Social stigma and management strategies of unmarried single mothers in Taiwan

ABSTRACT

Public attitudes towards unmarried single mothers are generally negative in Taiwan, and these mothers often deal with stigmatisation and poverty. This study explores the social impacts facing unmarried single mothers and the coping strategies they take to deal with their experiences of stigma in the Taiwanese context. In-depth interviews with 30 adult unmarried single mothers and thematic analysis are adopted to collect and categorise these experiences. The study findings reveal that the challenges facing such mothers led to many becoming socially stigmatised. This study elicits the sources of this social pressure and details how the participants managed their individual situations. The findings imply that the policies and social services provided should not only aim to reduce the impact of stigma generated daily, but also to create more social and economic opportunities for this group of mothers.

KEYWORDS:

• Unmarried single mothers
• unwed pregnancy
• stigma
• confucian familial norms
• management strategies

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank 30 single mothers and their social workers in Taiwan. They either offered their wholehearted narratives to the researcher, or worked in Women’s Welfare Services Centers and became the key person and the best connection between the researcher and the participants, so this research could be accomplished.

Conflicts of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Privacy statement

Names of the research participants have been changed in this report to maintain their confidentiality.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hung-Ju Lai

Hung-ju Lai is an assistant professor at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Providence University in Taiwan. Her area of research covers from family social work practice to social policies regarding child and women’s welfare.