mother family is where a woman who has at least one dependent
child is living alone without a partner.
However, the unifying factor in this definition is the absence of a father figure
or husband and the presence of children in dire need of a shoulder to lean on,
a hand to guide, and someone to depend on financially, economically and
emotionally.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The health and well being of women and children is a key
focus of the United Nations millennium development goals (MDGs) as well as the
reduction of HIV/AIDS by 2015 ( WHO, 2008) among others. Although literatures
have identified single parenthood is fast
becoming a regular family type, studies have shown that such families are
associated with negative impacts not only on the parent and children but also
on the society as a whole(Kalil et al., 2001),some researchers hypothesize that
the phenomenon is the possible cause for
increased in children mortality, poor educational attainment, poor health, and
delinquent behaviours compared to children of married mothers (Biblartz and
Goittainer, 2000; Florshien et al 1998; Painter and Levine 2000). On the other
hand, single mothers experience burden of poverty, gender discrimination,
unemployment, stigmatization and poor living conditions compared to women
living with their husbands (Buvinic and Gupta, 1997; Curtist, 2001; Kalil et
al., 2001). This is because single mothers are financially constrained, socially
ostracized and more affected by poverty than married mothers (Mclanahan and
Sandfeur, 1994).
There is
pressure on these women to provide for themselves and their offspring with
their little income, most times without any support from relatives or the
government. As a result, their children are more malnourished, less likely to
complete school, more likely to turn criminals. Further worsening the situation
is that most single mothers are not educated, thus their probability of getting
gainful employment is greatly affected. Single parenthood also leads to the
deterioration of neither normative values nor systems. It is therefore topical
that a research on the cause and challenges of single parenthood is carried out
to try to expose the possible factors undermining the problem in Ezeagu LGA.
The outcomes are likely to expose many other unforseen factors that are
wreaking havoc on the institutions of marriage.
1.3 GENERAL OBJECTIVES OF
THE RESEARCH
This
study is aimed to identify the causes and challenges of single mothers in Ezeagu
LGA
1.4 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF
THE RESEARCH
- To identify the causes of single
parenthood in Ezeagu LGA. - To determine the challenges of single
parenthood in Ezeagu Local Government Council. - To investigate the impact of single
parenthood in Ezeagu Local Government Council.
1.5 STATEMENT OF THE
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
This research when completed can
answer some of the following questions:
- What
are the primary causes of being a single mother in Ezeagu Local Government
Council? - What
are the various challenges of single parenthood in Ezeagu Local Government
Council? - What
is the impact of single parenthood in Ezeagu Local Government Council?
1.6 SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF
THE RESEARCH
This research study will be
conducted in Ezeagu Local Government Council of Enugu State Nigeria.
1.7 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE
RESEARCH
This research is aimed at contributing
to the limited work on single parenthood in Ezeagu LGA, specifically, it
examines the broad range of factors that have been suggested to cause single
parenthood and the various challenges they face in Nigeria particularly Ezeagu
LGA, because it will provides better setting for exploring single parenthood
in Ezeagu LGA for several reasons:
Firstly, some recent studies have
observed and increase in the number of premarital childbearing, divorce, and
adult mortality during the past couple of years in the Local Government (Samp
Russel 2010), also HIV/AIDS have been the recent cause of death in the Council
causing single parenthood among many women.
Secondly, previous studies of single
mothers have focused on a singular analysis which is poverty among single
mothers, but this research is important because the findings of this study may
provide a better insight on the subject matter which other researcher have
neglected. Also, the use of multivariate analyses to investigate single
parenthood in Ezeagu LGA environment will allows us to gain some empirical
insights into the processes surrounding the single parenthood in this Council.
Thirdly, despite the rapidly
increasing number of single mother families, studies suggested that they are
characterized mainly by poverty, and negative chid outcome (Kalil et al., 2001;
Bibliaz and Gottainer, 2004). Ezeagu LGA has witnessed huge economic crises,
especially between 2001 to 2014 which translates to high food prices, poor
living conditions and increased in high mortality (Bose, 2007) as a result
parent lack economic ability to take care of their children, hence children are
adversely affected in many ways, poor health, malnourishment, dropping out from
school, crime involvement and drugs (Ellwood and Jencks, 2002 McLanahan and
Sandfeur, 1994). Understanding the factors associated with single mother
families may be the first step in developing programmes that can be used to
address the challenges facing these women and their children.
Finally, this study will add to the body
of growing knowledge on single parenthood in Nigeria and Ezeagu LGA in
particular, it will also provide a platform for further research on the same or
similar topic; it will help to identify the significant causes and challenges
of single parenthood which can be compared to the western worlds. In addition,
because of the consequences attached with single mother hood, this study will
then recommend policies, programme and interventions to the government,
ministries of women affairs and organizations so that channels be created to
help reduce poverty and negative
childhood outcome in single mother families when completed
1.8 DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS
There
are shades of opinion on who a single mother is. Accordingly, there emerged
strands of single mothers:
a. Voluntary single mother: This is a situation whereby a woman
deliberately becomes a single mother to biological or adopted child, or through
artificial inseminations or simply by intercourse. (Single parent, wikipedia, 8
June 2011).
b. Single mother having a child or
children unintentionally, and daily caring for them without the help of another
person, especially the father(s) of the child(ren) .The child(ren) lives with
her full time as her primary custodian( answers yahoo.com, 8 June2011)
c. It has been observed that women,
though married and are living with their husbands, virtually shoulder the
responsibilities of the family or union including sole breadwinnership, deserve
the name single mothers (The Nigerian voice, 8 June 2011).
d. One may be a single not all of the
way. in this case, she has joint legal or non legal custody of the child(ren)
with the father(s) of the child(ren), who may be paying or contributing (regularly or less) some sort of support,
visiting from time to time, agreeing to get the child(ren) for weekends ors
holidays, and in general, having reliable and safe interest in the child(ren),
but still largely remaining an ‘absentee’
father on an account of spatially living apart ( All the single mums the
Nigerian Voice June 8 2011) .
In
general Single Motherhood is defined as all women aged 18-50, that are
divorced, widowed, never married, who have at least one dependent child under
the age of 18 and are not living with a partner, the unifying factor in this
definition is the absence of a father figure or husband and the presence of
children in dire need of a shoulder to lean on, a hand to guide, and someone to
depend on financially, economically and emotionally.