Going it alone? lone motherhood in late modernity - Klett-Davies, Martina (Ashgate, 2007)
Includes bibliographical references (pages 147-161) and index
Introduction -- Explaining lone motherhood : academic and political discourses in Britain and Germany -- Lone motherhood : late modernity and individualization -- The positioning of lone mothers in the Britain and German welfare states -- Mothering and paid employment : views and experiences -- Creating and interpreting meaning : the use of type categories -- Pioneers -- Copers -- Strugglers -- Borderliners -- Going it alone? : concluding discussion
"Drawing on interviews with 70 lone mothers who live on state benefits, are unmarried and live in inner city areas, Going it Alone? examines the complexity and diversity of their lives; the way in which they try to manage choices and constraints and how they position themselves as carers, dependents or as paid workers." "The book assesses the extent to which individualization can explain the experience of state-dependent lone mothers. The author provides a better understanding of lone mothers by developing the concept further. Recommendations with regard to paid employment, education and state benefits are provided as well as social policy indications for increasing lone mothers' choices."--Jacket