Single Mothers Raising Children with "Male-Positive" Attitudes

Among the challenges facing single mothers, a particularly difficult one is how to help children develop “male‐positive” attitudes in situations when the parents have broken up and children have no active relationship with the father. Despite a large academic literature on single mothering, there is...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Family process 2011-03, Vol.50 (1), p.63-76
Main Authors: DOHERTY, WILLIAM J., CRAFT, SHONDA M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitude
Attitudes
Attitudes toward men
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Child Rearing - psychology
Children
Children & youth
Communication
Community
Couple and family
Cultural change
Divorce
Family Relations
Fathers
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Male
Men
Models, Psychological
Mother-Child Relations
Mothers
Parents
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Single Mothers
Single Parent
Single-Parent Family
Social psychology
Symbolic Interactionism
Systems Theory
Trends
Women
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Summary:Among the challenges facing single mothers, a particularly difficult one is how to help children develop “male‐positive” attitudes in situations when the parents have broken up and children have no active relationship with the father. Despite a large academic literature on single mothering, there is strikingly little discussion on this topic. Using symbolic interactionism and family systems theory, we offer psychoeducational messages for single mothers who want to raise their children with male‐positive attitudes. We also call for a new cultural conversation on an issue ignored for too long. RESUMEN Entre los desafíos que enfrentan las madres solteras, uno particularmente difícil es cómo ayudar a los niños a desarrollar “actitudes positivas hacia el sexo masculino” en situaciones donde los padres se han separado y los niños no tienen una relación activa con el padre. Si bien existe mucha bibliografía académica sobre la crianza de los niños por madres solteras, es notable el poco debate que hay sobre este tema. Utilizando el interaccionismo simbólico y la teoría de sistemas familiar, ofrecemos mensajes psicoeducativos para madres solteras que desean criar a sus hijos con actitudes positivas hacia el sexo masculino. También exigimos una nueva conversación cultural sobre un tema que se dejó de lado durante mucho tiempo. Palabras clave: madres solteras, padres, actitudes hacia los hombres
ISSN:0014-7370
1545-5300
DOI:10.1111/j.1545-5300.2010.01346.x