Not available / text

This study was conducted to determine if a nursing intervention designed to teach primiparas about their infants' behaviors and abilities would ease their transition to the maternal role. Data were collected at three days and three weeks postpartum from a relatively homogeneous sample of 16 control mothers and 15 experimental mothers. The intervention was presented to each experimental participant on the third postpartum day. Effectiveness of the intervention was determined by measuring maternal anxiety, using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Speilberger et al., 1970) and concern about infant care and adjustment to the maternal life style, using the Postnatal Research Inventory (Schaefer & Mannheimer, 1960) revised by Ellis and Hewat (1982). Additional data were also collected from hospital records, a demographic questionnaire, and an informal interview conducted at three weeks postpartum. Although the outcome measures demonstrated no statistically significant differences, the conclusions support the need for a predictive framework which would help nurses identify mothers who may have difficulty during role transition and therefore may benefit from role supplementation. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Nursing, School of / Graduate

A poem should embody contradictions; it should give form to what can't be described in prose. In the fast-paced, stressful world of contemporary America, poetry allows a person a moment in the day to be silent, to sit with thoughts and feelings that might otherwise simmer under the surface, without voice. Poetry must be a gift given to a reader, an offering, and a successful poem is one in which a reader can take and make her own. In Meditation In An Emergency, it is my aim to put words to dilemmas suffered by mothers. A mother places her child's wellbeing above all else, even, at times, her own body. Of course, to nurture their child one must find the time to nurture oneself, and this is a conundrum in today's economy. There is not enough literature to support mothers in their darker hours, and poetry can give voice to feelings of incompetence, guilt, frustration, and a love that sometimes feels impossible to utter. Poetry should operate as singing voices at a wake--a last resort to a grief we must bear witness to before moving on.

The purpose of this study was to measure post-weaning feelings i n women planning employment within one year post-partum and to examine the effects of factors related to duration and employment on these feelings. Subjects were recruited from obstetric clinics and prenatal classes throughout Indiana. Fifty-three women were interviewed prenatally and at 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months post-partum (or until weaning occurred in those who breastfed less than 6 months). Those women who weaned their infants during the study period were asked to describe their reasons for cessation and to quantify their feelings of sadness/ depression, madness /anger, relief, and guilt using Likert-type scales. The majority of subjects were Caucasian, had attended college, and were 26 years of age or older. No significant relationship existed between duration of lactation and age or education. Thirty-one women had weaned their infants by 6 months, 20 due to mother-led reasons, 9 due to baby-led reasons, and 2 due to other reasons. The most common reasons given for weaning were "baby won't suck" (6) and "returning to work" (6). No significant differences (p>.05) in feelings were found between women who weaned due to mother-related and baby-related reasons or between women who met or did not meet their breastfeeding goals. Women who did not feed their babies as planned when returning to work felt significantly more sadness/depression (p=.03) and guilt (p=.004) compared to those who fed their infants as planned. The results of this study suggest breastfeeding is not only a physiological vehicle for infant nutrition, but also an emotional phenomena. Understanding a woman's emotional response to the weaning process will assist health care professionals in providing perinatal education and support to the breastfeeding woman. / Department of Family and Consumer Sciences

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Clinical Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

No description available.

This study compared the presentation of attachment quality and maternal psychological functioning among children diagnosed with a psychological/behavioral disorder to the presentation of attachment quality and maternal psychological functioning among children not diagnosed with a psychological/behavioral disorder.Participants included a clinical group composed of 8 Caucasian mothers of male children diagnosed with a behavioral/emotional disorder and a nonclinical group composed of 24 Caucasian mothers of male children not diagnosed with a behavioral/emotional disorder. The groups were compared on their responses to the Personality Assessment Screener, Parent/Child Reunion Inventory, and Relationship Questionnaire.Results found that mother psychological functioning was significantly related to ratings of insecure parent-child attachment. In addition, mother ratings of their adult attachment relationships were associated with ratings of parent-child attachment security/insecurity for 3 of 4 adult attachment styles. Information gathered during this study provided preliminary insight into the complex nature of parent-child relationships as they co-exist with maternal psychological functioning. / Department of Educational Psychology

The purpose of this inquiry was to explore recovery from drug abuse from a mother's perspective. Women's experiences of treatment and recovery are unique from men's and mothers' experiences have been studied little (Poole & Dell, 2005). A series of three interviews were conducted during which the participant was encouraged to deeply explore her experience of recovery as a woman and a mother. This project was carried out using both Consensual Qualitative Research (Hill, Thompson, Hess, Knox, Williams, Ladany, 2005) as well as The Wish and Fear List (Perry, 1997). These two types of analyses complemented one another and provided two complementary views of the participant's experiences as both a woman and a recovered drug user within the context of her parenting. The themes of mothering, recovery and identity development, and respective sub-themes are discussed. The proportions of wishes and fears expressed at two phases in the participant's recovery journey are also discussed.

No description available.

This study compared divorced custodial mothers and mothers married to the biological fathers of their children on parenting stress, parenting skills, and self-esteem. The relationship between parenting stress, parenting skills, self-esteem, marital status, and life satisfaction was also examined. A total of 63 subjects, including 31 married mothers and 32 single mothers, was administered the Parenting Stress Index, the Parenting Skills Inventory, and the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale. Subjects also completed a Demographic Data Sheet that included a Likert-type scale designed by the researcher to measure current life satisfaction. All subjects either attended church or lived in a geographic area of North Central Texas that is generally recognized as being somewhat affluent. No significant differences were found on the t-tests comparing the mean total scores of the married and divorced mothers on levels of parenting stress, parenting skills, and self-esteem. A post hoc t-test revealed, however, that the group of married mothers had significantly higher mean total scores on the life satisfaction measure than the group of divorced mothers. Additionally, life satisfaction was found to be associated with parenting stress, parenting skills, self-esteem, and marital status. Specificallly, (a) as parenting stress increases, life satisfaction decreases, (b) as parenting skills increase, life satisfaction increases, (c) as self-esteem increases, life satisfaction increases, and (d) being married is associated with increased life satisfaction. The results of this study would seem to indicate that single mothers have no more difficulty in overall coping than their married counterparts although they are less satisfied with their current life circumstances than the group of married mothers. Additional comparisons of the data suggested that neither group of mothers regarded their children as interfering with their social lives in a major way. Like most previous research, the data also indicated that the single mothers worked longer hours and had less money available for their families' use than the married mothers.