Self-perceptions of older never-married women in a fluid and changing Asian society: a narrative inquiry

ABSTRACT

As one of the strongly devout Catholic countries in Southeast Asia, the Philippines recognizes marriage as a paramount social institution, where unmarried women face negative perceptions and social consequences. With the increasing populace of elderly people in the country, this study focused on the conditions of middle-aged (ages 45 to 65) never-married women and how the family-oriented society construes their self-perceptions. By interviewing 24 older never-married women over the age of 45, four key aspects were identified behind their lived experiences: interest in marriage, engagement in relationships, societal change, and ending in acceptance. Results open the discussion for social and individual implications.

KEYWORDS:

• Philippines
• unmarried women
• self-perception
• marriage
• stigma

Acknowledgments

The group’s research would not have been possible without the help of the following individuals. First and foremost, we would like to thank the Psychology Department of the Ateneo de Manila University for allowing us to conduct our research and write our undergraduate thesis. We also would like to thank Mary May R. Macaso and Jennifer R. Ng for connecting us to our participants, as well as Gio Enrico G. Fernandez, Jonathan Matthew T. Valdez, Jennifer R. Ng, and Kersten Mae B. Legaspi for giving their assistance in transcribing the interviews. Lastly, we would like to thank God for His never-ending guidance throughout our research, for providing the strength in overcoming all of the hardships and obstacles we encountered to produce a research paper helpful to society.

Disclosure statement

The authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest or non-financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

The authors guarantee that no funding was provided for the study. All expenditures made for transportation, the participants’ food and drinks, as well as payment for the transcribers, came from their own savings.