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[Truncated abstract] The transition to parenthood places a number of emotional, physical, and cognitive demands on individuals. It is also a role that many individuals choose, enjoy, and derive benefit from. This research examined how women's parenting expectations influence their adjustment to parenthood. Taylor & Brown (1988, 1994) suggest that unrealistically optimistic expectations are associated with positive psychological adjustment. However, research examining adjustment during the transition to parenthood has demonstrated that unrealistic expectations pertaining to some aspects of parenthood can have a negative effect on adjustment (Belsky, 1985; Hackel & Ruble, 1992). The primary aims of this thesis were to examine the relationship between optimistic expectations and adjustment, taking into account a broader range of expectations than previous work, and to examine how adjustment is influenced if expectations are overly optimistic relative to experiences.

The purpose of this study was to describe maternal coping effort. The sample was composed of 30 mothers of infants hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit. Descriptive and correlational statistics were used to determine maternal coping effort and the maternal factors that may be associated with coping effort. Results of the study showed that a majority of the mothers exerted a great amount of effort to cope with situations encountered in the NICU. Maternal age, marital status, gravidity and parity, mode of delivery and ethnicity did not prove to associate significantly with coping effort. The results of this study are significant to nursing practice in the confirmation of the high degree of maternal coping associated with the hospitalization of an infant in the NICU.

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This two-year qualitative clinical study investigates the intea-psychic (within a person) and inter-relational (between people) effect of maternal ambivalence in female psychotherapy relationships. The participants are five, low-income single mothers, and I am the therapist researcher. Ambivalence describes the co-existence of loving and hating feelings. In traditional psychoanalytic theory, ambivalence originates in the developing infant's relationship to the mother and forms the basis of all adult relationships. A mother's experience of ambivalence is viewed as a regressive return to an earlier emotional experience with her mother. Maternal ambivalence is a feminist psychoanalytic concept developed by Parker (1995, 1997). Parker expands the Freudian and post-Freudian object relations concept of ambivalence using the perspective of the adult mother. In Parker's conceptualization of maternal ambivalence, a mother experiences feelings of ambivalence towards her infant and child that are not simply regressive, but are part of her normal adult development as a mother. Each mother's experiences and expressions of maternal ambivalence are affected by her social and cultural context of mothering. Each woman is consciously and unconsciously affected by her psychosocial constructions of maternal ambivalence and brings her beliefs and experiences into the clinical relationship. Through highlighting the narratives and interpreting the transference and counter-transference material, this study shows the impact of maternal ambivalence on the therapeutic alliance of women working with women in clinical social work. The therapeutic alliance refers to the quality of the relational bond between the therapist and client. This population of mothers was selected because they represent a significant group of clients seen in various clinical social work Dangerous Connections settings, such as youth protection, non-profit counseling agencies, and community centers. In this manuscript-based thesis, I present two of my participants' cases as an indepth exploration of my research process, its analysis, and the applicable theories I used. This research process indicates that in seeking to develop a more culturally and gender sensitive clinical practice and therapeutic connections, social workers may benefit from reflectively challenging their internalized psychosocial idealizations and denigrations of motherhood.

As no known research has been done on Satir brief therapy in a maternity setting, an exploratory design using the case study method was used to assess whether women in a maternity hospital experience this form of therapy as beneficial. Purposive sampling was used to obtain a sample of five patients for this study. Therapeutic sessions were held with these women during their stay in hospital, and follow up sessions with four of the five women were held once they had been discharged home to evaluate their experience of the therapy. The fifth woman could not be reached after her discharge from hospital. The results indicate that the use of Satir brief therapy supports the research question and that it can therefore be used to address the psychological and social issues which can affect the mother baby dyad, thus promoting healthy mother - baby bonding. / Social Work / M.A.(Social Science)

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M.A. / Adults who have experienced sexual abuse as a child may encounter long-term effects on their functioning that could be regarded as problematic to the adult (Corby, 2006). Child sexual abuse has been a problem for many years, although it took societies exceptionally long to realise the actual implications of child sexual abuse on the adult (Spies, 2006). Long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse can be observed well into adulthood and effects such as depression and a low self-esteem have been confirmed by studies. The female victim of childhood sexual abuse often finds herself in the role of mother within her own family. The goal of this study is to explore the self-description of the female adult victim of childhood sexual abuse in terms of her role as mother in her family. This study seeks to explore the self-description of the female adult victim of childhood sexual abuse in terms of her role as mother in her family. The literature review gives an overview regarding the definition of childhood sexual abuse. Literature exists on the different long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse that may impact the adult victim and this has been discussed. Quantitative studies in terms of children that have been sexually abused and the long-term effects thereof indicate that childhood sexual abuse has an impact on the adult development. Minimal research has been conducted with regards to the female adult victim of childhood sexual abuse and her self-description of her role as mother in her family. The systems theory was used as a basic framework for the study. The systems theory focuses on the reciprocal interaction, interdependence, boundaries, roles and homeostasis. Assumptions from the literature review suggest that the mother cannot fulfil her role successfully because of the prevalence of negative behavioural symptoms such as fluctuating self-esteem and feelings of powerlessness and worthlessness. The counter argument included that the mother because of this experience may discover an inner power that may contribute to positive emotions from which she can successfully fulfil her role as mother (Bannister, 1998).

The primary goal of this dissertation is to provide a better understanding of how midlife adult women’s psychological well-being is shaped by parental status. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, this research addresses three specific research aims. The first aim is to explore the relationship between motherhood and psychological well-being by family life stages and the timing of transition to motherhood. The second aim is to examine the role of marriage in the association between parental status and psychological well-being. Finally, the third aim is to account for psychological well-being by parental status, focusing on experiences in labor force participation. To address these aims, this dissertation tests several hypotheses based on the multiple role theory and its modifications and the theories and empirical research centered on the effects of marriage and employment on well-being. The results indicate that mothers are more likely to have lower levels of psychological well-being compared to childless women at earlier family life stages. However, this disadvantage decreases as mothers and their children age. The mother’s age at the birth of her first child also plays a role in the trajectories of the level of psychological well-being. Although the negative association between psychological wellbeing and motherhood appears to decline over time, those who became a mother at earlier ages experience much slower declines compared to those who did not have a first child until their early thirties. It also appears that marital status is an important moderator between parental status and psychological well-being. Motherhood is associated with psychological benefits for the married, but the opposite pattern is found for the never married. Moreover, entering a first marriage is associated with greater improvements in psychological well-being for women with a child compared to childless women. The association between motherhood and psychological well-being also varies depending on the types of marital disruption. Compared to those who remain married, divorce is harmful for women with a child; however, being a widow is detrimental for childless women. Additionally, for both married and never married women, employment is not associated with increases in psychological well-being when it is also combined with motherhood. This research suggests that the association between motherhood and psychological well-being is contingent upon the family life stages, the age at transition to motherhood, and other roles that women hold while being mothers. / text

As no known research has been done on Satir brief therapy in a maternity setting, an exploratory design using the case study method was used to assess whether women in a maternity hospital experience this form of therapy as beneficial. Purposive sampling was used to obtain a sample of five patients for this study. Therapeutic sessions were held with these women during their stay in hospital, and follow up sessions with four of the five women were held once they had been discharged home to evaluate their experience of the therapy. The fifth woman could not be reached after her discharge from hospital. The results indicate that the use of Satir brief therapy supports the research question and that it can therefore be used to address the psychological and social issues which can affect the mother baby dyad, thus promoting healthy mother - baby bonding. / Social Work / M.A.(Social Science)