Psychological well being and adjustment of single parents: Psycho-socialand economic challenges

Abstract

Objective: To explore the relationship between psychological well-being and psycho-social adjustment of economically independent and dependent single parents belonging to various socio-economic classes. Study Design: Correlational study. Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at technical services association, Lahore, from Jun 2018 to Aug 2019. Methodology: A sample of 213 single parents with ages ranging from 25 to 50 was selected through purposive sampling. Psychological Well-Being Scale Revisited and Psychological Adjustment Scale were used. Results: Multivariate analysis showed that well-being and adjustment levels of divorced (M=114.17, SD=24.5), (M= 88.89, SD=19.45) single parents was significantly lower than those of widowed (M=136.78, SD=17.68), (M=105.86, SD=10.88) ones respectively. Also, economically independent (M=135.1, SD=20.38), (M=104.0, SD= 14.5) single parents had better well-being and adjustment than those who are economically dependent (M=108.3, SD=24.5), (M=85.5, SD=17.1). Furthermore, post-hoc tests revealed significantly low psychological well-being (M=130.72, SD=23.16) and adjustment (M=81, SD=12.23) of single parents from lower social class. Conclusion: The study concludes that socio-economic status and economic independence/dependence have a profound impact on the psychological wellbeing and adjustment of single parents. These findings will promote the understanding of single parenting in collectiveistic cultures and may lead towards learning of coping strate-gies to foster psychological well-being, familial and social adjustments of single parents.