<p>This is a qualitative social psychology study, which aims to describe how mothers with 1-2 year old children develop their identities, seen from Symbolic Interactionistic perspective. Five young mothers have been interviewed, through qualitative interviews and self reports. Through this data I have attempted to establish how these women develop their identities when they have been mothers for 1 or 2 years. The conclusions I have drawn is that the identities change radically with becoming a mother and all respondents take different decisions outfrom their identities as mother. There seems to exist a need of more knowledge about how to bring the identity of a woman and a mother together and create a new entity. Roles, anxiety and guilt influence the mother’s identity development, and Cooley and Meads ideas about the self are still going strong today.</p>

This is a qualitative social psychology study, which aims to describe how mothers with 1-2 year old children develop their identities, seen from Symbolic Interactionistic perspective. Five young mothers have been interviewed, through qualitative interviews and self reports. Through this data I have attempted to establish how these women develop their identities when they have been mothers for 1 or 2 years. The conclusions I have drawn is that the identities change radically with becoming a mother and all respondents take different decisions outfrom their identities as mother. There seems to exist a need of more knowledge about how to bring the identity of a woman and a mother together and create a new entity. Roles, anxiety and guilt influence the mother’s identity development, and Cooley and Meads ideas about the self are still going strong today.