綜覽諸多「單親」相關文獻，不少量化研究對單親親子關係的描述呈現了不是「冷漠疏離」，就是「過度親密」的兩極化現象。「單親家庭的世界果真如此二分法嗎？這樣的結論是否過度簡化了親子間可能存在的多面向關係？」透過為期八個月的參與觀察、深度訪談、非正式閒聊、文件檔案收集等方式，我們從生態觀的角度切入，探討一位勞工階層的單親媽媽在先生過世後的日子及教養。從研究結果發現，夫妻一方的過世，對家庭確有其不可避免的負面影響，如家庭因著家中重要角色的缺位，使得單親媽媽不得不母兼父職，在此壓力下，她期待子女也必須因應自己所轉變的角色，以維持家中平衡的機制與運作。骨牌似的效應，開始為單親之親子觀係帶來一連串的改變與調適。但另一方面，本研究發現，單親者在逆境中所激發的軔性與堅強等優勢面，卻是過去研究者鮮少發掘與著墨的。當事者受到所處生態中各系統諸多脈絡因素交織影響下，而形塑了其單親生活世界及親子關係之面貌。因此，單親家庭並非同質性團體，單親之親子關係亦非兩極化之刻板印象可以一言蔽之。教養是情境化的議題；在探討單親之親子關係及教養時，研究者必須從當事者所處的情境去詮釋，不僅了解其中的現象，也須了解現象背後的原因及所蘊含之意義。

The parent-child relationship in single-parent families was usually depicted as either “over attached”or “over detached”,which was quite a puzzle to us. Aiming to clarify the stereotyped description about single-parent families, we explored the child-rearing ideas of a single-mother based on the cultural-ecological perspective. The participants are a working class widow of forty-years-old and her two children. The data were mainly collected through participant-observations, in-depth interviews, informal dialogue and related documentation. Findings indicate that although the fact of becoming widowed induces unavoidable negative impact to the family, positive ones do also exist. Factors that shaped the child-rearing ideas of the mother include financial situations, personal social network, and characteristics of the mother and the child. The participating mother emphasizes the modeling role of the first child, the importance of care-taking and obedience. In disciplinary situations, in addition to the use of the same old strategy of spanking, the mother extends to consider other forms of discipline. The pain and difficulties of being a single mother are clearly felt. The children are demanded for more responsibilities compared to those in intact families. The parent-child relationship in this family does not go extreme as described in most of the related literature. It is urged thar parenting of single-parent families needs to be understood contextually.