Raising a child in Poland is a big challenge for single mothers, but it does not make them unhappy, according to the results of the study conducted by Polish researchers working in Poland, Sweden and Austria.
"Despite the difficulties and problems that arise, and perhaps because of these problems, for single mothers children become centre of their world. Additionally, children often give women the power to make decisions they would not be able to take before pregnancy" - said Dr. Monika Mynarska from the Institute of Psychology at the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, one of the authors of the study.
In-depth interviews with a representative group of single mothers in Poland show that many of them got out of unhappy or pathological relationships due to the need to ensure the welfare of their children. In addition, such women become more cautious and demanding when finding a new partner.
According to the study co-author Dr. Anna Baranowska-Rataj from the University of Umea (Sweden) and Warsaw School of Economics, it can be concluded that the positive aspects of single motherhood in Poland outweigh the negative aspects.
"We did not find any evidence to support the claim that a woman\'s life would be better if she decided not to have a baby and raise it on her own" - said Dr. Anna Matysiak of Wittgenstein Centre in Vienna and Warsaw School of Economics.
The results have been published in the "Journal of Happiness Studies".
The research project was financed by the Polish National Centre for Research and Development under the Leader programme.
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