• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.15-33
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• 2015

The present study conducted ethnography of a welfare facility for single-father families. The participants were 13 single-fathers living in a welfare facility. To explore life within the welfare facility, the qualitative research method of ethnography was used with Spradley's developmental research sequence (DRS). The major results of this study were as follows. The first theme was 'finding a way to overcome the crisis: the facility is a lifeline.' For fathers, choosing to enter a facility meant enduring a social stigma, but the decision was made with the hope of achieving successful parenting and economic independence amidst pressing difficulties. The category of living in the facility was represented by the theme 'build the family: preparing for independence through living in a welfare facility.' The fathers achieved psychological recovery through the decrease in parenting stress, improvements in their economic situation brought by living in a facility, and used this time as the foundation to gain independence and build a stable life. The event of departure from the facility was seen as 'incomplete preparation for departure' by the single fathers. The fathers with infants or younger children admitted to being anxious about leaving the facility, which involved the burden of raising the children on their own. There are practical and policy-related implications based on the results of this study.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.83-95
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• 2016

This study explored the processes of parental divorce and adaptation in single-parent families as well as examined how the experience of living in family welfare facilities influences the adaptation process of such families. The research question to achieve the study objective was, "What is the adaption process for a singlefather family, and what influence does living in a single-father family welfare facility have on that process?" Data collection was conducted between June 2013 and April 2014 that included an in-depth interview process and continuous participatory observations on 14 children residing in the facility. The study results were as follows. The theme in a two-parent family period was 'changes in reduction of family: serious conflicts between parents.' Children directly witnessed intense conflicts between parents and experienced anxiety from situations that involved verbal and physical violence during the two-parent family period. The experience of children prior to entering the facility was represented by "loss and confusion experienced." The theme for children of singlefather family in entering a facility was "selecting a realistic alternative." Children's daily activities consisted of being with friends of a similar age, which allowed them to play and support each other in building social skills. The facility departure theme for the children was "hope for a new life."