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...

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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/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/45979/2/Azlin_Alwi_single_women_report_061115.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/45979/12/award%202016.jpg

id	iium-45979
recordtype	eprints
spelling	iium-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 NonPeerReviewed 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)
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Local University
institution	International Islamic University Malaysia
building	IIUM Repository
collection	Online Access
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/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/45979/2/Azlin_Alwi_single_women_report_061115.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/45979/12/award%202016.jpg
first_indexed	2023-09-18T21:05:26Z
last_indexed	2023-09-18T21:05:26Z
_version_	1777410901450686464

Single women in Malaysia: perception of challenges and coping

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