Attitudinal differences between full-time homemakers and women who work outside the home

Data from a national probability sample were used to examine differences in attitudinal variables and self-concept between full-time homemakers (N=485) and women employed outside of the home (N=354). The homemakers held more conservative values and a more traditional view of women's roles, reported experiencing a more supportive family life, expressed lower self-esteem, and were less dissatisfied than women who work outside the home. Women who are employed outside the home rated themselves as more aggressive, ambitious, and intelligent than did homemakers. The discussion focuses on the surprising finding that the women who work outside the home were more dissatisfied than homemakers. Crosby's (Relative Deprivation and Working Women, New York: Oxford University Press, 1982) model of relative deprivation, which emphasizes wanting and deserving as preconditions of felt deprivation, helps explain the dissatisfaction among women employed outside the home.We thank the research department of Leo Burnett Company, especially Melody Douglas-Tate, vice-president and group research director, for making this project possible. Thanks also to an anonymous reviewer for helpful comments and suggestions.     

THE ROLE OF AN IMMIGRANT MOTHER IN HER ADOLESCENT’S IDENTITY FORMATION: “WHO AM I?”

Immigration is a complex bio-psycho-social process and the immigrant mother has a truly complex task in lending her ego strength to her adolescent offspring. The normal adolescence’s decathexis of the love object and the consequent search for a new object may not happen smoothly for those adolescents whose mothers are immigrants. The immigration experience may cause the immigrant mother, who lost her motherland, deeper disturbance in self-identity as well as disequilibrium in her psychic structure, which in turn impacts adversely her adolescent’s development. The adolescent’s inadequate early experience with an immigrant mother may result in a deeper disturbance in his separation-individuation process as well as his identification process. An immigrant mother who has not mourned adequately, with a different sociocultural background has to go through a far more complex development of motherhood. The case of an adolescent boy, Jason, demonstrates the impact of immigrant motherhood on his ego development.     

Establishing emotional mutuality not formed in infancy with Japanese families

Young mothers in Japan today are faced with a conflict between the traditional image of motherhood and a sometimes lonely life without physical and emotional support from their husbands, family, and community. As a consequence of this, more and more children are becoming emotionally disturbed as a result of poor mother-child interactions that arise as early as infancy. With several cases of poor interaction, hospital treatment was undertaken to establish emotional mutuality between mother and child through therapeutically induced regression into infancy. Each mother-child pair was hospitalized in the baby unit of the pediatric ward, and the mother provided consistent emotional availability to her child. The child then regressed into infantile states that involved the following four phases: (1) The child began to interact with her mother more actively; (2) she became demanding, like a toddler in the rapproachment crisis; (3) the mother's sustained acceptance won the trust of her child, who began to show a strong attachment to her; (4) the child began to progress to a stage appropriate to her age and used the mother as a secure home base. Each child lost previous symptoms and acquired a stable character. This approach, which utilized the Japanese affinity for intimacy and regression, proved effective in the management of psychopathologies rooted in infancy.     

Exploring the subcategories of stereotypes: Not all mothers are the same

Stereotypes of mothers employed outside the home, unemployed at home with their children, and whose work role was unspecified were compared and contrasted. Two hundred and twenty-six randomly assigned university students rated how typical personality traits were of one of the three mothers. While the employed mother was perceived as retaining feminine qualities, she was described as less feminine, more masculine, and generally less desirable than the other mothers. Ratings for the mother with role unspecified paralleled those for the at-home mother, suggesting that she was assumed to be a mother at home rather than a generic or general entity. Implications for projects in which stereotypes of generic individuals have been described or evaluated are discussed.     

Interrole conflict among married women: The influence of husband and wife characteristics on conflict and coping behavior

The present research investigated the conflict that women experience between their home and nonhome roles. All of the women in the sample (N = 115) were married and living with their husbands, had at least one child living at home, and were college students. It was found that women who placed a similar level of importance on work as their husbands experienced less intense conflict than women who differed from their husbands in career orientation. In addition, the number of children at home was positively related to a woman's conflict when her husband was highly work oriented. A woman's use of reactive coping strategies was negatively related to her life satisfaction when her husband was dissatisfied with his own life.     

Invisible Mothers: A Content Analysis of Motherhood Ideologies and Myths in Magazines

The purpose of this study is to identify prevalent motherhood ideologies and myths in contemporary women's magazines. The results indicate that contemporary magazines promote a traditional motherhood ideology, yet perpetuate motherhood myths that undermine mothers who stay home. Traditional motherhood, which excludes Women of Color and employed mothers, is promoted. Mothers are almost exclusively presented in the domestic, rather than the public or integrated domestic–public, contexts. Myths that employed mothers are busy, tired, and guilty, and that employed mothers neglect and are unattached to their children, are not upheld. However, negative myths that at-home mothers are confused, overwhelmed, and interested only in superficial topics are upheld in the magazines analyzed. The implications of these results on the perpetuation of patriarchy are discussed.     

The Impact of Insecure Attachment on Mothering: A New Mother’s Story

This article describes the treatment of a first-time mother and her daughter. The mother’s impoverished primary relationships and the fragility of her early attachments contribute to her challenges with motherhood. Through parent-infant treatment she is gradually developing the capacity to reflect upon her experience and beginning to make discoveries about her attitudes toward herself and others. My work with Leslie has deepened my appreciation for Daniel Stern’s notion of “the motherhood constellation” and for the power of insecure attachment to destabilize the parent and consequently the parent-child relationship. During the treatment, I used the Newborn Behavioral Observations system as an adjunct to therapy to help demonstrate to this distressed new mother her infant’s competencies. Later, I also used the Adult Attachment Interview to enhance her curiosity about her own childhood, and in particular her relationship to her mother and the impact of that relationship on her own mothering.     

Young Females' Images of Motherhood

This paper reports on two studies into the images of motherhood held by young females. In Study 1, we attempted to uncover general conceptual dimensions by which young Dutch females perceive motherhood. For this, a group of 64, predominantly White, participants of various ages and educational backgrounds were interviewed about real-life mothers and female images derived from television. Qualitative analysis revealed 4 main conceptual categories: a mother's traditional orientation toward motherhood, her child-centeredness, her self-assertive attitude, and a mother's open and social attitude. The items making up the 4 conceptual categories found in Study 1, underwent factor analysis in Study 2. Two main dimensions were found. One dimension represented a traditional orientation toward motherhood, whereas the other added a more contemporary perspective to motherhood, and represented a self-assertive and relational orientation toward motherhood. In Study 2, we investigated how young females viewed themselves as potential mothers with regard to these two dimensions. We analyzed whether differences in the views of young females about their future motherhood were dependent on level of education, age, and image of their own mother. The 165, predominantly White, young females taking part were asked to rate themselves and their mother on a range of items, representing the two dimensions of motherhood. Although daughter ratings were positively related to the ratings they assigned to their mothers, daughter perceived themselves to function differently with respect to the two dimensions of motherhood, compared to their own mother: They perceived themselves as less traditional, and more self-assertive and relational oriented than their mothers.     

An Aesthetic Review of New Mothers as the Ultimate Weaver: Achieving a Harmonious Integration of Prevalent Discourses and Lived Experience

Experiences in new motherhood are influenced by popular sociological discourses and ideologies. The narratives promoted in these discourses may or may not fit with the subjective experience of the mother. Lacking experience in motherhood, the new mother may misguidedly accept these mainstream discourses and ideologies as standard. The process of adapting and blending sociological narratives to fit with lived experience is similar to the art of weaving. This article, an original argument grounded in relevant literature, explores how new mothers can develop a balanced weave of popular social discourse and her subjective experience by: accepting motherhood as a creative process, being aware of the powerful influence of social constructs on her perceptions, and recognizing the influence of her body/biology on her lived experience. The aesthetic narrative of the spider, the ultimate weaver, accompanies the research presented. Complementary art therapy interventions such as weaving, art boxes, and dolls are discussed.     

Counselling women with post natal depression: Implications from recent qualitative research

This paper explores the role of the counselling psychologist with women who experience post natal depression. Traditionally post natal depression has been identified as a clinical condition, and the woman referred for psychiatric assessment; or it is seen as the result of stressful childbirth and associated events, and the woman is offered treatment by her GP or referred to a post natal support group. A recent study suggests that some degree of depression following childbirth is ‘normal’, and that far from being a clinical condition, its origins appear to be located in the context of problematic relationships (in both domestic and obstetric settings) as well as in women's expectations and inadequate preparation for childbirth and early motherhood. These expectations seem to be embedded in female psychology and wider cultural values. Women appear to be prepared for the fact that they will bear and mother children, but not the experience of motherhood itself, and consequent changes in identity and relationships are rarely made explicit. This study suggests that childbirth and the early months of motherhood (even for second and third children) are likely to precipitate some degree of depression in most women, and that this depression appears to be reactive rather than determined by individual pathology. Further, the experience of becoming a mother (each time) equates with a model of loss and bereavement, suggesting a very specific role for the counselling psychologist.     

The 1990s: Gender differences in parenting roles

Seventy European American families with 6-month-old infants participated in this investigation of current parenting roles. Parental reports and observations revealed that mothers were more involved with the infants and fathers were employed outside the home more hours per week than mothers. Both parents rated the mother as a better caretaker of the infant than the father. The mother rated the father's caretaking abilities higher than he rated himself. In concordance with previous research, maternal concerns about separations related to employment were found to be influenced by maternal employment factors. Paternal concerns about separations related to employment were also influenced by maternal employment factors. Changes in parenting roles were discussed.     

Attitudes of Employed Women Toward Parents Who Choose Full-Time or Part-Time Employment Following Their Child's Birth

Perceptions of married parents were examined as a function of their gender and their employment status following their child's birth. Women employed in hourly staff positions at a university (92% White, 8% African American, Asian American, or Hispanic American) evaluated a briefly described married employed parent on thirty-one 7-point bipolar scales that described nurturance behaviors, job performance characteristics, role overload variables, and personal adjustment characteristics. Each participant rated one of four parents portrayed as either a mother or a father who, following their child's birth, either continued to work full-time or reduced her/his work hours. Full-time employees were perceived as experiencing more stress and as being less family-oriented than reduced-hour employees. Mothers were viewed as better adjusted but as experiencing more stress than fathers.     

BLACK AND WHITE COLLEGE WOMEN'S PERCEPTIONS OF EARLY MATERNAL EMPLOYMENT

Black ( n = 89) and White ( n = 121) female students rated their perceptions of the mother of a one-year-old infant as a function of the mother's race (Black/White) and employment role (employment/nonemployment after the birth of her child). Results showed that White, compared to Black, students anticipated comparatively more role-related costs for the employed than the nonemployed mothers. Furthermore, Blacks, but not Whites, expected more role-related emotional rewards for the employed than the nonemployed mothers. The data are linked to previous findings concerning Whites' and Blacks' attitudes toward role integration.     

The Myth of Motherhood: A Study of Attitudes Toward Motherhood

Traditional attitudes toward motherhood reflect many contradictions. The Motherhood Inventory (Ml), a 40 item questionnaire, has been developed to study attitudes toward motherhood and the motherhood myth. The Ml includes items relating to the control of reproduction, abortion, adoption, single motherhood, male-female relationships, and idealized and punitive attitudes toward mothers. The 301 subjects in this study were drawn largely from undergraduate and graduate students at an eastern university and their parents. Comparisons with scores on the Spence-Helmreich Attitudes toward Women Scale (AWS) revealed that the sample was more liberal than the original AWS sample. Men were found to hold significantly more traditional attitudes toward motherhood than women. Younger subjects also agreed more with the myth of motherhood as did unmarried subjects. Catholics more than non-Catholics rejected abortion and supported the primacy of the woman's role as mother. Education produced the most pronounced effect on attitudes toward motherhood with more liberal attitudes held by those who were college graduates.     

Infant massage improves attitudes toward childbearing,maternal satisfaction and pleasure in parenting

The first year of motherhood is a period of growth and adaptation in women's lives with several challenges such as identifying the baby’s needs and giving appropriate answers, so that mother and baby get to know each other and form a strong bond. Infant massage is one of the approaches that make an important contribution to the psychological and physiological wellbeing of both baby and mother, helping to form a harmonious relationship. This longitudinal study assessed the benefits of infant massage in the relationship between mother and baby, from birth to 12 months old. Comprising 194 dyads of mothers and their babies the subjects were divided into two groups of 97 dyads each. The Experimental group (EG) comprised mothers who undertook infant massage in a postnatal program with a physical therapist once a week. The Control group (CG) comprised mothers who did not attend any postnatal program and did not perform infant massage. Self-reported measures of attitudes concerning motherhood (CAQ-P), experience associated to motherhood (WBPB), parental satisfaction (PSS) and maternal separation anxiety (MSAS) were evaluated. Results showed that mothers in the experimental group were better adapted to motherhood, had greater confidence in their abilities and received more support from their mothers and husbands than mothers in the control group and were therefore more confident in their abilities. The EG group experienced a stronger relationship with their babies and described it as more positive than mothers in the control group. This longitudinal study suggests that mothers who learned how to perform infant massage had more positive attitudes towards the experience of motherhood in helping to increase the level of knowledge, regulation and proximity in the dyad. These findings can in turn help mothers to develop strategies that enable them to better cope with motherhood.     

Exploration of “Good Mother” Stereotypes in the College Environment

This study extends research on the good mother stereotype by examining students’ perceptions of other students who return to school after having a child. Undergraduate students attending either community college or a 4-year southeastern university within the United States were asked to review a vignette in which a mother’s decision to return to college and her role satisfaction were manipulated. The 205 participants rated the woman who elects to continue her education shortly after the birth of a child as significantly less feminine, more dominant, more arrogant-calculating and cold-hearted, and less warm-agreeable than the mother who discontinued her education. The impact of these results is discussed in the context of Tinto’s (Review of Educational Research 45, 89–127, 1975) classic theory of student retention and Eagly and Steffen’s (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 46, 735–754, 1984) theory of gender stereotypes.