Managing family life while studying: Single mothers' lived experience of being students in a nursing program
Olayide O Ogunsiji
PhD candidate, School of Nursing, Family and Community Health, University of Western Sydney, NSW
Lesley Wilkes
Family and Community Health Research Group (FaCH), Clinical Nursing Research Unit, Nepean Hospital; University of Western Sydney and Sydney West Area Health Service, Sydney NSW
PP: 108 - 123
Abstract
Evidence suggests that single parent families are more likely to be affected by social problems associated with poor health and poverty. Single parent families are growing in number and are overwhelmingly headed by women. Despite their increasing number and their level of vulnerability, the lived experiences of single mothers have attracted little attention in the literature. Still little is known about many aspects of life as experienced by single mothers.
Nursing is a profession that is dominated by women, and every year a number of single mothers enrol in undergraduate nurse education programs. Currently, there is little information about the experiences of women who are single mothers, undertaking a nursing degree in a university.
This paper reports a study that explored the lived experiences of five single mother under-graduate nursing students. van Manen's phenomenological method informed the design and conduct of the study. Findings were grouped into the following themes: being exhausted all the time; being overwhelmed with worries; and being hopeful of the future.
Findings of this study revealed that the single mothers' major health concerns were chronic tiredness and overwhelming worries. However, their being in the university was perceived as being health promoting and restoring to their self-esteem. Implications for educators, health providers and women's health services are drawn from the findings.
Keywords
single mothers; family health; women's health; nursing education
References
Abbott-Chapman J (1999): Changing students, changing needs: findings from the University of Tasmania students' survey. Unpublished manuscript, Australian College of Education, Tasmanian Chapter.
Ali J, Avison WR (1997): Employment transitions and psychological distress: the contrasting experiences of single and married mothers. Journal of Health and Social Behaviour 38: 345-362.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2002). Labour force status and other characteristics of Families, June 2002 (No.6224.0). Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. Australia.
Baker D, North K (1999): Does employment improve health of lone mothers? Social Science & Medicine 49(1): 121-131.
Benzeval M (1998): The self-reported health status of lone parents. Social Science & Medicine 46(10): 1337-1353.
Burstrom B, Diderichsen F, Shouls S, Whitehead M (1999): Lone mothers in Sweden: Trends in health and socioeconomic circumstances, 1979-1995. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health 53(12): 750-760.
Byrne C, Browne G, Roberts J, Ewart J, Schuster M, Underwood J, Flynn-Kingston S, Rennick K, Bell, B, Gafril A, Watt S, Ashford Y, Jamieson E (1998): Surviving social assistance: 12 month prevalence of depression in sole-support parents receiving social assistance. Canadian Medical Association 8(7): 881-888.
Carter J (1991): Measuring child poverty. Melbourne: St. Lawrence.
Considine G, Watson I (2003): Learning experience of students from low-income families. Unpublished manuscript, University of Sydney.
Dalziel J, Peat M (1998): Fostering collaborative learning during student transition to tertiary education: An evaluation of academic and social benefits. In C. Rust (Ed.), 5th International Student Learning Symposium. Improving Student Learning: Improving Students as learners (pp. 272-283). Glasgow: The Oxford Centre for Staff & Learning Development.
Durkheim E (1951): Suicide. Free Press: New York.
Eastman M (1996): Family variables, health outcomes and national health strategies. Proceedings of AIFS Research Conference, Brisbane.
Evans R, Hodge M, Pless I (1994): If not genetics, then what? Biological pathways and population health. In R. Evans, M. Barer, T. Mannor & Aldine de Grayter (Eds.), Why are some people healthy and others not? (pp. 161- 188). New York: Academic Press.
Farr W (1859): Influence of marriage on the mortality of the French people. London: Savill and Edwards.
Ford R, Miller J (1997): Private lives and public responses: Lone parenthood and future policy. New York: Rowntree Foundation.
Graham C, Babola K (1998): Needs assessment of non-traditional students in physical and occupational therapy programs. Journal of Allied Health 27(4): 196-201.
Gray M, Qu de Vaus D, Millward C (2002): Determinants of Australian mothers employment: An analysis of lone and couple mothers. (Research Rep. No. 26). Melbourne: Australian Institute of family studies.
Hay I, Ashman A, Vankraayenoord CE (1997): Investigating the influence of achievement on self concept using an intra-class design and a comparison of the PASS and SDQ-1 self concept test. British Journal of Educational Psychology 67: 311-321.
Hibbard JH, Pope CR (1987): Employment characteristics and health status among men and women. Women Health 12: 85-102.
Higginson J (1998): Competitive parenting: The culture of teen mothers. Journal of Marriage & The Family 60: 135-150. Jobs, Education and Training (JET) Publications/Newsletter on the net (2003). Available at http://www.centrelink.gov.au
Kempson E (1996): Life on a low-income. London: Policy Studies Institute.
King A (1997): The changing face of Australian poverty: A comparison of 1996 estimates and the 1972-73 findings from the commission of inquiry (Discussion paper, No 23). National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling, University of Canberra, Australia.
Lahelma E, Arber S, Kivela K, Roos E (2002): Multiple roles and health among British and Finnish women: The influence of socioeconomic circumstances. Social Science & Medicine 54(5): 727-740.
Lennon MC (1994):Women, work and wellbeing: The importance of work conditions. Journal of Health and Social Behaviour 3: 235- 247.
Lipman EL, Offord DR, Boyle MH (1997): Single mothers in Ontario: Sociodemographic, physical and mental health characteristics. Canadian Medical Association Journal 156(5): 639-645.
Lo Biondo-Wood G, Haber J. (1990): Nursing research: Methods, critical appraisal and utilisation (2nd ed.). St Louis: Mosby.
Luthenbatcher M (2002): Relationship between psychosocial factors and abusive parenting attitudes in low-income single mothers. Nursing Research 51(3): 158-167.
Luthenbatcher M, Hall LA (1998): The effect of maternal psychosocial factors on parenting attitudes of low-income single mothers with young children. Nursing Research 47(1): 25-34.
Macintyre S (1992): The effect of family position and status on health. Social Science & Medicine 35(4): 453-464.
Olson AL, Di Brigida LA (1994): Depressive symptoms and work role satisfaction in mothers of toddlers. Pediatrics 94: 363-367.
Pearce D (1990): Welfare is not for women: Why the war on poverty cannot conquer the feminisation of poverty. In L. Gordon (Ed.), Women, the state and welfare (pp. 265-279). Madison: University of Wisconsin.
Popay J, Jones G (1990): Patterns of health and illness amongst lone parents. Journal Of Social Policy 19(4): 499-534.
Sarfati D, Scott KM (2001): The health of lone mothers in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal, 114 (133): 257-260.
Sedlak AJ, Broadhurst DD (1996): The national incidence study of child abuse and neglect. Washington , DC: National Clearing on Child Abuse and Neglect Information.
van Manen M (1990): Researching lived experience: Human science for an action sensitive pedagogy. New York: New York Press.
Weintoft GR, Haglund B, Hjern A, Rosen M (2002): Mortality, severe morbidity and injury among long-term lone-mothers in Sweden. International Journal of Epidemiology 31: 573-580.
Wilkes L (1991): Phenomenology: A window to the nursing world. In G. Gray & R. Pratt (Eds.), Towards a discipline of nursing. Melbourne: Churchill Livingstone.
World Health Organisation. (1948). Constitution. As adopted by the International health conference. New York.
eContent Home
