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).