Psychological Well-being Of Mothers Research Articles

The Relation Between Mothers’ Attitudes Toward Maternal Employment and Social Competence of 36-Month-Olds: The Roles of Maternal Psychological Well-Being and Sensitivity

The relation of mothers’ attitudes on the effects of maternal employment on children, psychological well-being, sensitivity of the mother, and children’s socioemotional development were examined in mothers who worked full time (consistently) and mothers who were unemployed during their children’s early years of growth from 6 months of age. Longitudinal observations of 1,213 mothers and children from age 1 to 36 months from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care were analyzed using structural equation models. Mothers and children benefited when maternal attitudes were consistent with the mothers’ actual employment status. Among consistently employed mothers, those with positive attitudes about employment had better psychological well-being. When mothers who were unemployed, they believed that maternal employment would have positive consequences for their children’s development, they preferred working outside home and they were more likely to show a low level of psychological well-being and poor quality of mother-child relation. Additionally, maternal well-being mediated the relation between a mother’s attitudes and a child’s social competence. For both groups, better psychological well-being of mothers was positively related to better child’s socioemotional outcome. Maternal sensitivity, however, did not mediate the relation between maternal attitudes and child’s social outcomes. The findings shed light on the need for a sensitive measure of characterizing mothers who work versus those who stay at home in order to better understand the effects on a child’s development.

Parenting stress in mothers of preterm infants during early infancy

ObjectiveMothers of preterm infants during the first year of life may experience stresses greater that those found in mothers of term infants. The aim of the study was to determine the levels of parenting stress and psychological well-being in mothers of very preterm babies in comparison to a control group of term mothers. MethodsOne hundred and five mothers who delivered 124 babies at ≤30weeks gestation were recruited together with 105 mothers who delivered 120 babies at term. At 4months of age (corrected for prematurity for the preterm babies), the mothers completed the Parenting Stress Index Short Form, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) and the Short Temperament Scale for Infants (STSI). The preterm and term groups were compared. ResultsQuestionnaires were returned from 86 of the preterm mothers and 97 of the term mothers. The mean Total Stress score for the preterm and term groups was 67.0 and 63.79 respectively (P=0.32) with 17% of the preterm and 9% of the term group having high scores (P=0.135). There were no differences of the EPDS and the DAS between the groups. The temperament of the preterm infants was similar to the term infants. For both groups, scores on the EPDS, DAS and the STSI were independent predictors of Total Stress scores on multiple regression analysis. ConclusionParenting stress in mothers of preterm infants during early infancy does not appear to be greater than that in mothers of infants born at term. For both groups of mothers, depression symptoms, marital satisfaction and infant temperament were independent risk factors for high levels of parenting stress.

71 Assessing Psychological Well-Being in Mothers of Children with Disability: Predicting Depressive Symptoms, Parenting Stress, Resiliency, and Family Functioning

Background/aims: In family-centred children's services, it is critical to understand how mothers are responding to the challenges that childhood disability brings to the family. Some mothers will meet these challenges with resiliency and adequate coping; others will need more support and assistance from professionals to care for their child. Currently, there are no brief, psychometrically-sound measures of psychological well-being for use during intake to childhood disability services. The aim of this study was to evaluate two new measures designed to assess the need for psychological support in mothers of children with disability. Methods: Canadian mothers (N = 195) of children with serious health and developmental disabilities completed the Parenting Morale Index (PMI) and Family Impact of Childhood Disability (FICD) scale, and validation measures via computer-assisted telephone-interview. Of these, 154 completed additional validation measures 1 year later. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis supported the factor structure of the PMI and FICD. The PMI and FICD demonstrated strong internal consistency and temporal stability, as well as convergent and discriminant validity. After 1 year, the PMI and FICD jointly predicted maternal depressive symptoms, parenting stress, family resiliency, and family adjustment, with adjusted R2s of.30,.36,.29, and.22, respectively. Conclusion: Together, these brief measures appear to capture unique, but important aspects of maternal psychological well-being, and adaptive coping in the care of their child with disability. Within the Process Model of Stress and Coping, the PMI and FICD can be recommended to complement clinical interviews at intake to childhood disability services.

Assessing Psychological Well-Being in Mothers of Children with Disability: Evaluation of the Parenting Morale Index and Family Impact of Childhood Disability Scale

Objective Process model of stress and coping guided psychometric assessment of two brief measures of psychological well-being: Parenting Morale Index (PMI); Family Impact of Childhood Disability (FICD) scale. Methods Canadian mothers (N = 195) of children with disability (CWD) completed PMI, FICD, and validation measures (Brief Family Assessment Measure [FAM], Personal Well-Being Index, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, General Self-Efficacy Scale, Social Desirability Scale) via computer-assisted telephone interview. Of these, 154 completed additional validation measures (Center for Epidemiological Studies—Depression Scale, Parenting Stress Index, Family Hardiness Index, Brief FAM) 1 year later. Results Factor structures of PMI and FICD were supported; both demonstrated internal consistency, temporal stability, and convergent and discriminant validity. After 1 year, PMI and FICD jointly predicted depressive symptoms, parenting stress, family hardiness, and family adjustment. Conclusion PMI and FICD can identify mothers of CWD at risk for poor psychological well-being to increase the specificity of supports.

Sleep quality and psychological wellbeing in mothers of children with developmental disabilities

Sleep and behavioural difficulties are common in children with developmental disabilities. Mothers often wake and tend to their child when their child is having sleep difficulties. Therefore, mothers of children with developmental disabilities can have poor sleep quality due to these disruptions. The present study investigated the impact of sleep and behaviour problems in children with developmental disabilities on mothers’ sleep quality and psychological wellbeing. The sample consisted of 46 mothers and 50 children with developmental disabilities. The results indicated that greater sleep and behaviour problems in children were significantly associated with disturbed sleep and increased depression, anxiety and stress levels in mothers. Mothers’ sleep disturbance was also found to significantly predict poor maternal psychological wellbeing. The research limitations, implications of findings, and directions for future research are also discussed.

Parental locus of control and psychological well-being in mothers of children with intellectual disability

Background Psychological mechanisms may help to explain the variance observed in parental psychological adjustment in parents of children with intellectual disability (ID). In this study, parental locus of control and its role in relation to maternal psychological well-being was explored.Method Questionnaires were sent to 91 mothers of children with ID at two time points, 18 months apart.Results Parental locus of control was associated with both maternal positive perceptions and with maternal distress. Regression analyses showed that dimensions of parental locus of control were significant predictors of negative maternal adjustment. Maternal positive perceptions were predicted by perceived control of the child and belief in fate or chance. Overall parental internal–external locus of control entered into a bidirectional relationship with stress over 18 months.Conclusions Parental locus of control is a construct that may explain some of the variance in maternal well-being and thus is a construct that merits further research.

The Long-Term Consequences of Childbearing: Physical and Psychological Well-Being of Mothers in Later Life

The Long-Term Consequences of Childbearing: Physical and Psychological Well-Being of Mothers in Later Life

Non-genetic and non-gestational parenthood: consequences for parent-child relationships and the psychological well-being of mothers, fathers and children at age 3

Findings are presented of the third phase of a longitudinal study of children conceived by assisted reproduction procedures involving surrogacy and/or donor conception. At the time of the child's third birthday, 34 surrogacy families, 41 donor insemination families and 41 oocyte donation families were compared with 67 natural conception families on standardized interview and questionnaire measures of the psychological well-being of the parents, mother-child relationships and the psychological well-being of the child. The differences found between family types reflected higher levels of warmth and interaction between mothers and their 3-year-old children in assisted reproduction families than in families with a naturally conceived child. A higher proportion of surrogacy parents than donor conception parents had told their children about the nature of their birth. It appears that the absence of a genetic and/or gestational link between parents and their child does not have a negative impact on parent-child relationships or the psychological well-being of mothers, fathers or children at age 3.

Love or money? Social support, class inequality and the health of women and children

Recent evidence on the relationships between people's social support resources and their health shows the general importance of social support as an environmental factor promoting good personal and public health. The literature on social support is less equivocal in this sense than that on health-service use, where some evidence suggests that, even controlling for previous health status, use of the health services is not health promoting. However, it is not clear just what aspects of social support may be relevant to different measures of health status. The relationships between class inequality, social support and health-service use also require illumination. This paper uses longitudinal data from a study of socially disadvantaged households to explore these issues in relation to the health of women and young children. Analysis of these data shows that the social support resources of mothers generally decline over the first year following birth. Both quantitative and qualitative indicators of support are significant predictors of good health, though qualitative indicators (how support is experienced) have stronger relationships with health outcomes than quantitative indicators (the extent of social contact). The psychological well-being of mothers is more closely linked than either their physical health or that of their babies to their support resources. Support from mothers, friends and a research-provided midwife support intervention is particularly important. Health-service use and social support are not related to each other and, indeed, appear to function in opposite ways in relation to health outcomes; while health-service use is associated with poorer health (controlling for social deprivation, stress, and previous health status), the social support resources of mothers are associated with improved health outcomes.