Samenvatting

The objective of this study is to illuminate the effects of intensive aid on the self-reliance and independence of single mothers, and to show what is and what can be done to improve the empowerment of this group. Firstly the paper focuses on the effects of intensive social aid on the self-reliance and independence of single mothers, and how this affects the process of regaining social inclusion in each of the home countries. Secondly the results are compared with the second country, in respect of the socio-economic and cultural circumstances.
This study is based upon a comparative data collected from randomly selected single mothers in each country. In the Netherlands information was collected during in-depth interviews; in Cyprus semi-structured interviews and questionnaires were used. The aim is to shed light on the issues that impact on the lives and the well-being of these mothers and their children in their social context.
This chapter presents sections of two large research projects which attempted to investigate the single-mother families from the woman’s perspective, and it aims to analyse the following:

• Factors that hinder and improve the independent life of a single mother

• Choices that women make during the offered aid period and their motives

• The results of this change.