Family dynamics of rural single-parent male-headed families in Boyacá, Colombia

Abstract

The objective of this research was to analyze the family dynamics of thirty rural single-parent male-headed families in the province of Márquez (Boyacá, Colombia), based on a systemic analysis. The methodology was of a qualitative nature accompanied by a case study design, using the information gathering techniques of semi-structured interviews with thirty parents selected by non-probabilistic convenience sampling, and the auxiliary technique of non-participant observation. The study led to the conclusion that: the structure of family dynamics has been permeated by traditional rural family development models that embrace symbolic representations of patriarchalism, Catholic religious dogmas and some notions of heteronorma that create difficulties in the face of family morphogenesis. However, some modifications have been made and support networks have been established that have built new interaction models adapted to the psycho-affective needs and demands of each subsystem. However, in some cases, due to this traditional rootedness and maladaptability, a greater number of demands have been constituted before the previous resources to cope, accompanied by normative and non-normative transition crises, elaborating hidden agendas, unresolved grief processes and risk factors in the development and interaction of the family in its interior and in the social systems where they perform.