Experiences of childlessness and adoption in marriage among Basotho: A two-cohort phenomenological study

Abstract

This article reports a two-cohort study conducted among adoptive parents in Maseru and Maputsoe Lesotho, in 2014 and 2019, with African research philosophy underpinning the study. The article reports data collected from 13 adoptive parents (eight parents in Cohort one and five parents in Cohort two) using in-depth interviews and later analysed through a six-step discourse analysis. In this regard, the role of elders in participants’ extended families were taken into account upon the study’s conceptualisation and implementation. The article focuses on participants’ reports of their experiences of both family childlessness and adoption. Women in Cohort one reported being abused by husbands and in-laws and excluded from family decisions. A woman in Cohort two reported being  excluded from social activities by her erstwhile friend subsequent to adopting. From a phenomenological standpoint, the participants attributed their treatment from husbands, in-laws, and friends to their family childlessness and adoption that is happening in a Basotho socio-cultural environment where it is not the norm.

How to reference using ASWNet style:

Thabane S. (2023). Experiences of childlessness and adoption in marriage among Basotho: A two-cohort phenomenological study African Journal of Social Work, 13(3), 136-146. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ajsw.v13i3.2

Visit journal website: https://ajsw.africasocialwork.net