In the Wars: The Journey to Becoming a Non-residential Mother

Women who live apart from their children challenge deeply-entrenched, traditional ideologies of motherhood; ideologies that inform, often unconsciously, well-meant interventions by helping professionals. Scaffolded on feminist principles, this constructivist grounded theory study investigates the experiences of ten Australian women who have become non-residential mothers following the breakdown of a parental relationship. While the experiences of the participants are diverse, the findings of this study suggest that becoming non-residential is a universally challenging, traumatic experience; one which has a significant and lasting impact on the emotional and psychosocial well-being of the mothers who find themselves on this journey. This study aims to understand and theorise non-residential motherhood and to position the voices of women with lived experience at the front and center of a discussion about social work interventions with non-residential mothers.