Correlations between Mothers' and Children's Self-Esteem and Perceived Familial Relationships among Intact, Widowed, and Divorced Families

Abstract

To investigate the interrelationships among mothers' and children's self-esteem, familial relationships, and perceptions of family members of intact, widowed, and divorced families, 204 Indian mothers and their children from low socioeconomic-status families were tested. The higher the mothers' self-esteem, the higher were their children's perceptions of their mothers. There were positive correlations between the mothers' perceptions of their relatives and friends, and their children's self-esteem and their children's perceptions of their fathers. Mothers' perceptions of their children were positively correlated with their children's perceptions of their fathers and the children's self-esteem in the widowed group. There were also significant correlations for mother-child relationships with measures of family environment and children's perceptions of self and of family members. The study supports the view that children's self-esteem and perceptions of family members are aligned with those of their mothers.