Raising children in precarious spaces: coping strategies of young mothers in urban slums of Accra, Ghana

Brempong, Portia Nana Ama, Eduaful, Samuel, Frimpong-manso, Kwabena and Afram, Phoebe (2026) Raising children in precarious spaces: coping strategies of young mothers in urban slums of Accra, Ghana. Child & Youth Services. ISSN 0145-935X

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Abstract

This study examined coping strategies of young mothers raising children in urban slum communities in Accra, Ghana. Guided by Jack’s Ecological Influences Framework and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, interviews were conducted with 20 young mothers aged 18–35 in Old Fadama and African Eleven. The findings revealed five strategies: spiritual coping and religious reliance; adaptive food management strategies; psychological endurance and emotional regulation; community-based support networks; and informal financial management and credit utilization. Environmental stressors, including crime and social disorder, shaped mothers’ parenting experiences and created tensions in transmitting values to their children. These findings suggest that young mothers’ coping strategies are shaped not only by individual resilience but also by the social, economic, and environmental constraints of urban slum life, underscoring the need for integrated interventions that address these structural conditions.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: coping strategies, Ghana, parenting, slum, young mothers
Subjects: H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Divisions: The School of Health, Sciences and Society
Depositing User: David Upson-Dale
Date Deposited: 10 Sep 2026 09:01
Last Modified: 10 Sep 2026 09:01
URI: https://oars.uos.ac.uk/id/eprint/5700

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