The essence of being connected: the lived experience of mothers with young children in newer residential areas

Abstract

Parenthood is a significant life transition and a time of increased social support need. In newer residential areas, a lag in social infrastructure and family relocation can influence potential isolation of families with young children. This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of being connected to local communities for mothers with children aged 0-5 years. Family insights were obtained through in-depth interviews with 12 mothers who were primary caregivers, homeowners and living in newer residential areas in outer suburban Perth, Western Australia. For mothers with young children, being connected to the local community appears to be shaped from their past and present lived experience as well as future aspirations. Connectedness evolves and may develop more slowly in newer communities where social relationships and networks are often recently formed. 'Interaction', 'knowing what's going on' and 'help is nearby if you need it' were identified as the essential themes of connectedness for mothers and families in this study. Belonging was identified as an incidental theme as not all mothers who felt connected felt like they belonged. The findings provide insight for professionals and agencies working with families with young children as well as planners of newer residential areas.La paternidad es una transición importante en la vida y una época de aumento de la necesidad de apoyo social. En las zonas residenciales más nuevas, un retraso en la infraestructura social y la reubicación de la familia puede influir en el aislamiento potencial de las familias con niños pequeños. Este estudio cualitativo exploró las experiencias vividas de estar conectado a las comunidades locales para las madres con niños de 0-5 años de edad. Percepciones familiares se obtuvieron a través de entrevistas en profundidad con 12 madres que fueron las cuidadoras primarias, propietarias y vivían en nuevas zonas residenciales en los suburbios periféricos de Perth, Australia Occidental. Para las madres con niños pequeños, estando conectados a la comunidad local parece estar formado por sus experiencias vividas en el pasado y el presente, tal como sus aspiraciones futuras. La conectividad varía y puede desarrollarse más lentamente en las nuevas comunidades, donde las relaciones y las redes sociales suelen ser de reciente formación. 'Interacción', 'saber lo que está pasando' y 'tener ayuda cerca si se necesita' fueron identificados como los temas esenciales de la conectividad para las madres y las familias en este estudio. Pertenecer fue identificado como un tema incidental ya que no todas las madres que se sentían conectados sentían que pertenecían. Los resultados proporcionan una visión para los profesionales y organismos que trabajan con las familias con niños pequeños, así como para los planificadores de las zonas residenciales más nuevas.

A qualitative evaluation of a Young Parents Program (YPP) – Parent and facilitator perspectives

“…Participating and getting to know others in the local community, particularly for parents who had been isolated, helped a sense of "connectedness" and is congruent with other community studies of parents with young children. 37,38 The sense of "connectedness" was stronger for those who had been isolated prior to attending YPP as they now had a social network and help nearby if needed. Several parents had discovered enjoyable family activities and services in the local area.…”

Mothers’ group participation: associations with social capital, social support and mental well‐being

“…The development of the PSOHS was guided by formative qualitative investigation (Strange et al . ,b, ) and pilot testing. Ten items were designed to reflect different types of possible functional support available and respondents were asked to indicate the frequency of occurrence on a Likert scale from 1 (none of the time) to 5 (all of the time).…”

“…The second social support scale, (the Parent Support Outside Home Scale (PSOHS), was modelled on the MOS-SSS (Sherbourne & Stewart 1991) and developed specifically for this study to explore perceptions of functional social support available from outside the home, with a focus on support applicable to families with young children. The development of the PSOHS was guided by formative qualitative investigation (Strange et al 2014a(Strange et al ,b, 2015 and pilot testing. Ten items were designed to reflect different types of possible functional support available and respondents were asked to indicate the frequency of occurrence on a Likert scale from 1 (none of the time) to 5 (all of the time).…”

“…Mothers’ groups provide opportunities for new parents to build supportive networks and community connectedness and can be vital for mothers who would otherwise have a shortfall of social support (Strange et al . ,b). Evaluations of mothers’ groups tend to focus on the period when they are facilitated (Fielden & Gallagher , Guest & Keatinge ) and less is known about the longer term benefits from ongoing participation in parent‐led mothers’ groups compared with non‐participation (Scott et al .…”

How Do Urban Neighbourhoods Impact Parents’ Subjective Well-being?

“…A neighbourhood is a potential space for creating social relationships, if these are seen as valuable (Benson, 2014;Coleman, 1988). The place of residence and family stage play a role in the style of community involvement (Hofmaister & Edgell, 2015;Strange, Fisher, Howat, & Wood, 2014). Social resources are linked to the social climate of the neighbourhood, as people generally place importance on the feeling of belonging to a group and place (Strange et al, 2014).…”