Abstract
M.Cur.
There is a marked divorce rate in South Africa, a number of marriages end up in divorce due to a number of reasons and as a result individuals meet other people. This qualitative study explored and described the lived experiences of women who are part of a blended family in a community. Guidelines will be developed from these lived experiences for advanced psychiatric nurse practitioners to assist women to cope as an integral part of promoting their mental health.
A qualitative, explorative and contextual research design was utilised and one central question was asked “What is it like for you being part of a blended family?”The researcher intended to use purposive sampling but the strategy changed to snowballing as it was difficult to locate potential participants. Semi-structured phenomenological interviews were conducted until data saturation was reached. Data was analysed using open coding. The results were re-contextualised into literature.
The findings in this study indicate that being part of a blended family is demanding and challenging as evidenced by emotional distress, a loss sense of self, uncertainty of being in blended marriage. Women also experience being victimized and alienated in blended families as evidenced by interference of ex-spouse, disruptive behaviour of stepchildren and relationship tension between husband and wife. The participants acknowledged that being part of a blended family or blending a family altered their ability to cope [“I used a lot of grand-pa unconsciously so and I depended on it...I was stressed”].
Ethical principles were applied and measures of trustworthiness adhered to in this study.