Parental Guilt Research Articles

Examining the Mediation Role of Parental Guilt in the Relationship Between Working Mothers’ Smartphone Addiction and Their Children’s Problematic Technology Use

Examining the Mediation Role of Parental Guilt in the Relationship Between Working Mothers’ Smartphone Addiction and Their Children’s Problematic Technology Use

A Mixed Method Investigation of Parent-Adolescent Communication About Mental Health

PurposeParent-adolescent communication is critical for parents' recognition of a need for mental health treatment in their adolescent children. This study aimed to explore facilitators and barriers to parent-adolescent communication about mental health in order to generate ideas for interventions that improve communication and increase adolescent uptake of mental health services. MethodsTwenty adolescents aged 12 to 19 with a history of depression and/or anxiety were enrolled alongside one parent/guardian. Participants completed an online survey, followed by separate, semistructured interviews. Survey data were analyzed via paired and two-sample t tests. Separate, data-driven codebooks were developed from interview transcripts. Qualitative data were analyzed via a template analysis approach. ResultsAdolescents reported higher barriers to psychological help-seeking (24.0 + 7.3) when compared to parents (18.6 + 4.7), both on average (p = .008) and between individual dyads (p = .003). Parents reported better communication with their child (79.0 + 11.5), than adolescents did with their parents on average (68.7 + 17.3, p = .04). Fear of burdening parents, parental guilt and fear of parents' dismissal of mental health concerns were described as barriers to communication. Facilitators of communication included disclosure of familial mental health history, open-mindedness, and patience. Psychotherapy was described as positively impacting communication by assisting adolescents in understanding parents' perspectives, and teaching communication strategies. DiscussionBrief clinical interventions addressing structural and emotional barriers to psychological help-seeking, depression literacy, stigma and self-blame among parents, and disclosure of familial mental health history may encourage parent-adolescent communication and increase adolescents' access to mental health care.

Eye movements desensitization and reprocessing with finger movements and Elite mobile health software on guilt feeling of parents of children with autism: A randomized trial.

INTRODUCTION: Caring for an autistic child at home can be challenging for parents, as it can make it difficult to balance their responsibilities. This imbalance can negatively affect the emotional well-being of the caregiver and lead to feelings of guilt. While this is a known issue, there may be gaps in knowledge specific to Iran. In this study, a new method was introduced to address this issue. This study aimed to examine the impact of desensitization with eye movements and reprocessing (EMDR) on reducing parental guilt among autistic children's families. We aim to examine the effectiveness of two different treatment methods. This study involved 90 parents (60 mothers, 30 fathers) of autistic children randomly assigned to either an experimental or control group. The two experimental groups received a 45-min intervention session once a week for 3 weeks, while the control group did not receive any intervention. Data on feelings of guilt was collected using a questionnaire. After 30 days, both groups took a follow-up test. The data were analysed using statistical software. This study found that there were significant differences in guilt feelings among different groups of EMDR therapy and a control group. Specifically, no significant differences were observed in the mean guilt scores between the experimental and control groups at the pre-intervention stage (p > .05). However, the experimental groups exhibited significantly lower mean guilt scores immediately after the intervention and 1 month later than the control group (p < .05). Immediately after the intervention and 1 month later, no significant differences were observed between the two experimental groups (p > .05). The findings of this study demonstrate the efficacy of desensitization treatment using eye movements and reprocessing in reducing feelings of guilt among autistic children's parents. In the follow-up phase, it seems that the two-way stimulation method with finger movements is more effective than Elite software in terms of the continuity of the effect. Healthcare providers are encouraged to learn and use these methods to help prevent and treat psychological issues in autistic children.

Maternal Ambivalence Questionnaire (MAQ): Development and preliminary validation.

Maternal ambivalence refers to the simultaneous experience of both negative and positive feelings about motherhood and the child. It has been suggested that maternal ambivalence exists on a continuum from manageable (healthy) to unmanageable (problematic) and can have wide-ranging psychological consequences. However, there are currently no empirically validated measures for examining manageable or unmanageable maternal ambivalence. In this article, we outline the development and initial validation of the Maternal Ambivalence Questionnaire (MAQ). An online study was conducted to evaluate the factor structure, construct validity, reliability, and relationships of the MAQ with demographic characteristics. The participants included a community sample of 502 mothers living in the United Kingdom with at least one child aged 0-11 years. Statistical analyses demonstrated a good fit for the 20-item measure and suggested five theoretically consistent factors. These factors are assessment of one's perception of self as a mother, awareness of conflicting feelings about motherhood, suppression of negative feelings about motherhood, internalization of negative feelings about motherhood, and externalization of negative feelings about motherhood. These factors were related in theoretically expected ways to parental reflective functioning capacity, parenting stress and guilt, and symptoms of depression. The study's findings indicate that the MAQ is a robust and reliable measure that contributes to a theoretical understanding and practical assessment of maternal ambivalence, facilitating insight into emotional challenges of motherhood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Advanced parental cancer and adolescents: Parenting issues and challenges.

An estimated 609,820 child-rearing adults in 2023 died from advanced cancer, affecting 153,675 dependent children. Although children are known to suffer significant distress when a parent is diagnosed with cancer, few studies have described parents' views of their adolescent's behavioral response to their advanced cancer or what the parent did to interpret or manage that response. To describe patient-reported concerns about their adolescent and how they responded to their adolescent's behavior. Single occasion interviews were administered to 6 adolescent-rearing parents with Stage IV cancer. Interviews were analyzed using inductive content analysis by trained coders. Trustworthiness of results was protected through peer debriefing, coding to consensus, and maintaining an audit trail. The core construct that explained study data was Being There without Taking Over, comprised of 4 domains: Struggling to Read My Child, Attempting to Talk with My Child about My Cancer, Trying to Maintain Optimism, and Understanding My Child. Parents were deeply concerned about the impact of their advanced cancer on their adolescent but were unable to distinguish between cancer-related distress and adolescent angst. They feared initiating cancer-related discussions and struggled with their own feelings of guilt and parental inadequacy but did not turn to professionals for help. Adolescent-rearing patients with advanced disease need to be triaged into services that offer a framework from which parents can interpret their child's behavior and learn ways to have adolescent-appropriate conversations about the cancer. Such services should also help parents gain skills to manage feelings of parental inadequacy and guilt. In the absence of services, parents struggle and do not know how to interpret and respond to their adolescent's cancer-related behavior.

Working Mothers: Good mothering, Parental Guilt and Work Volition

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.

Participation des parents à la sédation en situation palliative de leur enfant : une amélioration de la prise en charge ? Point de vue des professionnels

Proportionate sedation in paediatric palliative care is indicated to treat a refractory symptom experienced as unbearable. Sedation with midazolam by PCA pump is increasingly developed allowing symptom management by the child, sometimes by a caregiver or a parent. Parents are gradually being integrated into palliative care in an active and early way. But does the participation of parents in the sedation of their child allow an improvement of the management according to the professionals? In this prospective multicentred qualitative study, nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with health professionals, nurses, and physicians from different paediatric services. According to the professionals, the participation of parents in sedation allows, in certain circumstances, to improve the management of their child. The parents are actors in the relief of their child, which reinforces the bond of trust with the caregivers. The intention described by the interviewees is to help limit the suffering of the child, but also that of the parents, in the idea of a serene death, considering the risk of parental guilt linked to the confusion of deliberate acceleration of the end of life. Therefore, the participation of parents in the sedation of their child is part of a temporality linked to the illness that requires anticipation with the parents. The participation of the parents in the control of the PCA considers the singularity of each parent, of the child, and of the triangular relation particular to pediatrics.

Parent perspectives following newborn screening resulting in diagnoses of fragile X syndrome or fragile X premutation

BackgroundFragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common inherited cause of intellectual disability. Early Check, a voluntary newborn screening study, screened 18,833 newborns for FXS over ∼3 years. Exploring parental attitudes and perspectives can provide insight to the potential future acceptability of public health screening. Methods and proceduresMothers of infants who received a screen positive result for FXS (n = 6) or fragile X premutation (FXPM; n = 18) were interviewed about their perceptions and experiences. Outcomes and resultsMothers of children with FXS described utility in receiving information about their child, particularly to monitor for potential developmental issues and intervene early; overall mothers did not regret participating. Mothers reported various reactions to receiving the FXS or FXPM results including (1) stress and worry; (2) guilt; (3) sadness and disappointment; (4) neutrality, relief, and acceptance; and (5) confusion and uncertainty. Conclusions and implicationsDespite initial reactions such as sadness, stress, and worry, mothers found value in learning of their child’s presymptomatic diagnosis of FXS, particularly the anticipated long-term benefits of early diagnosis to their child’s health and wellbeing. Our results indicate that professionals returning positive newborn screening results should anticipate and prepare for reactions such as parental shock, guilt, sadness, and uncertainty. Genetic counseling and psychosocial support are critical to supporting families.

Too Much Screen Time or Too Much Guilt? How Child Screen Time and Parental Screen Guilt Affect Parental Stress and Relationship Satisfaction

ABSTRACT Recent decades have witnessed a surge in public discourse around the negative effects of media technologies. One of these public debates concerned the negative effects of child screen time on children’s development resulting in parental feelings of guilt and stress as parents struggle to limit their children’s screen use. Based on a social constructivist perspective, we suggest that parental stress around child screen time and subsequent relational strain with children is affected not simply by the amount of time children spend with screens but by the amount of guilt parents feel over allowing such use. Based on cross-sectional (N 1 = 140/N 2 = 474) and longitudinal (N = 192) data of American parents, evidence indicates that parental guilt around their child’s screen use enhances the amount of stress parents feel around their child’s screen time, which, in turn, relates to lower parent-child relationship satisfaction. Implications for future research and the public debate around child screen use as well as for the larger debate on digital well-being are discussed.

When Parents Are at Fault: Development and Validation of the Parental Guilt and Shame Proneness Scale

Research has linked individuals’ dispositional guilt and shame to their interpersonal processes. Although caregivers’ guilt and shame proneness in the parenting context likely have important implications for their mental health and parenting, there is a lack of validated measures for such dispositions. In three studies with Chinese parents, we developed and validated the Parental Guilt and Shame Proneness scale (PGASP), which was based on the Guilt and Shame Proneness scale (GASP). The PGASP comprises two guilt subscales—negative behavior-evaluations (guilt-NBE) and repair action tendencies (guilt-repair)—and two shame subscales—negative self-evaluations (shame-NSE) and withdrawal action tendencies (shame-withdraw). Study 1 (N = 604) provided support for the four-factor structure of the PGASP, which was replicated in Study 2 (N = 451). The concurrent validity of the PGASP was examined in Study 2 and Study 3 (N = 455). The two guilt subscales were associated with better mental health and more positive parenting, whereas parents’ shame-withdraw exhibited the opposite pattern; weak or no relations were found for shame-NSE. Findings highlight the need to differentiate between parents’ shame-NSE and shame-withdraw. PGASP may be a useful tool for identifying parents at risk of engaging in negative parenting.

Cat owners’ disenfranchised guilt and its predictive value on owners’ depression and anxiety

Abstract Numerous studies have found pets to have a beneficial effect on people’s psychological well-being, yet a growing body of research suggests that the positive impact of pet ownership is more complex than once thought and does not always lead to improved owner physical and mental health. One potential drawback to pet ownership is pet-related guilt. Research pertaining to work-family conflict and parental guilt has traditionally focused on human family members, yet the majority of pet owners consider their pets to be family members. Similar to parental guilt, dog-related guilt has been found to be associated with feelings of anxiety, depression, and reduced psychological health. The current study was designed to expand on dog-related guilt research by assessing cat owners. An online, anonymous, cross-sectional survey was distributed through Prolific and resulted in 604 responses for analysis. Multiple linear regression was used to predict owner depression. Gender, age, social compensatory techniques, and two guilt factors (Attention and Veterinary-related) significantly predicted depression scores. Participants’ anxiety scores, assessed with multiple linear regression, were predicted by gender, age, social compensatory techniques, and three guilt factors (Attention, Veterinary-related, and Lifestyle). Our results suggest that cat-related guilt, analogous to parental guilt, is a significant predictor of anxiety and depression. It is imperative that society recognize cat owners’ guilt, often disenfranchised; unrecognized; and unacknowledged, and help support owners’ efforts to mitigate this guilt in healthy ways.

Parental guilt and children's internalizing and externalizing behavior: The moderating role of parental reflective functioning.

The immense responsibility inherent in parenthood makes feeling guilty highly prevalent among parents. Such feelings are natural, yet excessive guilt is related to depression and anxiety and could burden parents. Qualitative research suggested that guilt is predominant in parents whose children suffer from behavioral and emotional difficulties, making it necessary to quantify guilt and examine possible resilience factors that could alleviate the aversive aspects of it. In this study, we examined the association between children's externalizing and internalizing problems and different aspects of parental guilt, assessing whether parental reflective functioning (PRF) would moderate these associations. One hundred six parents of children aged 1.30-9.30 years were recruited from child daycare centers and community clinics. The Parent Development Interview was administered to measure PRF. Based on this interview, we created a new coding system, to quantify three aspects of parental guilt: intensity, reparation, and internal reaction to guilt. Children's difficulties as well as parents' depression and anxiety were assessed using validated self-report measures. We showed that children's difficulties were related to parental guilt, but only when levels of PRF were not high. Specifically, internalizing problems were related to greater intensity and negative internal reaction to guilt only when PRF was low or moderate, and externalizing problems were related to greater intensity of guilt only when PRF levels were low. These findings suggest that encouraging reflective functioning could reduce the burden of guilt. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Development and Validation of the Parental Food Choice Guilt Scale

Abstract: Guilt is an important correlate of the food choices parents make for their children. However, without a validated self-report measure of feeding-related guilt, researchers remain unable to reliably assess its consequences for parents and children. This study developed and validated the Parental Food Choice Guilt (PFCG) Scale. Items were iteratively developed based on feedback from parents and content experts and refined through three preliminary rounds of data collection. The final 7-item PFCG was evaluated using an Internet-based sample of 294 parents (194 mothers, 99 fathers) of children aged 3–13. Participants responded to the PFCG alongside measures of child eating habits, parent feeding behavior, and guilt-proneness. Exploratory factor analysis indicated the unidimensionality of the underlying construct. A Graded Response Model indicated all items functioned well psychometrically. Internal consistency was high (Cronbach’s α = .90). Differential item functioning was not detected by parent gender, parent or child weight status, or parent education. The PFCG was positively correlated with global guilt, parenting-related guilt, and poorer child eating habits, and negatively correlated with feeding self-efficacy and healthfulness of the child’s diet. The PFCG is a reliable and valid measure that will aid researchers across many applications, including clarifying guilt’s role in child feeding.

Parental warmth and guilt induction: Associations with prosocial behaviors and the mediating role of values in Chinese adolescents

AbstractParental guilt induction is thought to promote empathy and social attunement in Chinese cultures, whereas parental warmth is thought to facilitate prosocial development across diverse cultures. However, research on the relative roles of guilt induction and warmth and how they are associated with prosocial behaviors in Chinese communities has been limited. Additionally, the roles of paternal parenting and potential motivational mediators in non‐Western contexts remain largely unexplored. The present study considered both culturally prevalent (guilt induction) and universal (warmth) parenting practices and their associations with other‐ versus self‐oriented prosocial behaviors, as well as the mediating role of adolescents’ values (i.e., self‐transcendence vs. self‐transcendence). Gender and age differences were also examined. Participants were 439 Grades 7–11 adolescents (242 girls) from Hong Kong. Path analyses indicated that self‐transcendence values mediated the link between parental (maternal and paternal) warmth and both forms of prosocial behaviors. Self‐enhancement values mediated the link between maternal guilt induction and self‐oriented prosocial behaviors. Multigroup analyses revealed no significant gender and age differences. Current findings suggest that parental warmth is likely to facilitate prosocial behaviors through the cultivation of self‐transcendence values whereas guilt induction may facilitate values and prosocial behaviors that are more self‐oriented in Chinese contexts.

Prenatal Workshops and Support Groups for Prospective Parents Whose Children Will Need Neonatal Care at Birth: A Feasibility and Pilot Study.

Introduction: Support groups in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are beneficial to parents. The usefulness of prenatal support groups for prospective parents who will have a newborn requiring admission to the NICU has never been investigated. Methods: We assessed the needs of NICU parents regarding topics they would have wished to discuss prenatally and developed the content of a prenatal support workshop. A standardized survey prospectively evaluated the perspectives of pregnant women admitted to a high-risk pregnancy unit who participated in the resulting workshops. Results: During needs assessment, 295 parents invoked themes they would have wished to discuss antenatally: parental guilt, future parental role, normalizing their experience/emotions, coping with many losses, adapting to their new reality, control and trust, information about the NICU, technology around the baby, common neonatal interventions, the NICU clinical team, and the role of parents in the team. These findings were used to develop the workshop, including a moderator checklist and a visual presentation. Practical aspects of the meetings were tested/finalized during a pre-pilot phase. Among 21 pregnant women who answered the survey (average gestational age 29.3 weeks), all agreed that the workshop was useful, that it made them feel less lonely (95%), that exchanges with other women were beneficial (95%) and gave them a certain amount of control over their situation (89%). All answers to open-ended questions were positive. Conclusion: Prenatal educational/support workshops provide a unique and useful means to support future NICU parents. Future investigations will explore whether these prenatal interventions improve clinical outcomes.

General Practitioners perspectives on infant telomere length screening after a pregnancy complication: a qualitative analysis.

Pregnancy complications can impact the mother and child's health in the short and longterm resulting in an increased risk of chronic disease later in life. Telomere length is a biomarker of future cardiometabolic diseases and may offer a novel way of identifying offspring most at risk for future chronic diseases. To qualitatively explore General Practitioners' (GPs) perspectives on the feasibility and uptake for recommending a telomere screening test in children who were born after a pregnancy complication. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with GPs within metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed for codes and themes. Two themes were generated: ethical considerations and practical considerations. Ethically, the GP participants discussed barriers including consenting on behalf of a child, parental guilt, and the impact of health insurance, whereas viewing it for health promotion was a facilitator. For practical considerations, barriers included the difficulty in identifying people eligible for screening, maintaining medical communication between service providers, and time and financial constraints, whereas linking screening for telomere length with existing screening would facilitate uptake. GPs were generally supportive of potential telomere screening in infants, particularly via a saliva test that could be embedded in current antenatal care. However, several challenges, such as lack of knowledge, ethical considerations, and time and financial constraints, need to be overcome before such a test could be implemented into practice.

Moral Injury and the βασιλικός of John 4:46–54

Abstract Still emerging from infancy, the developing field of trauma theory called “moral injury” (MI) has opened fresh vistas for biblical studies. Scholars are now beginning to employ MI theory as an interpretive frame of reference to biblical scenes depicting high intensity scenarios where moral values are challenged. Surprisingly, engagement of MI theory to the Fourth Gospel has yet to be done despite its specified portrayal of individual scenes of mental suffering. Attempting to fill the void, this article examines and appropriates recent MI research to propose a fresh reading of a significant, yet often overlooked, Johannine narrative of trauma: the βασιλικός (“royal official”) of John 4:46–54. Perhaps plagued by parental guilt over his dying son and tensions caused by a career forcing him to hold in balance conflicting Jewish and gentile sensibilities, the article engages insights borrowed from MI theory, posing a horizontal reading of the text that sheds light on this father’s inner trauma. In doing so, it invites similar sufferers today to rely on the Jesus in whom the βασιλικός sought relief.

“The &lt;em&gt;Internet of Life&lt;/em&gt;”

“The &lt;em&gt;Internet of Life&lt;/em&gt;”

Ebeveynlerin Çocuklarında Mevcut Olan Diş Problemleri Sebebiyle Duydukları Suçluluk Hissinin Değerlendirilmesi

The aim of this study is to evaluate the feelings of guilt of parents about their children's problems caused by dental caries, and to examine the relationship between parental guilt and sociodemographic factors, by examining early childhood caries (ECC) and severe ECC (S-ECC). Children younger than 72 months with dental caries were included in the study (N=200). Parents answered the questionnaire consisting of two parts, which included sociodemographic information and adapted ECOHIS questions. Results were analyzed by Chi-square and one-factor Logistic Regression test. 85.5% of the children were S-ECC, and 14.5% were ECC.27.5% of the parents reported feeling guilty about their children's dental problems. Parents chose the lack of brushing with the highest rate (40.5%) as the source of the problem. 95.0% of the parents stated that existing dental caries in their children can be prevented, and 73.5% of them stated that visiting a dentist could be prevent the problem. No statistically significant relationship was found between the parents' feelings of guilt due to their children's dental problems and the sources of the problem, types of prevention, and sociodemographic characteristics. Parents should take the necessary responsibility for their children's oral health. Families should be informed about their children's oral health and encouraged to practice.

Effect of Yogic Intervention in Psychological Wellbeing (Parental Guilt, Psychological Distress, Anxiety, and Self-esteem) of Working Mothers

Background - Motherhood brings a lot of challenges especially for employed women worldwide. They face difficulties both at home and at the workplace. Eventually, they end up with emotional and psychological disturbances that lead to even compromise their career in some cases. Purpose - The objective of the study was to assess the effects of Yogic Intervention on parental guilt, psychological distress, anxiety, and self-esteem in working mothers. Methods - A sample of 39 working mothers (age 30 to 50) from different professions having symptoms of guilt, distress, and anxiety, had participated in a Randomized controlled trial pre-post experiment. They were allocated to the Yoga group (n = 22), had a 1-hour session, 5 days in a week for 1 month, and to the Control group (n = 17) with no such intervention. The measures included Guilt about Parenting Scale, Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, and Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale. Results - showed a significant difference in the reduction of parental guilt (p = .039), psychological distress (p = .014), and anxiety (p = .012) in the yoga group compared to the control group. In the case of self-esteem on average, the score had improved but was not significant enough. Conclusion - Regular practice of simple asanas with proper breathing, pranayamas, meditation, and relaxation techniques improve the mental and psychological health of working mothers. Further study is recommended with more sample count and a comparative study between working and non-working mothers can be executed.