Year: 2015
Type: article
Abstract: Parents are constantly engaging in a balancing act, weighing their own needs with those of their children and family.Helping parents navigate the role of parenthood can promote optimal development in the child, parent, couple and family.Parents engage in various roles and responsibilities essential for family and individual well--being that require balance in order to be effective.Past research on balance has indicated that people are more satisfied with life when they are active in multiple life domains rather than in a single one.This study is interested in two specific life domains: personhood and parenthood, and how parents balance these two roles and identities.Balance between these two domains may operate to develop the individual and collective simultaneously, seeking to satisfy basic human needs.As a result, this fulfillment and balance may contribute to the experience of well--being.The focus of this study is on parents who believe that they have balance between personhood and parenthood.The mission is to bring awareness and understanding to the experiential part of parenting through a qualitative, phenomenological approach.This study explores parent's personal accounts, experiences and stories through a semi--structured face--to--face interview.Participants included seven American parents of a variety of ages but all of whom were age 26 years and older.The electronic version of this dissertation is accessible at the Ohiolink ETD center http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd.iv DEDICATION Family: You give me meaning.It is because of each of you and your enlightening perspectives about life, love, and purpose that has made any of this possible.It is our unit that makes me strong and provides me with the security and confidence to be bold and empowered.v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS "My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive, and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor and some style."-Maya Angelou To all the individuals who have participated and supported this process and body of work, I thank you.My mission for this project and for my life has been inspired and energized by all of you and your unique ways of being and existing in the world.Thank you for accompanying me on this journey and making it entertaining.May the adventures continue and our experiences surprise us.Keep finding that wonder and curiosity in the world and making it beautiful.
Author: Venice Bruno
Institution: Antioch University
Language: English
Subfield: Demography
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1870019559