Care provision by single mothers to autism children in traditional communities in Ghana is widespread. As care for children is generally a challenging task, single mothers with autistic children face a double challenge because they have to give extra care and attention solely. Consequently, this study explores the experiences of single mothers caring for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to help pinpoint prevailing setbacks to draw practice implications. Evidence was collected through semi-structured qualitative interviews with 15 single mothers in Kumasi, Ghana. Narratives were analyzed thematically following the reflective thematic analysis procedures. The study identified stigmatization and rejection, financial strains and stagnation of social life as predisposing challenges experienced by single mothers of autistic children. The study suggests the need to sensitize people not to reject families with the condition as it is medical and not superstitious. The study also stresses the need for state interventions including enrolling poor mothers with autistic children into state programs like the Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty Program (LEAP). The study suggests that further research is needed to solicit the views of the extended family members of women parenting autistic children on the best ways to overcome the challenges identified in this article.
This paper sought to examine the role of bride price on the state of marriage among the Dagara of North-West Ghana. In the face of increasing scarcity of the items used in marriage in the study area, getting bride price has become a daunting task for many young men preparing to marry or already in marriage with consequences on the legitimacy and stability of families. Through purposive sampling, 5 FGDs and 9 personal interviews were conducted to obtain experiential information on bride price and state of marriage. The study revealed that the role of families, payback norms and incorporation (as part of bride price payment) are clear structures that have positive consequences for the stability of marriage; weakening potentially destabilising factors such as spousal abuse and the extra-marital sexual activities of men. Interestingly, the type and amount of items used for bride price have so much social and cultural significance that formal education and modernity has so far failed to completely change this practice among the people. The preceding allows us to conclude that the Dagara of Buo community are an epainogamous people, with societally supported marital norms and systems leading to marital stability. We recognise however that stability and longevity of marriage does not necessarily mean that spouses are ‘happy and content’ with their marriage. This is a relevant question that our current study did not explore. Thus, we recommend that a future quantitative study examine the relationship between marital stability and spousal ‘happiness and contentment.’
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