The focus of this Master thesis is single parents living on government benefits in Denmark, and their experiences with social interactions – especially in connection with their children’s social life. Based on the financial situation of the single parents on benefits, the study aims to gain an understanding of how the single parents’ self-image is affected by their experiences of interacting socially.
The study applies a hermeneutic approach in the research process, alternating between known theories and new information and knowledge gained through the empirical data, in an effort to obtain insights in the social experiences of single parents living on benefits.
Four qualitative semi-structured individual interviews have been carried out based on an interview guide. These interviews constitute the empirical data of the study and were constructed with the purpose of answering the study’s overall research questions. Furthermore, a literature review has also been prepared during the thesis.
The results of the study show, that single parents living on benefits feel shame and embarrassment when entering into social situations. This came as a surprise during the research process. The single parents are emotionally challenged when interacting socially resulting in fear of being part of a community. They are therefore limited in their social lives because of their financial situation. Their main source of social interactions come via their children’s social lives.
From the study’s analysis it can be deducted, that single parents are indirectly affected by the fact, that they are finically limited and socially stigmatised from living on government benefits. They experience this as apparent in every day life in general, but especially when interacting with other parents in their children’s lives e.g. the parents of their children’s class mates.