What it feels like to be a mother: Variations by children's developmental stages
Suniya S Luthar1, Lucia Ciciolla1
1Department of Psychology, Arizona State University.
Developmental Psychology
|October 27, 2015
Summary
Mothers
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Maternal Well-being
- Family Studies
Background:
- Maternal adjustment is crucial for child development.
- Understanding how children's developmental stages impact mothers' well-being is essential.
- Previous research has not fully explored this relationship across diverse child age groups.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if mothers' adjustment varies with their children's developmental stages.
- To examine mothers' personal well-being, parenting, and perceptions of their children.
- To identify specific child developmental periods that pose challenges for maternal adjustment.
Main Methods:
- An internet-based study surveyed over 2,200 mothers with children from infancy to adulthood.
- Adjustment indices were analyzed across children's developmental stages.
- Comparisons were made using mutually exclusive age groups versus the age of the oldest child.
Main Results:
- Maternal adjustment showed curvilinear patterns across children's developmental stages.
- Mothers of middle-schoolers reported the poorest adjustment.
- Mothers of infants and adult children reported the best adjustment.
Conclusions:
- Maternal adjustment is significantly influenced by children's developmental stages.
- Preventive interventions for mothers are recommended during infancy, preschool, and puberty.
- Children's gender had minimal impact on maternal adjustment dimensions.
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