THE ROLES OF SINGLE PARENT

The phenomenon of single parents in these last decades has grown in many countries. The phenomenon of single parent mothers in Indonesia has increased since 2004 to 2006. Being a single parent in a household is not easy, especially for a wife who was left behind by her husband, either due to death or a divorce. It requires continuous and determined struggle to successfully raise children alone as well as fulfilling the needs for daily living for the family. A single parent mother has a great task as she has to fulfill two roles, both as a father as well as a mother. Therefore, this research aims to describe the double role of single-parent mothers, the self-adaptation process regarding fulfillment of double family roles by single-parent mothers, as well as coping strategies of single parent mothers in fulfilling her double roles in the family. This research was designed as a qualitative research. Research subjects included (a) young adult women whose age ranged from 24 to 39 years old, who works both as a housewife (domestic) as well as having a job in the public sector, (b) was a widow (due to spouse’s death), (c) has a role as a single parent with child, and (d) has become a single parent for at least three years. This research used open interview method with a general guideline for the interview. Research results showed that all subjects experience the loss of their spouses negatively and tended to not have any preparation on becoming a widow initially. However, as time progressed, the four subjects were able to accept their role as single parents. Emotional focused coping strategies and problem focused coping strategies were commonly found to have a role in resolving problems associated with the role of a single parent. Article visualizations