Positive Attributes of Never-Married Single Mothers and Fathers: Why Gender Matters and Applications for Family Therapists

Utilizing a feminist framework, this study examined societal perceptions of strengths of never-married custodial single mothers and fathers. Qualitative responses were gathered from 873 participants. The results of the thematic analysis suggested that the positive attributes that participants assign...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of feminist family therapy 2014-07, Vol.26 (3), p.163-190
Main Authors: Maier, Candice A., McGeorge, Christi R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Comparative analysis
Feminism
feminist thematic analysis
Gender
perceived positive attributes of single parents
Perceptions
Sex
Single Fathers
Single Mothers
single mothers and fathers
Single Parent Family
Single parents
Therapists
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Summary:Utilizing a feminist framework, this study examined societal perceptions of strengths of never-married custodial single mothers and fathers. Qualitative responses were gathered from 873 participants. The results of the thematic analysis suggested that the positive attributes that participants assign to never-married single mothers and fathers appeared to be more strongly influenced by gender than by single parent status. The results further suggested that participants' level of expectations was much lower for single fathers when compared with single mothers and that, overall, single mothers were held to a higher standard by participants. These findings have significant clinical implications for family therapists.
ISSN:0895-2833
1540-4099
DOI:10.1080/08952833.2014.944060