Maternal Guilt and Shame: Relationship to Postnatal Depression and Attitudes towards Help-Seeking

Existing literature indicates that women can experience feelings of shame and guilt in relation to motherhood. This study investigated whether maternal feelings of shame and guilt were associated with postnatal depressive symptoms and attitudes towards help-seeking. A cross-sectional, correlational design was employed. Shame and guilt were measured as both dispositional factors and contextual factors i.e. in relation to motherhood (event-related shame and guilt). A UK community sample of 183 mothers with an infant between 4?weeks and 1?year of age completed a series of online questionnaires. The results indicated that shame proneness significantly predicted postnatal depressive symptoms once demographics and social support had been accounted for. Furthermore, shame proneness significantly predicted less positive attitudes towards help-seeking. Guilt proneness was not a significant predictor of postnatal depressive symptoms or attitudes towards help-seeking. These findings highlight the potential negative consequences of maternal feelings of shame in the postnatal period.     

Measures of self-concept, attitudes, and achievement motivation of primary grade children

Semi-projective measures (suitable for small group testing) of Self-Concept and Attitutes toward School, Home, Peers, and Society along with a teachers' rating instrument of Achievement Motivation have been developed for preschool and primary grade children. National norms for disadvantaged children are reported along with correlations of these measures with standardized achievement tests.