Resilience in Black women who do not have fathers: a qualitative inquiry

Abstract

This qualitative study explored the meanings that Black women who do not have fathers attach to growing up without a father. A combination of purposive and snowballing sampling was undertaken to obtain the five female participants, while data were collected through interviews. Resilience theory was used as the framework for conceptualising the study and analysing the data. Strong resilient mothers seemed to play a primary role in how the participants made meanings of growing up without a father. The participants also constructed themselves to be resilient to victimisation that they attributed to father absence. Collectively, the women portrayed themselves to be independent, content, and empowered. These findings challenge the assumption that being reared by one parent will automatically lead to detrimental outcomes.

Keywords

Black father father absence parent resilience women

Introduction

Paternal absence within the South African context is escalating and has been for the past two decades (Eddy, Thomson-de, Boor, & Mphaka, 2013; Holborn & Eddy, 2011; Mavungu, 2013; Ratele, Shefer, & Clowes, 2012). Social ills such as poverty, diseases and death, and intimate partner violence have been found to be related to paternal absence (Holborn & Eddy, 2011; Morrell & Richter, 2006; Ratele et al., 2012). The absence of a father can have major implications as fathers tend to provide financially for their children (Morrell & Richter, 2006). The majority of the available literature in South Africa and abroad portray children who do not have fathers to be ‘victims’ who suffer a variety of adversities especially relating to identity and other life outcomes (East, Jackson, & O’Brien, 2007; Lupton & Barclay, 1997; Morrell & Richter, 2006; Strauss, 2013).

In contrast to what seems to be mostly negative outcomes from paternal absence in children, certain positive psychological outcomes have also been found to result from being raised by a single mother (East et al., 2007). This is especially when the single mother demonstrates positive role modelling, adaptive coping mechanisms, personal strength, and financial independence. Positive influences can inspire the person who does not have a father to seek high career outcomes, financial autonomy, and responsibility (Cartwright & Henriksen, 2012; East et al., 2007). Much research on paternal absence has mainly focused on the outcomes of boys who do not have fathers, with some revealing the positive identity outcomes of men who grew up without a father (Cartwright & Henriksen, 2012; Clowes, Ratele, & Shefer, 2013; Langa, 2010; Makofane, 2015). A dearth of South African literature that focuses on the effects of father absence on young women has been observed (Makofane, 2015).

This article forms part of the discourse that contributes to the furthering of literature on Black women who do not have fathers within the South African context. More specifically, the article seeks to explore (1) how Black women who do not have fathers make meaning of growing up without a father and (2) how Black women who do not have fathers portray themselves as they grew up without fathers.

Father absence and resilience

In Black South African society, the term ‘father’ is not necessarily exclusive to the biological father but can also apply to other males from the extended family such as the younger and older brother of the father (Denis & Ntsimane, 2006; Mkhize, 2006; Nduna & Sikweyiya, 2013). Although there are a variety of forms of ‘fathers’ in the Black South African culture, this article focuses on biological fathers. Men in Portugal have been found to construct being a father as acting and thinking in specific ways as a male caregiver (Araújo Martins, Pinto de Abreu, & Barbieri de Figueiredo, 2014). A Canadian study revealed that there was no one way or right way to be a father as the men in the study imply that they decide to father according to their subjective experiences (Luchtmeyer, 2015). However, in South Africa, the prevalent construction of fatherhood drawn from African men is mainly related to the provider role and being the financial and material support system for children (Mavungu, 2013). Many Black men have been revealed as not living up to this provider role due to the burden of unemployment and poverty (Mavungu, 2013).

Father absence for this study is conceptualised as ‘fathers that do not live with their children, do not maintain communication and do not pay maintenance’ (Eddy et al., 2013, p. 13) due to various reasons. The conceptualisation of father absence within the Black South African context, however, has its complexities and holds a variety of understandings such as absent and unknown fathers where the child has no or very little information about their father or they had never met the father before (Padi, Nduna, Khunou, & Kholopane, 2014). Absent but known fathers are those who are known to the child but are physically absent (Padi et al., 2014). Absent and undisclosed fathers are those who are not known by their child because no information about his whereabouts or identity is known, and unknown and deceased are those fathers who are absent due to death (Padi et al., 2014). Black children have the lowest proportion of present fathers in relation to their Coloured, Indian, and White peers (Holborn & Eddy, 2011), and hence this study focused on Black children.

The literature suggests that different children experience fatherlessness in a variety of different ways, given their context (Larcher, 2007). It is reported that children who do not have fathers can sometimes feel ‘illegitimate’, unlike ‘legitimate’ children who know their biological fathers (Langa, 2010). It is assumed that there may be confusion around identity and legitimacy especially during the adolescent stage for children without fathers (Nyanjaya & Masango, 2012). Some Black South African women who do not have fathers use silence as a strategy to avoid speaking about their fathers’ absence in the home in an effort to show respect and gratitude and to avoid upsetting the mother (Nduna & Sikweyiya, 2013). In his study, Langa (2010) found that some Black boys who do not have fathers in South Africa portrayed themselves within constructive male identity and idealised themselves on becoming ‘different’ fathers compared with their own fathers (p. 519). Such findings inspire hope that success is possible for people who have encountered and dealt with growing up without a father (Vanderbilt-Adriance & Shaw, 2008).

Resilience among Black youth is largely demonstrated by their ability to accept life hardships and view these hardships as learning life experiences. In the midst of challenges, resilient Black youth are able to use their problem-solving expertise and maintain their internal locus of control and value-driven behaviour (Theron & Theron, 2010; Theron, Theron, & Malindi, 2013). The legacy of South Africa’s apartheid past (which oppressed both the female gender and people of the Black race) is still felt by many Black people (especially women) who, as a result, encounter high levels of adversity. However, universal gendered ways of living and being such as receiving and reciprocating emotional and pragmatic support and ‘strength-fostering spirituality’ are evident in the resilient processes of Black South African women (Jefferis, 2016, p. 42). Single mothers, for example, face numerous challenges such as role overload and financial difficulties but can also demonstrate resourcefulness which can result in positive adaption, therefore resilience (Cheeseman, 2010). The role of parenting motivates a lot of African single mothers to strive towards providing the basic needs of their family along with imparting their values and teaching their children the difference between needs and wants (Cheeseman, 2010). Resilience is dependent on knowledge, culture, attitudes to risk, and subjectivity and is thus at least in part socially constructed (Béné et al., 2016).

Conceptual framework

Resilience theory as a framework for this study is appropriate as it primarily focuses on how positive outcomes can be attained regardless of challenging and threatening incidences (Theron, 2013; Van Breda, 2001; Zolkoski & Bullock, 2012). Resilience theory focuses its attention on the positive contextual, social, and individual variables which are called promotive factors in the midst of adversity (Yates, Tyrell, & Masten, 2015; Zimmerman, 2013). Promotive factors interfere or disrupt developmental trajectories from risk to problem behaviours, mental distress, and poor outcomes and promote positive developments (Yates et al., 2015). For example, it is evident from the reviewed literature that children without fathers can view fatherlessness as an adversity which has the potential to disrupt adaptive functioning. There are, however, those who possess promotive factors such as a supportive familial structure who can successfully adapt to a life without a father. Contemporary notions of competence in individual adaptation comprised ‘positive internal adaptation, such as health, well-being, happiness, or a cohesive sense of self, as well as external indices of competence, for instance work or school achievement, quality of relationships, and law-abiding conduct’ (Yates et al., 2015, p. 775). For example, the abilities to emotionally self-express and emotionally take care of others are evident in resilient Black women. Despite negative experiences (e.g., growing up fatherless) that many Black youth encounter, they can accept these challenges and still go on to attain good educational progress and have goals for themselves and be guided by value-driven behaviour (Theron et al., 2013).

Method

Participants

A qualitative design was employed in finding out the meanings that Black women who do not have fathers attach to growing up without a father. Interpretivism believes that the mind interprets experiences and events and constructs meanings from them (Vosloo, 2014). An interpretive approach was appropriate as it is directed on meaning and understanding the complexity of a social phenomenon (Vosloo, 2014). A blend of purposive and snowballing sampling strategies was used as a participant recruiting style (Merriam, 2009). A purposive sampling method was appropriate as it allows the researcher to focus on particular characteristics of the participants that are of interest, which best enables the researcher to answer the research questions (Durrheim, 2006; Merriam, 2009; Patton, 1990). Five Black women who do not have fathers participated in this study. The participants were young South African university students between the ages of 19 and 24 years at the time of the research. University students were chosen because they were assumed to be on their way to success as they were pursuing their undergraduate and postgraduate studies with aspirations for their future. Interviews were conducted in English and IsiZulu.

Interview schedule

One-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participants. Semi-structured interviews were appropriate as they allow the researcher to follow the direction that the participants take in the interviews and concurrently probe the participants within the topic of interest (i.e., having an absent father) (Fontana & Frey, 2000). Semi-structured interviews were important for this study as they allowed depth to be achieved by enabling the interviewer to probe and the interviewee to expand their responses (Alshenqeeti, 2014). An interview schedule, which also consisted of follow-up questions, helped to understand Black women who do not have fathers at a deeper level.

Procedure

After ethical clearance was obtained, participants were recruited through posters that were placed on campus detailing the information of the study and the researcher’s contact details. The interested participants then phoned or e-mailed the researcher. The snowballing sampling technique was also used to recruit other participants. The interested participants agreed on a suitable time and venue for the interview. The participants completed a consent form before the commencement of the interview. An information sheet about the study was also given and explained to the participants. Interviews were then conducted with the volunteering participants. The semi-structured interviews took between 35 and 50 min. The researcher engrossed herself in the audio-recorded data, transcribed the interviews, and analysed the data.

Ethical considerations

Ethical clearance was granted by the University of KwaZulu-Natal Human and Social Sciences Research Ethics Committee (Protocol reference number: HSS/0365/014M). An information sheet was given and explained to the participants. This information sheet provided ethical information about the participants’ rights, such as their confidentiality, volunteering, and that they can discontinue whenever they feel uncomfortable during the research process. Other ethics that guided this research were informed consent, ensuring that no harm was caused to the participants in the study and that the sampling, data collection, and analysis processes were fair and equitable. No participants were distressed as a result of the research, and therefore, they did not need to see a counsellor.

Data analysis

Thematic analysis was used to analyse the interviews. Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six steps of thematic analysis was appropriate to use as it seeks to describe data in rich detail by identifying, analysing, and reporting the emergent patterns of the data. The researcher familiarised herself with the interviews by reading the transcripts and listening to the audio-recorded data. The codes (features that appear interesting and meaningful) were thereafter generated. The common key codes from all the five interviews were extracted. The overarching themes were identified from the common codes. The identified four themes were then refined and defined. Finally, the researcher interpreted the extracts that related to each of the themes from the study (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The findings and discussion will be presented from the emergent themes.

Results and discussion

The following extracts illustrate how the participants (in pseudonyms) constructed themselves as resilient Black women who do not have fathers.

Strong resilient mothers

All the participants mentioned that their mothers were their ‘pillar of strength’. Some children who do not have fathers attribute their positive images to their mothers as they feel that their mothers play a significant role in shaping their positive characteristics (Langa, 2010). Most of the women had mothers who were resilient and taught them how to be resilient by the way they behaved in front of the participants from a young age. Interactions with the participants also suggested that their father’s absence highlighted their mother’s role and the great struggle their mothers were encountering as they were raising them and their siblings. The participants’ focus is more on mothers because of the lack of involvement of fathers in childrearing (Larcher, 2007). The participants show, through their talk, how in the struggles they saw their mother go through; they also saw their mother’s persisting strength and resilience.

Bongi stated,

I saw my mom oh she was struggling, raising us up . . . but in her I, I saw that strong women, she wasn’t weak, she was always like ‘ehe, even though like the situation is like this but I’m not gonna allow that to depress me or de-motivate me’ and as for me I was like ‘no I really need to follow her footsteps’ you see.

Mbali mentioned,

yah I’d say my mom, she always like encouraging me to continue with my studies and like make something of myself.

A quote from Mpume:

my mom like she was strong and always there for us and independent and all that . . . yah I want it like that, to be just like her not dependent on anyone . . . I also want to make something of myself and I wanna make my mom proud.

Family support is vital for successful Black children who triumph over life difficulties (Cartwright & Henriksen, 2012; Theron, 2013; Theron & Theron, 2010). These findings agree with East et al. (2007) who propose that there are specific positive psychological outcomes that have been found to result from being raised by a single mother who can demonstrate positive role modelling, adaptive coping mechanisms, and personal strength.

The participants were also careful in choosing who and what influences their identity – they looked for people who empowered them and gave them a sense of agency such as their mothers. They were able to take and internalise coping mechanisms from their mothers. This finding concurs with Béné et al.’s (2016) conception that resilience is dependent on factors such as the individual’s knowledge, culture, and attitudes to risk. Most of the participants portrayed themselves to be content with the identity and resources they were afforded by their mothers and did not feel the lack of having an absent father. Sphe mentioned,

Cause every, everything I mean with EVERYTHING that I need, you know support, needs, everything my mom provides . . . . so it’s uh, I don’t think there’s any way that she is lacking.

From the above quotes, it is evident that some Black women who do not have fathers made meaning of growing up without a father through their resilient mothers. Parents are likely to encourage resilience in their children when they themselves have coped well with trauma and have personified strengths and positive abilities worth imitating (Theron & Theron, 2010). The participants portrayed themselves as resilient and highly motivated by their mothers, and this portrayal is congruent with findings from Larcher’s (2007) study which identified how some fatherless daughters do not feel their paternal absence because of what their mothers made of the situation. Resilient characteristics from their mothers seem to have been internalised by the participants, and these findings imply that mothers of children who do not have fathers have the ability to pave the way that the child gives meaning to fatherlessness. If the mother is supportive, she is thought to encourage positive adjustment in her child’s life (Theron & Theron, 2010). It is therefore recommended that more research focus is given to mothers of children who do not have fathers with regard to their resilience and coping strategies.

Contentment and independence in the constructions of identities

Most of the participants did not have a connection with their father nor their father’s family and did not acknowledge their fathers as having an impact on their outcomes. The participants in the study presented themselves to be self-reliant and accepted the distance from their father’s family. When talking about how they felt about their fathers being absent, some of the participants responded with

Yah I never knew him so it doesn’t matter to me.

ey I don’t have any feelings towards that I can’t say I’m angry about it sad or anything cause I don’t know I just it doesn’t matter to me Yah.

At times I come across people who are like you know ‘oh my dad left, why did he leave’ you know etcetera they so heartbroken. I’m not . . . with me I don’t even care you know because life goes on. He’s there, he’s not there it’s still the same . . . had to make myself realise that it’s my life whether my mom is there or not, whether my dad is there or not. This is my life I need to mould it the way I want it to be so if he’s not there, he’s not there . . . but it shouldn’t affect me to such an extent that now I see myself as nothing or I can’t cope or I can’t continue with life.

Some fatherless individuals have the ability to triumph over destructive challenges linked with growing up with an absent father (Larcher, 2007). Resilient Black youth have the tendency to be highly competent, have problem-solving skills, and have critical consciousness (Zolkoski & Bullock, 2012). Like the participants of this study, Black youth with resilience are also said to be independent as they feel that they have a sense of their own identity (Zolkoski & Bullock, 2012). The findings showed that resilience, independence, and empowerment were the predominant ways in which the participants talked about their paternal absence. These findings were somewhat contradictory to most of the existing literature which tends to highlight adverse effects for children who do not have fathers, such as identity-related confusion (Nduna & Jewkes, 2011). These outcomes suggest that father absence may not be as detrimental as is often portrayed for some individuals; there can be hope for children who do not have fathers (Larcher, 2007). It is possible for children who do not have fathers to be autonomous and have a sense of their own identity, capability, and control over their environment (Dass-Brailsford, 2005; Theron, 2013; Zolkoski & Bullock, 2012).

Empowerment and agency

Throughout the interviews, the participants seemed to construct themselves as agents of their own lives, despite the disadvantages encountered while growing up with an absent father. Mbali reported,

so you have to take things seriously . . .when there’s a parent that is not around you get a sense that you have to, you HAVE to grow . . . mature . . . you don’t play like at school you realise ‘that eish ‘I don’t have luxuries that other kids have’ . . . so I have to look after myself.

Bongi stated,

Even if I miss my father in a way cause sometimes you hear some students or friends saying ‘my father did this’ you’d be like ‘oh daddy where are you maybe if you were here I could have got this from you’ but for me, I learned to be strong to be independent, you see, to wanna do things for myself and not depend on someone.

Some participants were vocal about needing paternal presence in their lives; however, resilience still prevailed as they portrayed themselves more as survivors in difficult situations, rather than as victims. Lang and Zagorsky (2001) argue that children who are raised by a single parent are more likely to experience socio-economic disadvantages. The majority of the participants seemed to reject the victim role often ascribed to fatherless children and chose to empower themselves in the midst of sometimes feeling disadvantaged. The findings are also in line with Theron (2013) and Zolkoski and Bullock (2012) who argue that productive meaning-making and self-direction aid in resilience among Black youth. As Mbali has illustrated in her statement about ‘Having to take things seriously when there’s a parent that is not around’ and ‘Having to look after myself’, resilient Black youth construct themselves as people who are able to uphold competence despite tormenting life circumstances (Dass-Brailsford, 2005).

These findings imply that there is more resilience in youth who do not have fathers than one might suspect, given the general literature. The findings also have implications for professionals working with vulnerable mothers and children (e.g., psychologists, social workers, and community mental health workers) such as endorsing a special interest in being intentional in promoting a sense of resilience especially in children who do not have fathers.

A possible limitation for this study was that all the participants were university students. A mixture of participants from different life trajectories would have, perhaps, given a fuller representation of meanings that Black women attach to growing without a father and how they choose to portray themselves. A study that includes women from different social contexts would be profitable in the fuller understanding of father absence among women. Another limitation of the study was that the women were all around the same age. Women with a wide age range might have revealed varying results. A follow-up study could focus on exploring the family dynamics of resilient youth for a more detailed understanding of the supportive family structure. Another recommendation would be to start initiatives targeted at mothers of children who do not have fathers to support them at both emotional and social levels.

Conclusion

In this article, the researcher has tried to show that the meanings that children who do not have fathers place on being fatherless can largely depend on their contextual setting (Larcher, 2007). Contextual, social, and individual variables can play an important role in how challenging life circumstances are viewed and experienced by different individuals. Resilient mothers in this study were shown to play a central role in the resilience of women who do not have fathers. Mothers who are able to inspire their children to adjust well and focus their attention on positive life pursuits (e.g., working hard, education, and respecting oneself) can instil resilience in their children. Youth who do not have fathers can also see and portray themselves as independent, empowered, and content individuals. In the midst of destructive challenges, resilient youth who do not have fathers are able to triumph. The findings from this study call for a more comprehensive series of studies to be conducted for a fuller understanding of the specifics of resilience and fatherlessness.

Footnotes

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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