Philippine E-Journals

The Psychological Well-Being of Single Mothers of UNBOUND Foundation

Marry Gail P Arzabal | Abigail Q Daduya | Jesica S Mencias

 

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to measure the level of psychological well-being of single mothers and have an in-depth understanding of their experiences. Descriptive research design was utilized in this study. This study involves 150 single mothers from UNBOUND Foundations Inc. as respondents. The instrument used in this study was the Ryff ’s psychological well-being scale, a standardized test by Dr. Carol Ryff. The results showed that all single mothers had an average level of Psychological Well-Being. The fndings indicated that the factor, Positive Relations with Others has the highest mean score (X̅=4.22), whereas Autonomy has the lowest mean score (X̅=3.82). The researchers concluded that with a high Positive Relations with Others, the respondents tend to have a low Autonomy. Single mothers with love, support, encouragement and a good relationship with their relatives and friends seem to be dependent on them since they lack spousal support. This could possibly be why they desire to have a connection and build a relationship with their friends and relatives. Also, the researchers suggested that single mothers are more likely to build satisfying, trusting and harmonious relationships with other people. They feel comfortable to open up. They care for the well-being of others which enables them to have a strong sense of selflessness, social warmth, and a great deal of fondness. The researchers recommended that more research is needed to identify the effective ways of helping the single mothers with their mental health for there is little research about solo parents in the country.