- Title
- Exploring the influence of the background factors on wellbeing of single parents in Kuwait: a structural equation modeling approach
- Creator
- Al Qallaf, Jawad
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2018
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- Research suggests that the wellbeing of single parents is a sociological issue which has been explored to a considerable extent in the Western context but not in the Middle East. While there are some theoretical studies in the context of the Middle East there is no evidence of empirical research on single parent wellbeing in the context of Kuwait despite the fact that the number of single parents is growing in the past decade. Contemporary research has shown that wellbing is a multidimensional construct which could be influenced by a number of background and social factors. This research empirically investigated the impact of select background factors on the wellbeing of single parents in Kuwait and also investigated the association between five separate dimensions of social wellbeing and three dimensions of subjective wellbeing. The research takes mainly a quantitative approach and makes use of both first generation statistical tools as well as Structural Equation Modelling. Standard items from existing wellbeing scales were used to develop the multi-dimensional scale used in this research and reliability and validity tests were conducted. The sample consisted of 391 working single parents in Kuwait selected based on stratified random sampling from three representative ministries with a cross sectional survey approach to research. The research showed that female single parents had higher scores than the male single parents in three dimensions of social wellbeing and the affect dimension of subjective wellbeing. Single parents subjective wellbeing differed with respect to qualifications, but not marital status, income or work experience. A model was developed which shows that social integration is associated with affect; and social contribution, social acceptance, and social actualization with life evaluation, affect and eudaimonia. This means that if single parents feel integrated and accepted within their society then they report greater satisfaction & flourishing. Single parents were also asked to respond qualitatively, to describe their social situation and make suggestions for improvement. The integration of the quantitative and qualitative findings provided a range of recommendations for the Ministry of Social Welfare, Kuwait which might improve the wellbeing of the single parents. The research not only provides empirical evidence for the state of wellbeing of single parents, but also adds to the body of knowledge in the field of single parent wellbeing in Kuwait.
- Subject
- wellbeing; single parents; Kuwait
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1383660
- Identifier
- uon:31971
- Rights
- Copyright 2018 Jawad Al Qallaf
- Language
- eng
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Thesis | 4 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Abstract | 892 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |