My Home is my Castle? The Role of Living Arrangements on Experiencing the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence From Germany

During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, social restrictions and social distancing policies forced large parts of social life to take place within the household. However, comparatively little is known about how private living situations shaped individuals experiences of this crisis. To investigate this issue, we analyze how experiences and concerns vary across living arrangements along two dimensions that may be associated with social disadvantage: loneliness and care. In doing so, we employ quantitative text analysis on open-ended questions from survey data on a sample of 1,073 individuals living in Germany. We focus our analyses on four different household structures: living alone, shared living without children, living with a partner and children, and single parents. We find that single parents (who are primarily single mothers) are at high risk of experiencing care-related worries, particularly regarding their financial situation, while individuals living alone are most likely to report feelings of loneliness. Those individuals living in shared houses, with or without children, had the lowest risk of experiencing both loneliness and care-related worries. These findings illustrate that the living situation at home substantially impacts how individuals experienced and coped with the pandemic situation during the first wave of the pandemic.

WIDOWER’S AGE AND NUMBER OF CHILDREN AFFECT PARENTING STYLE AND REMARRIAGE DECISION

Highlight:1. The widow will outsource childcare to other people, such as the widow's mother, stepmother, aunt, or other relatives who believe they know more about childcare after the wife's death.3. There was a significant relationship between widower’s age and the number of children affecting parenting style and remarriage decision.Abstract:Background: The high maternal mortality ratio automatically represents the highest number of widowers in Indonesia. The change of status from a husband to a widower does not rule out the possibility of being able to change his role and function in the family. Objective: To describe that the widower’s age and the number of children have an impact on the parenting style and the desire to remarry. Materials and Methods: This study was an observational study with a cross-sectional design. Husbands who had been left by their wives for two years or more owing to maternal death and had one or more children before the wife's maternal death were the subjects of this study. Widower’s age, as well as kid’s parenting patterns before the death of the mother were recorded. This study was likewise subjected to an ethics review and relied on informed consent. Results: Widowers who had one child before their wife's death and decided to remarry accounted for 7 subjects (87.5%), while those who did not remarry accounted for 5 (31.3%). On the association between a widower’s age and child-rearing practices, there were two respondents (40%) who chose to entrust their children’s care to someone else or not to be cared by themselves. Conclusion: There was a significant relationship between widower’s age and the number of children and the parenting style and remarriage decision. Single parents who decided to remarry were single parents at a relatively younger age.

The Influence of Single Parent Parenting in Forming Early Childhood Independence

This study aimed to determine the effect of single parent parenting in shaping early childhood independence. This research used a qualitative approach through a case study, and data were collected through interviews, observation and documentation analysis. The results showed that single parent parenting affected the formation of early childhood independence. According to the results, children who were cared for in democratic parenting tended to have an independent attitude, be responsible, have the courage to take risks, and could develop self-confidence, demonstrate learning achievement and develop their potential. Meanwhile, children who were cared for with permissive parenting tended to be less independent, slower, have low motivation, and lack self-control and confidence. Keywords: parenting, single parents, independence, early childhood

MELANCHOLIC SENTIMENTS TOWARDS MODULAR LEARNING MODALITY: SINGLE PARENTS IN FOCUS

Schools worldwide shuttered their doors in the spring of 2020 to slow the spread of the COVID -19 pandemic virus. This physical closure quickly moved to modular learning, which increased parental and guardian responsibilities. Data were collected from 10 single parents of Rizal Memorial Colleges, Inc. The research design of this study utilized the phenomenological method to determine the Melancholic sentiments towards modular learning modality: single parents in focus in The Rizal Memorial Colleges, Inc. This study aimed to investigate parents’ experiences and struggles by the use of thematic coding with the use of essential themes. Data obtained identified emergent themes clustered, namely; strive to balance parent employment demands and learner needs, strenuous assisting more than one child in the home with learning, lack of personal balance, and parent feels overwhelmed; maintaining a strict schedule; engaging in creative activities; keeping children busy and; organizing daily routine; tracking academic progress, keeping socio-emotional Development, accessing of achievement, and identifying emotional toll. The findings revealed and addressed the learning gap that has emerged in their children’s learning in these challenging times. Furthermore, single parents, being aware of how to manage their time, struggles, hardship, and challenges to cope with their sentiment experiences, and strive on how they can surpass and would be a strong basis for school administrators as this comes as an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of different educational approaches and develop teaching and learning process suited to specific educational needs. Considering the result of this study as input from families, and should be sought to create a program and learning method that is beneficial to all school stakeholders. KEYWORDS: Melancholic sentiments, Modular learning modality, and Single Parents

[RETRACTED:] Proses Relasi Gender Pada Single Parent dalam Membentuk Identitas Gender Anak

[This article is retracted because the authors have already submitted and published it elsewhere. The authors submitted it to another journal while the article was in the editorial process of Yinyang: Jurnal Studi Islam Gender dan Anak.] [Editor-in-chief: Vivi Ariyanti] ****************************** The problem of the status of being a single parent who experiences a change in role and has a double burden in the formation of a child’s gender identity, becomes a separate difficulty for single parents. The formation of gender identity itself is an important part of recognizing the concept of gender as a boy (masculine) or female (feminine) which is influenced by biological, social and cognitive factors during the socialization process of their parents. To describe this situation, this research study focuses on examining how gender relations between children and single parents of different sexes provide an understanding of children’s gender identity using social learning theory. In this study, a qualitative approach was used based on a critical review of the literature, both theoretical and empirical. The results showed that, the process of forming a gender identity in the socialization stage was considered to be an imbalance in the social learning process of gender identity. The domination of gender norms when the socialization of gender identity formation obscures the role of one gender, so that the meaning of gender is considered biased. The results showed that in single parent families, there tends to be an imbalance in the social learning process of gender identity because of the vacuum of gender roles. The domination of gender norms during the socialization of gender identity formation can obscure the role of one gender, so that the meaning of gender is considered biased.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and policy response on single-parent families in Malaysia

PurposeThe study focuses on the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and policy measures implemented by the Malaysian government to address issues during this period. The study examines the impacts on the financial security and mental health of single-parent families in Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a cross-sectional survey to obtain data about single-parent families. To support the information collected with the survey, interviews were conducted with six representatives from six single-parent associations.FindingsThe study identified that policy measures implemented by the Malaysian government have helped improve the financial security of single-parent families. However, for mental health, the support single parents received was not able to provide better quality of life, as the majority were severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially during lockdown, before they received any assistance from the government.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was conducted during the pandemic; thus, the study was not able to include a larger sample of single parents. Therefore, the findings cannot be generalized to explain nationwide issues. However, the study provides important insights into understanding the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on people, especially single-parent families.Practical implicationsThe study confirmed that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected single parents in different ways. Financial security and mental health, the focus of this study, have provided a clear justification for how pandemics could affect people’s lives. Specifically, the situation was exacerbated after the implementation of movement control orders in Malaysia, and it has continuously affected the living conditions of single-parent families.Social implicationsThe study focuses on single-parent families, a group that receives less attention from the government and policies, although this group is recognized as one of the vulnerable groups. Understanding this context helps to provide a clear guide for how policies can be formulated and provides equal attention to assist this group in the future.Originality/valueThis study focuses on single-parent families. Few studies have examined this perspective using Malaysia as the study context. Moreover, the study analyzes the pandemic situation, and this area is still new and underexplored.

The Children of Women in Prison

<p>The central focus of this thesis is on children whose mothers are sent to prison. Both the mothers and their children are vulnerable populations; they are likely to have experienced family violence, abuse, drug and alcohol misuse, chaotic lifestyles and disrupted close relationships. In addition, many imprisoned mothers are single parents who are detained far from their families and support systems; this makes the maintenance of relationships between them and their children fraught with difficulty. During the course of this research, 56 imprisoned mothers and the caregivers of the children of 11 of them were interviewed to gather data on how these children and the caregivers were faring while the mothers were in prison and on how the situation could be improved. At a later date 37 of the women, some of whom had been released into the community, were re-interviewed about how their relationships with their children had changed over the time since their last interview and about their current concerns. The results confirm findings from overseas research which identifies the need for programmes and facilities to assist women in prison to maintain their relationship with their children during their sentence. For the successful reintegration of the women into society and the reunification of their families, support and assistance are essential. This support and help is needed by the children, by the temporary caregivers and by the mothers. It is needed both during the period of the mother's imprisonment and after she has been released. Recommendations have been made about policies and practices that are likely to achieve these goals. Directions for future research have been suggested.</p>

The Children of Women in Prison

<p>The central focus of this thesis is on children whose mothers are sent to prison. Both the mothers and their children are vulnerable populations; they are likely to have experienced family violence, abuse, drug and alcohol misuse, chaotic lifestyles and disrupted close relationships. In addition, many imprisoned mothers are single parents who are detained far from their families and support systems; this makes the maintenance of relationships between them and their children fraught with difficulty. During the course of this research, 56 imprisoned mothers and the caregivers of the children of 11 of them were interviewed to gather data on how these children and the caregivers were faring while the mothers were in prison and on how the situation could be improved. At a later date 37 of the women, some of whom had been released into the community, were re-interviewed about how their relationships with their children had changed over the time since their last interview and about their current concerns. The results confirm findings from overseas research which identifies the need for programmes and facilities to assist women in prison to maintain their relationship with their children during their sentence. For the successful reintegration of the women into society and the reunification of their families, support and assistance are essential. This support and help is needed by the children, by the temporary caregivers and by the mothers. It is needed both during the period of the mother's imprisonment and after she has been released. Recommendations have been made about policies and practices that are likely to achieve these goals. Directions for future research have been suggested.</p>

Peran Ibu sebagai Orang Tua Tunggal dalam Mendukung Pendidikan Anak di Masa Pandemi Covid-19

This research aims to identify and explain the role of mothers as single parents in providing educational support to children during the Covid-19 pandemic. The theory used in this research is structural functional theory by Talcott Parsons. This research method is qualitative with a case study approach. Data collection techniques used were interviews, observation, and documentation with triangulation of sources to test the validity of the data. Data analysis used data analysis from Miles and Huberman. The results show that the role of mothers as single parents in carrying out educational functions can run well, namely by providing educational support to children, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, namely by accompanying children to study, helping children learn, reminding children to actively participate in classes and do their duties,meet learning facilities, and always provide motivation and advice to children. Single mothers also experience various obstacles, namely that they cannot fully and directly accompany their children when learning from home. In addition, single mothers also find it difficult to provide support to their children on their own, because children are sometimes difficult to manage. This happened because there was no father figure in the family.