Abstract
M.A. (Social Work)
The study focuses on the meaning of divorce for mothers
of divorced women, and consists of two parts :
* A review of literature related to the extended family,
social networks, research, families of origin and
divorce;
* an empirical investigation.
During the latter, practicing social workers assisted with
the identification of the sample group consisting of 25
mothers. The major findings of the empirical part of the
study are summarised as follows
On the whole mothers reported that :
At an early stage of their daughters marriage they were
aware of the likelihood that the marriage would end
in divorce;
- approximately 50 percent of mothers maintained a stable
relationship with their son-in-laws after the divorce;
- the most common reaction of mothers after having been
informed of the divorce was one of sorrow and the
second most common reaction interestingly enough was
relief that the divorce would bring an end to disharmony;
- the mothers preferred to discuss the divorce of a
daughter with a family member for emotional support;
- most mothers found it necessary to financially uphold
their daughters after the divorce;
- sixty-eight percent of the mothers accepted the divorce
of a daughter within one year after the divorce took
place...