Monoparentalidade feminina e gênero : uma abordagem sistêmica sob a ótica de mulheres chefes de família e de terapeutas familiares

Abstract

The thesis aims to a critical analysis of female-headed single parenthood, seeking to highlight the interrelationship between the context and the process of structuring single parent families in micro and macro-environments. Objective: The goal of the study is to understand, from an ecological-systemic aproach and gender studies perspective, how female-headed single parent families function. This is done through the perspective of females head of household and of family therapists. Methods: To do so, the thesis examines three studies, one theoretical and two using a qualitative aproach and an exploratory and descriptive research design. Study 1 consists of a systematic review of the literature, which mapped a number of studies of female –headed single parent families in the context of Latin America. Study 2, in turn, investigated the perceptions of 10 single-mothers and head of household women from a micro and macro-social perspective. Study 3 examined the perceptions of 5 family therapists regarding single motherhood and assessed the impact of gender studies in their training. Results: There has been a synchrony of results in several respects between theoretical studies and discourses of women and therapists interviewed. Changes and maintenance of values and divergences and convergences of ideas have been identified in the mapping research designs, in social practices described and data discurses analyzed.Conclusion: The study found that there is a shortage of studies on female-headed single parent families in Latin America. Also feminist family therapy can play an important role in the insertion of gender studies in psychology. In addition, it was observed in the narratives of women and therapists an effort to break away from gender stereotypes and with the ideal of a nuclear family; however, there is still a high sensitivity to the patriarchal family model.