Gendered Emotional Support and Women’s Well-Being in a Low-Income Urban African Setting

Abstract

Emotional support is crucial to the well-being of low-income, single women and their children in most contexts. Support from women may be especially important for single mothers because of precarious ties to their children’s fathers, the prevalence of extended matrifocal living arrangements, and gendered norms that place men as providers of financial rather than emotional support. However, in contexts marked by economic insecurity, spatial dispersion of families, and changing gender norms and kinship obligations, such an expectation may be problematic. Applying theories of emotional capital and family bargaining processes, we address three questions: 1) what is the gender composition of emotional support that single mothers receive? 2) how does gender composition change over time? and 3) does the gender composition of emotional support affect self-reported stress of single mothers? Drawing on data from a unique dataset on 462 low-income single mothers and their kin from Nairobi, Kenya, we uncover three key findings. One, whereas the bulk of strong emotional support comes from female kin, about 20% of respondents report having male dominant support networks. Two, nearly 30% of respondents report change in the composition of their emotional support over six months favoring men. Three, having a male dominant emotional support network is associated with lower stress. These results challenge what is commonly taken for granted about gender norms and kinship obligations in non-Western contexts.

Contextualising men’s role and participation in PMTCT programmes in Malawi and Zambia: A hegemonic masculinity perspective

“…For example, the issue on emotional support, care and love which did not come out explicitly in this study is becoming an emerging issue in recent scholarly work. This work, mostly on transformative and changing gender norms, has reported cases of men offering genuine care, love, and emotional support to their partners (Closson et al, 2020;Gibbs et al, 2020;Madhavan et al, 2018).…”

“…The changing perceptions and behaviours of menand inclusion of marginalised and subordinate masculinities to the mainstream hegemonic masculinitiescreates a hierarchy of masculinities, making it difficult for men to balance these contradictory, conflicting, and often dynamic social and gender roles (Gibbs et al, 2020;Madhavan et al, 2018;Russell, 2019). This struggle to balance the changing gender and social roles with traditional roles may explain why some hegemonic masculinity norms can paradoxically hinder male participation in PMTCT services (Chikovore et al, 2016;Mabachi et al, 2020;Manjate Cuco et al, 2016;Sileo et al, 2018;Zissette et al, 2016).…”

“…There is a need to invest in research on innovative methods and technologies that would help reach men to play research and practical roles in PMTCT programmes (Gibbs et al, 2020;Mweemba et al, 2021). Further, the emerging issues of men's emotional support and care in maternal child health programmes, in the context of marginalised and subordinate masculinities, requires further research (Comrie- Thomson et al, 2020;Gibbs et al, 2020;Madhavan et al, 2018). Finally, we recognise that participants' real lives and experiences are much more complex than depicted in this study because of the dynamic sociodemographic contexts and interpersonal relationships.…”

Measuring Union Formalization for a New Generation of Family Demography: A Case Study from Urban Kenya

“…At the same time, these challenges are opening up space to elevate steps such as an "introduction ceremony" between kin as a means to strengthen social legitimacy (Hunter 2016). In fact, the continued centrality of kin recognition for the social legitimacy of marriage may, in part, reflect the ongoing importance of kinship as a source of economic and social support to the couple, and the children that result from unions, in contexts marked by economic precarity (Madhavan et al 2017;Madhavan, Clark, and Hara 2018). It is the potential importance of these links between union and family formation for support of children that we turn to next.…”

Development and Assessment of the Personal Emotional Capital Questionnaire for Adults

“…Mothers with low levels of emotional capital often experience low levels of social, cultural and economic capital, which affects their ability to care for and raise children. Emotional capital helps mothers maintain reliable social support [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. Emotional capital plays a vital role in creating a sense of belonging for new immigrants [ 15 , 16 ].…”