Research That Matters (January 17 - 20, 2008)

Background and Purpose: The status of the African American male in the United States has been described in a number of ways which makes clear there is a crisis. Bush (2000) noted that "catastrophic conditions exist that cause some observers to view Black men as an endangered species" (p. 31). Being raised by a single mother is one factor which has been suggested as contributing to the plight of African American males. Furthermore some doubt the ability of African American single mothers to raise African American sons (Bush, 2000; Hill, 1999). Yet, few studies have focused specifically on African American single mothers' experiences with raising sons (Bush, 2000). This study sought to address this gap in the literature.

Methods: This qualitative study utilized grounded theory methodology to explore the following questions: (1) what are the experiences of African American single mothers in the raising of their sons? and (2) what coping strategies do African American single mothers use in the raising of their sons? Two rounds of unstructured open-ended interviews were conducted with 11 African American single mothers of at least one son. The mothers ranged in age from 25 to 53 years old. The range of the sons' ages was 6-18 years old. To be eligible for inclusion, the mothers must have been a single mother for a minimum of 50% of the son's life. The interviews were audio taped and transcribed. The systematic steps for coding were followed: (1) open coding, (2) axial coding, and (3) selective coding (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). ATLAS.ti 5.0 was also utilized to aid in the analysis of the data. Several strategies were implemented to enhance the study's validity: (1) prolonged engagement, (2) persistent observation, (3) triangulation, (4) peer debriefing, (5) member checking, (6) journaling, and (7) audit trail (Oktay, 2002).

Results: Findings revealed that these mothers implement parenting strategies in order to attain two primary goals: (1) protection of their sons and (2) growth of their sons. Protective strategies include: (1) shielding from negative influences (2) avoiding harm (3) praying (4) educating and (5) interpreting. Growth strategies include: (1) providing social support (2) providing resources (3) setting expectations (4) instilling a positive African American identity and (5) promoting responsibility. Moreover, the goals of protection and growth are not always mutually compatible. As a result of this conflict, dilemmas emerge. Most often this occurs when a strategy that is used to protect a son conflicts with one that seeks to promote his growth. In other instances, the conflict lies between two aspects of the same goal. The strategies that are utilized to cope with these dilemmas are discussed.

Conclusions and Implications: The study findings are discussed with regard to previous research and theory: (1) eight ages of man (Erikson, 1963), (2) the family life cycle of poor Black families (Hines, 1989), (3) womanism (Littlefield, 2003), (4) holistic or solutions framework (Hill, 1999), and (5) stress, appraisal, and coping (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Implications for practice and future research are pointed out as well.