Understanding psychosocial and grief experiences of divorced mothers navigating child custody
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Date
2024
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Publisher
UMT Lahore
Abstract
Discords between spouses are increasing alarmingly and have the potential to worsen to the
point of divorce, which can have a significant effect on the lives of those involved as well as
their families. The present study explores the emotional journey of divorced mothers by
understanding their psychosocial adjustment, challenges and healing with grief. Six divorced
mothers were selected using purposive and snowball sampling technique. For an interview
purpose, a semi-structured interview guide was made which contained questions related to
the psycho-social, emotional and legal challenges experienced by divorced mothers who has
lost custody of their children, how divorce impacted these mothers, how they coped with the
grief and emotional distress while managing their daily life chores. Transcriptions of
interviews were done using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) for an inductive
analysis. Five superordinate themes were made by the development of numerous subordinate
themes from the transcribed data. The themes emerged were recognizing key contributors to
divorce, combating multifaceted challenges amidst divorce stigma, navigating the silent
struggles in the wake of losing custody of a child, barriers to seeking justice and path towards
healing by embracing divorce through various approaches. The research findings will
contribute to the existing body of knowledge that will help mental health professionals,
policymakers, and support organizations in tailoring their services to better assist divorced
mothers in navigating these challenging circumstances by implicitly coping with the grief and
loss and promoting their well-being meaningfully in Pakistani society whilst exploring the
intervening role of family and friends in this regard.