Quality of care attributions to employed versus stay‐at‐home mothers

Abstract

The present study was designed to find whether evaluations of maternal competence are linked to mothers’ employment status and the quality of maternal care. Participants rated videotaped vignettes, depicting either high‐quality or low‐quality mother–infant interactions, on various dimensions of care quality. The videotaped mothers were described to one‐half of the participants as ‘stay‐at‐home mothers’ and to the other half as ‘working mothers.’ Analysis revealed a significant main effect of type of care on maternal evaluations. ‘At‐home’ mothers were rated as providing better care than ‘working mothers.’ Additionally, participants whose mothers worked and who experienced non‐parental care as children were more likely to report positive attitudes about daycare and maternal employment. Finally, participants with less favorable attitudes toward maternal employment showed a more pronounced negative bias in rating high‐quality working mothers.