Emotion regulation is an important skill to acquire during childhood, as an inability to do so can lead to negative outcomes such as aggression, anxiety, eating disorders, and personality disorders during adolescence. Much research has demonstrated that maternal factors play a role in childhood emotion regulation; however, little research has looked at how these factors might predict emotion regulation during adolescence. Therefore, my thesis study assessed how maternal personality, parenting behaviors, and emotion regulation during middle childhood and adolescence predicted adolescent emotion regulation. Specifically, I hypothesized that maternal parenting behaviors during middle childhood would positively predict adolescent cognitive reappraisal, that this association would be moderated by maternal intrapersonal and interpersonal personality, and that maternal cognitive reappraisal during middle childhood would positively predict adolescent cognitive reappraisal. Participants included 122 mother-child dyads who provided data on parenting and maternal emotion regulation when the children were 9-years-old, in addition to data on child emotion regulation, maternal emotion regulation, and maternal personality when the children were adolescents. My initial hypotheses were not supported by the data, but post-hoc analyses revealed that maternal emotion suppression during middle childhood and adolescence predicts adolescent emotion suppression and that this association between maternal emotion suppression during middle childhood and adolescent emotion suppression was moderated by maternal intrapersonal personality. These results support the idea that maternal characteristics continue to play a role in shaping emotion regulation in children through adolescence, but not in the manner I had originally predicted. / M.S. / Emotion regulation refers to our ability to adjust to changes in our emotions. Difficulty with emotion regulation early in life can lead to negative outcomes such as aggression, anxiety, eating disorders, and personality disorders later in life. Maternal factors, like parenting, emotion regulation, and personality, affect emotion regulation during early childhood, but the research is lacking when it comes to looking at how these maternal factors might predict emotion regulation abilities during adolescence. This is important to consider, as adolescence is a time when we see some of these negative outcomes associated with difficulties in emotion regulation emerge. Therefore, my thesis study looked at how these maternal factors during middle childhood and adolescence predicted adolescent emotion regulation. Specifically, I hypothesized that optimal maternal parenting behaviors during middle childhood would predict better adolescent emotion regulation, that maternal personality during adolescence would moderate this association, and that better maternal emotion regulation during middle childhood would predict better emotion regulation during adolescence. Participants included 122 mother-child dyads. Mothers provided data on parenting and their own emotion regulation when their children were 9-years-old and data on their own personality and emotion regulation when the children were adolescents. Adolescents self-reported their own emotion regulation. My initial hypotheses were not supported, later analyses showed that maternal emotion regulation during middle childhood predicted adolescent emotion regulation and that this association was moderated by maternal personality. These results support the idea that maternal characteristics continue to play a role in shaping emotion regulation in children through adolescence.

Delays in childhood immunization may have adverse health implications. In the United States, childhood immunization among children who are below 3 years of age continues to be below Healthy People 2020 targets for some vaccines such as DTaP, PCV, HIB, Hep A, Rotavirus, and Hep B birth dose. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between maternal characteristics and childhood immunization series completion rates among children 2 years of age. The social learning theory and self-efficacy theory provided the theoretical foundation for the study. Data from the Florida Department of Health Immunization Surveys were used. ANOVA and multinomial statistical tests were used to analyze the data. According to the study results, maternal factors such as age, marital status, and educational level were significant predictors of childhood immunization completion rates. The findings from the study could lead to positive social change initiatives through education and inclusion of mothers' concerns during interventions to increase immunization rates in children. Increase in immunization completion rates can reduce communicable disease in the population. Insights from this study could assist health care providers, parents, and care givers in their responsibilities relative to childhood immunization practices.

Gestational weight gain outside the recommended ranges puts women at risk for pregnancy complications and adverse birth outcomes. Food insecurity and environmental factors including neighborhood deprivation may influence gestational weight gain. This research 1) examines the impact of neighborhood deprivation on gestational weight gain, 2) identifies if the association varies by selected maternal characteristics, 3) examines the relationship between food insecurity and gestational weight gain, 4) determines if stress mediates the relationship between food insecurity and gestational weight gain, and 5) examines whether selected maternal characteristics mediate this relationship. The research was conducted through the analysis of the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, the American Community Survey and Florida Vital Statistics. Bivariate analyses, logistic regression and multilevel logistic regression were conducted to examine the associations. Results indicate that neighborhood deprivation and food insecurity are important risk factors for gestational weight gain that vary by stress and maternal characteristics.

Single motherhood is a growing phenomenon in South Africa, as it is in the world at large. The concept and structure of a family have changed over the last few decades and no single definition will suffice to describe or define it anymore. Various factors impact on the psychological wellbeing of the single mother. The psychological wellbeing or mental health of the single mother can influence her parenting abilities. The aim of this study is to explore the lived experience of a single mother with three dependent children, to gain a deeper understanding of her experiences as a single mother and the meaning she attaches to it. The point of view of this research is from a constructivist-interpretivist paradigm and from an ecological systems theory approach. This qualitative research study uses a single case study method with unstructured interviews to explore the participant’s experiences. Interpretative phenomenological analysis is used to analyse data, to identify main and sub-themes from the collected data, and to compare these themes with identified themes on single motherhood from existing research. The participant’s lived experience reveals that financial hardship is not the main contributing factor to stress experienced by this single mother. The accumulative effect of diverse stressors and the lack of social support due to prejudice and stigma seem to have a greater effect. This study generates questions around the stigma of single motherhood in South Africa. The reading of this text could raise the reader’s awareness of the challenges faced by single mothers and of prejudice against them. Single mothers are not less capable as individuals of handling the challenges of motherhood and parenting, but they are often exposed to more demands and stressors, compared to partnered mothers. Changing our perspectives on single motherhood can reduce prejudice, offer more social support and improve access to other needed resources. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Psychology / unrestricted

Infants need to develop effective, secure attachment to their primary caregivers in the first year of life. Researchers have not been able to identify all the factors that may influence the development of infant attachment. Most of the studies in this area have been done without regard to infant feeding as a potential factor. Maternal responsiveness appears to be key in the child's development of secure attachment behaviors, yet even after decades of research on infant attachment and maternal responsiveness, there is little evidence available to assist with early identification of families at risk and few interventions known to be effective in promoting maternal responsiveness.The research questions for this study were: 1) Do mothers who exclusively breastfed their infants for at least 6 weeks report more maternal responsiveness behaviors 2-4 months after delivery compared to mothers who exclusively formula feed their infants? 2) How well does breastfeeding duration predict self-reported maternal responsiveness at 2-4 months once socio-demographics and maternal characteristics (i.e., self-esteem, satisfaction with life) are statistically controlled?A cross-sectional survey design was used to assess the variables of maternal responsiveness, feeding patterns, and maternal characteristics in a convenience sample of 200 mothers in the first 2-4 months after delivery. The 60-item instrument included scales to measure maternal responsiveness (MIRI: Amankwaa et al., 2002), self-esteem (RSE: Rosenberg, 1965), and satisfaction with life (SWLS: Diener et al., 1985) as well as infant feeding and socio-demographic questions. A mixed mode data collection strategy was used combining Internet data collection with traditional paper-and-pencil survey methods.Somewhat surprisingly, mothers who exclusively breastfed for at least 6 weeks did not report any more maternal responsiveness behaviors compared to mothers who formula fed their infants. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that satisfaction with life, self-esteem, and parity, but not breastfeeding, explained a significant portion of the variance in self-reported maternal responsiveness scores. Further research in this area is needed. It should be noted that this is one of few studies of maternal responsiveness using a self-report instrument and may also be the first study of maternal responsiveness using Internet data collection.