Maternal single-parent family in social risk situation. Psychosocial and behavioral characteristics

• Author: M. Gotea/M. Busuioc
• Position: Transilvania University of Brasov, Faculty of Sociology and Communication/Social Services Association SCUT, Braov
• Pages: 97-108

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov

Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 9 (58) No. 1 - 2016

MATERNAL SINGLE-PARENT FAMILY

IN SOCIAL RISK SITUATION.

PSYCHOSOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL

CHARACTERISTICS

M. GOTEA1 M. BUSUIOC2

Abstract: This paper aims to explore some relevant aspects of the intra

family dynamics, to reveal the meanings and analyse the evolution of

maternal single-parent families that are socially vulnerable, as it is described

in the scholarly literature, and to present the specific characteristics of this

family type. It also includes some results of a qualitative study carried out

among single parent families in social risk situation, from Brasov County.

One of the main ideas of the study is that the lack of future prospects and the

restricted possibilities to escape from difficult situation, in which they are,

induce to single-parents the feeling of fatality, perpetuating undesirable

coping styles.

Key words: vulnerable groups, single-parent family, single-mother family.

1. Introduction

Within the multitude of family models emerging in post-modern society, single-parent

family has become a well-known and widespread social entity, which now is considered

to be normality.

Racoceanu et al. (2010) summarizes its characteristic traits: “from a sociological point

of view, the single-parent family can be defined as a social group constituted on the basis

of family relationship between a parent and the child or his children, group characterized

by affective states, aspirations and values”. This type of family is a social unit where

there is only conjugal relationship independent of the parent, so Stănciulescu (1997)

proposes using the term parental family.

Investigating single-parent families is difficult to achieve due to the hardship of

professionals to enter the intimate sphere of domestic space, but also due to the

complexity of family dynamics and, not least, subjectivity statements to which they have

access. However, we find a series of research studies and papers that are focused on

analysing different dimensions of single-parent families, such as: the effects of single-

parent families on children (Iluţ, 2005), behavioural problems of adolescents coming

from single-parent families (Devi, Duhan and Sangwan, 2009), the quality of life of these

families (Iluţ, 2009), analyses of specific characteristics of different types of single-parent

1 Transilvania University of Braşov, Faculty of Sociology and Communication, mihaela.gotea@unitbv.ro.

2 Social Services Association SCUT, Braov.