Authenticity, Sociocultural Constraints, and Well-being: A Portraiture of Three Single Mothers in Iran

Abstract

Using the qualitative method of portraiture, we focused on three mothers who are female heads of household in a deprived urban neighborhood in Iran with the aim of understanding how poor female heads of household experience well-being and the obstacles and challenges associated with it. We analyzed the interview data by identifying emergent themes to reveal convergence, contrast, and similarities among the participants. Based on our findings, we conclude that the participants’ various economic, social, cultural, and psychological resources provide the context for the realization or nonrealization of achievements such as increasing life satisfaction, reducing the overload of the role, and increasing children's satisfaction. In this context, the well-being of the participants is constructed. Despite their similar positions, each participant defined and experienced the pursuit of well-being differently. They used different strategies and had different levels of internal and external resources to achieve well-being.