Dilemmas of Children Raised by Single Parents in the Kingdom of Eswatini

Abstract

Children raised by single parents face many challenges that can be social, psychological, cultural or economic, resulting in erratic behavior. This study explored the dilemmas of children raised by single parents in the Kingdom of Eswatini in Lubombo region. The study was undertaken in a transformative research paradigm, and the Participatory Action Learning Action Research (PALAR) design was used. This qualitative study employed in-depth interviews and focus group discussions to get views from single parents and children in single parenting, and the data were analysed through thematic analysis. A sample of six single parents and six children raised by single parents were selected from the Lubombo region using the purposive sampling technique. Informed by Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, the findings of the study revealed that single parenting led to children feeling abandoned, rejected and unloved by the absent parent, which had social and psychological effects on the children. The study concluded that children raised by single parents face psychological, social, economic and cultural challenges. Most of them are fixated and need counselling. The study suggests, for Eswatini, that the Home Affairs Department, in partnership with relevant non-governmental organisations (NGOs) should make psychological counselling readily available for single parents and their children.