Routes into Single Motherhood, Normative Family Beliefs, and Perception-Based Indicators of Psychosocial Vulnerability Among Women Recruited Through Ecuadorian Public University Networks: An Exploratory Study

Single motherhood may begin through a self-reported decision to raise a child alone or through circumstances such as paternal irresponsibility, partner abandonment, and family constraints. Guided by the stress-process model and perspectives on stigma and self-determination, this exploratory cross-sectional study examined associations among the reported route into single motherhood, normative beliefs about the indispensability of fathers, perceived labor inequity, and two perception-based indicators: endorsement of fear of judgment and endorsement of changes in self-esteem/self-concept. Participants were recruited through purposive networks coordinated by one faculty or administrative contact at each of the six public universities in Coastal and Andean Ecuador. The resulting non-probability analytic sample comprised 157 women who provided consent and identified as single mothers. Of these respondents, 51 (32.5%) selected the decision-based response (“she decided to do it alone”), and 106 (67.5%) selected one of the three circumstance-based responses. Fear of judgment was endorsed less often in the decision-based group than in the circumstance-based group (9.8% vs. 25.5%; exploratory p = 0.022). In secondary exploratory logistic regressions, both membership in the decision-based group (aOR = 0.25, 95% CI 0.08–0.77) and student status rather than faculty status (aOR = 0.18, 95% CI 0.06–0.55) were associated with lower within-sample odds of fear-of-judgment endorsement. The reported route was not independently associated with changes in self-esteem/self-concept. This indicator was associated with considering a father indispensable (aOR = 2.91, 95% CI 1.41–5.99) and with greater perceived inequity in labor (aOR = 1.57 per index point, 95% CI 1.15–2.13). Among these respondents, the selected indicators varied according to reported route, normative beliefs, and perceived labor inequity. Because the sample was non-probability-based and the outcomes were derived from individual questionnaire responses, the findings are not population estimates. They identified questions for larger studies using stronger sampling designs and validated multidimensional measures, as well as potential areas for university assessment, including stigma, caregiving accommodations, and employment equity.