Cover Image

Single women in Malaysia: perception of challenges and coping

Single women’s issues and challenges are seldom the center of research. One of the factors is the invisibility of this group within the society. In Malaysia where the cultural emphasis is on family value and a sense of collectiveness, many still perceives being single as a deviation from the norm. A...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Alwi, Azlin, Noor, Noraini M.
Format: Conference or Workshop Item
Language:English
English
Published: 2016
Subjects:
BF Psychology
BF712 Developmental psychology
HQ1101 Women. Feminism
Online Access:http://irep.iium.edu.my/45979/2/Azlin_Alwi_single_women_report_061115.pdf
http://irep.iium.edu.my/45979/12/award%202016.jpg
http://irep.iium.edu.my/45979/
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
id my.iium.irep.45979
record_format dspace
spelling my.iium.irep.459792018-02-19T02:50:00Z http://irep.iium.edu.my/45979/ Single women in Malaysia: perception of challenges and coping Alwi, Azlin Noor, Noraini M. BF Psychology BF712 Developmental psychology HQ1101 Women. Feminism Single women’s issues and challenges are seldom the center of research. One of the factors is the invisibility of this group within the society. In Malaysia where the cultural emphasis is on family value and a sense of collectiveness, many still perceives being single as a deviation from the norm. As a result, many single women feel pressure to find spouses and settle down. Research has shown that single women face stigma, discrimination, and stereotyping. Despite this, there are many single women who defy society’s expectations, remain single and happy. This research attempts to provide an insight into the life of single women in Malaysia. The research is important because of a lack of literature on this particular population in the Malaysian context. Therefore, this study attempts to shed light onto their well-being. Specifically, the objectives of the study are to determine single women’s: (1) perception on marriage, work, and education; (2) resilience level; (3) religious motivation; (4) experience of major challenges; and (5) factors that can increase well-being. Using a purposive sampling and snowball method, 121 employed single women between the ages of 30 to 50 participated in this study. Results from this study indicated that women were single because they had not found a suitable candidate to marry, caring for parents, and negative past experiences. They also regarded career highly, in that they wanted to maintain their independence and status in the society. By attaining higher education, they believed they could be more confident, better decision maker, and be able to realize their dreams. They faced challenges attributed to fear for their safety, lack of emotional support, concerned with other people’s negative perception, and health-related illnesses. Factors that can increase coping include social and emotional support, religious strength, internal attributes, and active lifestyle. 2016-12-03 Conference or Workshop Item REM application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/45979/2/Azlin_Alwi_single_women_report_061115.pdf application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/45979/12/award%202016.jpg Alwi, Azlin and Noor, Noraini M. (2016) Single women in Malaysia: perception of challenges and coping. In: Putrajaya International Conference on Children, Women, Elderly and Disabled People 2016 (PiCCWED2016), 3rd-4th Dec. 2016, Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor. (Unpublished)
institution Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia
building IIUM Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider International Islamic University Malaysia
content_source IIUM Repository (IREP)
url_provider http://irep.iium.edu.my/
language English
English
topic BF Psychology
BF712 Developmental psychology
HQ1101 Women. Feminism
spellingShingle BF Psychology
BF712 Developmental psychology
HQ1101 Women. Feminism
Alwi, Azlin
Noor, Noraini M.
Single women in Malaysia: perception of challenges and coping
description Single women’s issues and challenges are seldom the center of research. One of the factors is the invisibility of this group within the society. In Malaysia where the cultural emphasis is on family value and a sense of collectiveness, many still perceives being single as a deviation from the norm. As a result, many single women feel pressure to find spouses and settle down. Research has shown that single women face stigma, discrimination, and stereotyping. Despite this, there are many single women who defy society’s expectations, remain single and happy. This research attempts to provide an insight into the life of single women in Malaysia. The research is important because of a lack of literature on this particular population in the Malaysian context. Therefore, this study attempts to shed light onto their well-being. Specifically, the objectives of the study are to determine single women’s: (1) perception on marriage, work, and education; (2) resilience level; (3) religious motivation; (4) experience of major challenges; and (5) factors that can increase well-being. Using a purposive sampling and snowball method, 121 employed single women between the ages of 30 to 50 participated in this study. Results from this study indicated that women were single because they had not found a suitable candidate to marry, caring for parents, and negative past experiences. They also regarded career highly, in that they wanted to maintain their independence and status in the society. By attaining higher education, they believed they could be more confident, better decision maker, and be able to realize their dreams. They faced challenges attributed to fear for their safety, lack of emotional support, concerned with other people’s negative perception, and health-related illnesses. Factors that can increase coping include social and emotional support, religious strength, internal attributes, and active lifestyle.
format Conference or Workshop Item
author Alwi, Azlin
Noor, Noraini M.
author_facet Alwi, Azlin
Noor, Noraini M.
author_sort Alwi, Azlin
title Single women in Malaysia: perception of challenges and coping
title_short Single women in Malaysia: perception of challenges and coping
title_full Single women in Malaysia: perception of challenges and coping
title_fullStr Single women in Malaysia: perception of challenges and coping
title_full_unstemmed Single women in Malaysia: perception of challenges and coping
title_sort single women in malaysia: perception of challenges and coping
publishDate 2016
url http://irep.iium.edu.my/45979/2/Azlin_Alwi_single_women_report_061115.pdf
http://irep.iium.edu.my/45979/12/award%202016.jpg
http://irep.iium.edu.my/45979/
_version_ 1643612896550191104
score 13.211869

Similar Items