Description of participants

Gugu is a recovering alcoholic who currently attends supports group meetings (AA). She is 40 years old and has one child, who passed away while she was still using alcohol. She is also single and unemployed and has been sober for one and a half years.

Jane is a recovering alcoholic who was admitted to a treatment centre at the time of the interview. She has three children and is currently divorced. She got separated from her children after her divorce and does not see them on a full-time basis. She is currently unemployed.

Lolo is a mother of one child and is currently employed. She is also a recovering alcoholic and attended a treatment centre before she started to attend support group meetings (AA). She is also divorced and a single mother, however she stayed with her child after the divorce.

Anna is also a recovering alcoholic, also attending support group meetings (AA). She is 60 years old and has two adult children. She is married and employed. She is currently sober for 17 years and drank while her children were young.

Rose is a mother who was using alcohol at the time of the interview. She is 59 years old, married and unemployed. She has seven adult children, of which four have passed away.

Katlego is 40 years old and has four children. She is divorced and works part-time. She was using alcohol at the time of the interview.

Finally, Mary is 65 years old, with six children. She is married and unemployed (currently on pension). She was also still using alcohol at the time of the interview.

3.4 Instruments

Phenomenological research adopts interviews as a method of data collection. Interviews involve an interactive process and use open-ended questions (Moustakas, 1994). Since this study took a phenomenological perspective, it made use of semi- structured, in-depth, one-on-one interviews. These interviews allowed for a detailed description of participants’ individual experiences (Smith et al., 2009) of which the study aimed to provide. Open-ended questions/interviews allow the researcher to

explore participants’ own ideas, views, beliefs and attitudes about a phenomenon. For an interpretative research study as this one, these interviews were used to find out how people feel and experience things, creating an environment in which a participant is able to express themselves authentically (Terre Blanche et al., 2011). These interviews were one-on-one and were conducted at various places depending on where the participant wanted the interview to take place. An interview schedule was constructed which included guidelines or a list of questions to be asked in the interview (Mason, 2004). The interview schedule consisted of open-ended questions aimed at exploring the mother’s experiences and perceptions of mothering a child while using/abusing alcohol (Please see Appendix E for the interview schedule). Questions in the interview schedule highlighted various areas, such as mothering, drinking behaviour, impact of drinking on mothering, recovery and mother-child relationship. These various areas were developed from a review of the relevant literature on this topic. Open-ended questions were used to allow participants to elaborate further on their experiences (Reja, Manfreda, Hlebec, & Vehovar, 2003). The interviews ranged in length from 25 to 61 minutes. The interviews were conducted in English and Setswana. Hence the interview schedule was translated in Setswana (Please see Appendix E2). The researcher was able to conduct the interviews in Setswana and then transcribe and translate the interviews in English. Jefferson transcription (Lerner, 2004) symbols were used during transcription; however they were not used when translating the interviews. Three interviews were conducted in Setswana. Please see appendices A2, B2 and C2 for Setswana translations of appendices A, B and C. Due to the nature of the topic, the researcher was aware that interviews may have placed participants in a morally charged situation. Through the interaction between the participants and researcher, participants might have felt that they should account for their actions, to avoid being judged. In this case participants might have been defensive and may have felt a need to protect themselves. In order to try and avoid this questions asked in the interview were tailored to avoid participants feeling judged or in a morally compromising situation. Participants’ reactions, accounts, actions and behaviours to the questions asked were recorded and formed part of the analysis.

3.5 Procedure

In order to gain access to the sample of the study, multiple organisations, such as SANCA, AA and Community Centres were approached. Participant Information Sheets (please see appendix A) were sent to SANCA to distribute to various women informing them of the study. The researcher approached members from AA meetings inviting them to participate in the study. Further, the researcher asked for assistance in Community Centres in order to identify suitable participants. Participants who were willing to participate were checked if they fit the criteria outlined above. Participants were informed about their rights to confidentiality, limited anonymity, right to withdraw from the study and then provided with a consent form (please see Appendix B) to sign before being interviewed. The participants were then interviewed individually at a time and place that suited them. The first interview was used as a pilot study. The interview schedule was adjusted after this initial interview, namely questions were altered based on which category the mother belongs to (i.e. still abusing alcohol, currently in a treatment facility and recovering/attending a support group). Each interview was audio-recorded with the participant’s consent (Please see Appendix C). The interviews were then transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis.