People in Harmony

LONE MOTHERS OF CHILDREN FROM MIXED RACIAL AND ETHNIC BACKGROUNDS

What is this research project about?

A research project to listen to the views of single mothers with children from different racial or ethnic backgrounds.

Click here for details: http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/families/insidersandoutsiders/contact-details.shtml

Although mixed racial and ethnic families have a long and increasingly noticeable presence in Britain, particularly in large cities such as Bristol, little is still known about their daily experiences. Rather, many assumptions and stereotypes are made about them, particularly regarding mothers living on their own.

Our research is interested in the everyday experiences of mothers in Bristol who are bringing up children from mixed racial or ethnic backgrounds, living separately from their children’s father.

We would particularly like to speak to mothers who reside in the Easton/Lawrence Hill/St Pauls, Clifton/Cotham and Hartcliffe areas who have children aged 7 and over.

What are we interested in?

We want to know more about the everyday experiences of mothers bringing up children from different racial and ethnic backgrounds, particularly what it is like living in their neighbourhoods and who or what in their lives helps or hinders them in their parenting.

Why should I help?

Your views will be very valuable because there are a lot of assumptions about mothers with children from mixed racial and ethnic backgrounds who do not live with the fathers of their children.

Telling us about your everyday life will help us to challenge those existing assumptions as well as identify the real issues facing  mothers with mixed racial or ethnic children. As such, your views will be useful to professionals, as well as to other parents.

What does taking part in the research involve?

A member of the research team will come and conduct an informal interview with you, which will last around one hour.

The interview can take place at a time and place convenient for you, in your own home or somewhere else if you prefer, for example, such as at SPAN’s offices in Easton.

Everything that you say in the interview is confidential. We will be writing a report for SPAN’s website after the project is completed but we will make sure that you cannot be identified in it.

If you are interested in taking part in the research or would like to know more about the project or the interviews, please contact a member of  the research team:

Chamion Caballero is the lead researcher on the team. Chamion’s area of research is mixed racial and ethnic people and families. She can be contacted on 020 7815 5763 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Tove Samzelius is the facilitator on the team. Tove works with single parent families in her role as the SPAN study centre development manager in Bristol. She can be contacted on 0117 952 2712 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it