Adejoh, Samuel Ojima; Kuteyi, Raymond Kayode; Ogunsola, Victor; Adeoye,
Temilade Adeyinka
Veröffentlichungsversion / Published Version
Zeitschriftenartikel / journal article
Empfohlene Zitierung / Suggested Citation:
Adejoh, S. O., Kuteyi, R. K., Ogunsola, V., & Adeoye, T. A. (2019). Single Motherhood: Experiences of Never
Married Women in Lagos, Nigeria. The Nigerian Journal of Sociology and Anthropology, 17(2), 100-112. https://
doi.org/10.36108/NJSA/9102/71(0270)
Nutzungsbedingungen:
Abstract
Despite the benefits of marriage, there has been a rise in the number of single parent
families, especially never married single mothers globally. This may bring about
serious social problems as the consequences of children raised by single mother have
been documented. Yet, little research has been conducted to find out why there is
increase in the number of never married single mothers. Therefore, this study
investigated and described the experiences of women who were never married but are
bearing children and raising those children as single mothers. The study adopted the
qualitative research method, utilizing in-depth interviews to collect data from
consenting participants. The study location was Iwaya, Lagos, Nigeria, and the
participants were selected using snowball sampling technique. Forty never-married
single mothers were sampled and interviewed using an in-depth interview guide. The
data were transcribed and content analysed. Some of the perceived reasons for the rise
in the number of never married single mother identified include family background,
sexual abuse, age, careless sexual behaviour and non-use of contraceptives, personal
preference and perceived economic benefits. There is the need to educate women on
how to prevent sexual abuse and also on proper use of contraceptive for those who
may want to engage in sexual intercourse, but may not be ready to get married.
Introduction
The demographics of single parenting globally show a general increase in the
number of never-married women living as single mothers (Senior, 2014). Data
on the prevalence of single motherhood is not available in sub-saharan Africa.
However, study by Clark and Hamplova (2013) demonstrated that about 50%
of women in sub-saharan Africa are more likely to become a single mother as a
result of marriage dissolution through divorce or death of a spouse. Other
studies have also shown that single motherhood is common (Moyo & Kawewe,
2009; Jordal, Wijewardena et al., 2013). Nigeria population by marital status
shows that 50.01% of the population are married, 0.86% separated, 0.72% divorce, 1.97% widowed and 46.44% never married (Nigeria.opendatafor
africa.org/ yjdggyg/Nigeria-population-by-marital-status). However, little is
known about the never married single mothers. Although there are studies on
the consequences of the sexual and childbearing behaviours of unmarried
African especially among adolescents (Miller & Ridge, 2001; Whiteman et al.,
2001), the reasons behind why women, who are not formally married but are
bearing child or had given birth to a child or children are largely not studied.
The concept of single motherhood in Nigeria may not be new. However,
little is known about single mothers, who were never married. This study
explored the individual experiences of single mothers with specific focus on
the reasons associated with becoming a single never married mother. A single
parent (also known as lone parent, solo parent and sole parent) is a parent who
cares for one or more children without the physical, psychological and
sometimes financial assistance of the other parent (Whitman, Borkowski &
Keogh, 2001); a single parent is a parent who cares for one or more children
without the assistance of the other parent in the home (Miller and Ridge, 2001).
Previous studies have examined single parenthood in the context of
divorce, adoption, artificial insemination, surrogate motherhood; while for
others, it is as a result of unforeseeable occurrence such as death, child abuse,
child neglect, or abandonment by biological parents (Miller, Vandome &
McBrewster, 2010). For some, they have examined the problems of single
parenting families focusing on economic difficulties and poverty (Oyefara,
2011) and economic disadvantage (Olaleye & Oladeji, 2010; Obono, 1998).
Whitehead (1993) indicates that the causes of single parenthood may include
divorce, the death of spouse, having a child out of wed-lock, adoption and
early pregnancy. Studies have also linked the reasons for single parenthood to
family breakdown due to divorce/separation or death of a spouse and other
factors like non-marital childbearing, migration and personal choice (Moyo &
Kawewe, 2009; Dintwat, 2010; Clark and Hamplova, 2013).