Working Mothers: Good mothering, Parental Guilt and Work Volition

Abstract

Abstract: Working mothers experience marked work-family conflict which negatively affects their career progression and mental well-being. This study aimed to determine the interrelationship between good mothering expectations, parental guilt and work volition in working mothers. The participants included a total of 150 working mothers between the ages of 21 and 59. The inclusion criterion was working mothers with children of ages 21 or below. The study included participants primarily from India (90.8%), with a smaller representation from Australia (0.7%), the UK (2%), the US (0.7%), Egypt (0.7%), Turkey (0.7%) and Romania (5.4%). Three scales were utilized: the Good mothering Expectations Scale, the Guilt about Parenting Scale, and Work Volition. The results indicate a weak significant correlation between traditional roles and parental guilt (Rho = .345). The significant F-statistic (14.137) with a very low p-value (000) suggests that there are statistically significant differences in parental guilt scores among the traditional roles. No statistically significant relationships were found between guilt about parenting and work volition. The results of the study indicate that working mothers who subscribe to traditional mothering roles face increased amounts of guilt.