CAUSES AND CHALLENGES OF SINGLE PARENTING AMONG WOMEN IN JOS NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT COUNCIL

CAUSES AND CHALLENGES OF SINGLE PARENTING AMONG WOMEN IN JOS NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMEENT COUNCIL

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• BACKGROUND OF STUDY

Globally, most families are undergoing transition from two-parent families to one-parent families (Laundau and Griffiths, 2007). This widespread phenomenon depicts a structural malfunctioning in the society which calls for corrective measures if social enhancement is to be achieved, the consequences of single mother families have been given huge attention in many of the developed countries such as United States of America and the United Kingdom (Biblarz and Gottainer, 2000: Kahn L et al, 2004). Approximately 12million children in the United States under the age of 18 now live with only one parent, with approximately 95% of these children living with single mother families (Bilarz and Gottainer, 2000).  In the United Kingdom (U.K), mothers constitute over 90% of primary careers (single-parent,wikipedia,8 June 2011). In Malaysia, based on the Malaysian Home and Population Census in 2010 carried out by the statistics department, a total of 831,860 women were widowed, divorced or permanently separated with heavy responsibilities on their shoulders. Similar patterns have been found in sub-Saharan African Countries. This is evident in the Demographic and health Surveys (DHS) data in some Sub-Saharan African Countries on Children’s living arrangement. The proportion of Children living in a mother only family differs depending on countries. For example, Nigeria (10.1%), Uganda (16.9%), (Tanzania 17.3%) and Zambia (17.8%) have the lowest percentages of children staying with mother only and higher percentages are found in South Africa (34.4%) Namibia (27.3%) and Zimbabwe (26.3%) (Dlamini, 2006) However, this has changed with the ticking of the clock, in countries with a high Muslim population such as Nigeria, out of wedlock pregnancy is taboo and pregnant adolescents are forced into marriage by their parents. However, in Southern Africa, AIDS related death and premarital child bearing may explain the high proportion of children living in a single mother family (Moyo and Kawewe, 2009). Jos North plateau state is not immune to this phenomenon and there is little effort towards investigating the causes and challenges of single parenting among women, despite the high rate of crises that has claimed several lives of men and women, rendering women to be widows, men to be widowers and children orphaned, the main concern generally, is that single motherhood seems to be associated with poverty and negative outcomes for children (Kalil et al., 2001). This widespread phenomenon depicts a structural malfunctioning in the society which calls for corrective measures if social enhancements is to be ascertained, The rise in single mother families is occurring within a climate of increased deprivation, which supports the feminization of poverty thesis in the West (Moyo and Kawewe, 2009) and yet there are no comparable public social services to support these families and their children (Swaziland Single mothers Association, SWAMSO, 2010). Studies have revealed that children from single mother families  are more likely to have  poor health status, be malnourished, drop out of school, have poor life attainment and also are more likely to be single mothers or parents (Mclanahan and Percheski, 2008; Kalil et al., 2001). A single mother family is one where a woman who has had at least one child is living alone without a partner (Gonzalez, 2005). Unmarried mothers who live with their parents or other relatives face fewer economic problems than mothers who live alone (Ellwood and Jencks, 2002).

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