The centrality of resourcefulness in explaining wellbeing among financially challenged single mothers

Abstract

The present study presents a multivariable model for explaining the contribution of daily hardships on the one hand, and social and personal resources on the other hand, to explaining wellbeing among financially-challenged single mothers in Israel. The research sample included 203 single mothers whose monthly income is lower than the mean income in Israel. Data were collected by structured questionnaires and analyzed by path analysis. The findings revealed that the single mothers’ resourcefulness was related to wellbeing both directly and indirectly. The higher the resourcefulness of the participants, the higher their social support and the lower their experience of daily hardships, which in turn are related to higher wellbeing. Subjective poverty, rather than the objective economic situation, contributes to explaining their wellbeing.