“I Sort of Live for My Kids’ Sake Only”: Characteristics and Meaning of Parent–Child Relations Among Socially Marginalized Parents

Abstract

The authors explored the characteristics and meaning of social relations between marginalized parents and their children, from the perspective of the parents, and the significance of these relations for parents’ mental well-being and life perspective. Based on in-depth interviews with 20 users of shelters and drop-in centers in Denmark, the authors show that a sociocultural notion of “appropriate” parenting shape parents’ practices. Irrespective of the actual frequency of contact and content of relations, they have a distinctive meaning for marginalized parents’ mental well-being and life perspective where parenthood paves the way for a sense of normality, recognition, and belonging in society.

KEYWORDS:

• mental health
• substance abuse
• homelessness—microlevel
• families in poverty
• qualitative interviews