Journal of Families and Better Life (가정과삶의질연구)

Korean Home Management Association (가정과삶의질학회)
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Single Mothers' Experiences of Achieving Independence after Divorce

이혼한 여성 한부모의 홀로서기 경험

  • Son, Seo-Hee (Dept. of Family & Resource Management, Sookmyung Womens' Univ.)
  • 손서희 (숙명여자대학교 가족자원경영학과)
  • Received : 2012.11.15
  • Accepted : 2013.03.24
  • Published : 2013.04.30
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Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how divorced mothers had decided to take custody of their children and became single mothers. The experiences of their lives after divorce were also explored. Data were collected from 17 Korean divorced mothers who were divorced between 2004 and 2009, and were raising at least one minor child. The data were analyzed based on the phenomenological data analysis method. Three main themes were identified: (a) reasons for deciding to have physical custody of the children, (b) mothers' experiences of adjustment after divorce, and (c) mothers' need for a policy concerning the well-being of their families. According to the divorced mothers, they decided to have physical custody of the children since they believed raising children was their natural duty of mothers or they were the most appropriate ones to raise the children rather than the fathers. While the mothers were satisfied with their lives after divorce in general, they also experienced difficulties including child care and financial strain. In particular, most mothers experienced work-family conflict related to the lack of reliable child care. When their family lives and work lives collided, the mothers put their children first and chose jobs that helped them take care of their children at the same time. The divorced single mothers hoped that the social safety net for single parents would expand to support their independence. Implications for single-parent policy are discussed.

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