Hornsby Clark, Lily;
(2023)
Lone mothers’ experiences of caregiving: A qualitative study using the Parent Development Interview.
Doctoral thesis (D.Psych), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
Aim: This qualitative study aimed to investigate the caregiving experiences of lone mothers attending a Parent Toddler Group (PTG), by analysing Parent Development Interviews (PDI) using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Method: This project was part of a wider service evaluation of PTGs carried out between 2003 and 2019 in a third-sector mental health service. A sample of 7 lone mothers was purposively selected from the wider pool of toddler group attendees. All participants had completed a ‘baseline’ PDI on entering the group and these were audio recorded and then transcribed. Data was analysed using IPA. Results: The findings included some novel themes specific to lone mothers of toddlers, relating to managing their children’s need to be in control and difficulties around separation. Other themes echoed those in previous literature. Participants expressed feelings of isolation and being overwhelmed by lone parenting, as well as many struggling with mental health issues and histories of trauma. Conclusion: This study showed that the lived experiences of lone mothers are nuanced, challenging societal assumptions about this group as homogeneous. Lone mothers can be vulnerable and continue to be in need of specialist services, such as the PTGs, that can help them with their parenting, alongside support from family and friends.
Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
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Qualification: | D.Psych |
Title: | Lone mothers’ experiences of caregiving: A qualitative study using the Parent Development Interview |
Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
Language: | English |
Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2022. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences |
URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10163772 |
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