The Role of Maternal Employment and Depression in the Psychological Adjustment of Chronically Ill, Mentally Retarded, and Well Children

Walker, Lynn S.; Ortiz-Valdes, Juan Antonio; Newbrough, J. R.

doi:10.1093/jpepsy/14.3.357

Cited by 75 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…The hypothesis that consistency between maternal employment behaviors and attitudes has a greater impact on the child and the family than maternal employment alone (Benn, 1986;Farel, 1980;Hock, 1984;MacEwen & Barling, 1991;Walker, Ortiz-Valdes, & Newbrough, 1989) is partially supported by our findings. Controlling for gestational age and number of hours employed, choice was a significant predictor of motor development at 12 months.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, nurses can support mothers of healthy preterms by assessing inconsistencies between a mother's attitudes about employment and her preferred employment status and identifying issues that seem to affect consistency, such as advice from relatives or friends and availability of child care. Because inconsistency has been associated with depression (Ross et al, 1983;Walker et al, 1989), intervention can also be aimed at assisting the mother to deal with her negative affect. In summary, the findings suggest that for families of healthy preterm infants employment status itself does not negatively affect either the family or the child, and support previous research showing the importance of consistency between employment status and attitudes regarding employment and mothering.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Maternal employment, family functioning, and preterm infant development at 9 and 12 months

Youngblut¹,

Loveland-Cherry²,

Horan³

1993

Research in Nursing & Health

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of maternal employment on child development and family functioning for families with preterm infants. Data were collected in the family's home (N = 67) when the infant was 3, 9, and 12 months of age. Maternal employment at 3 months had little effect on 9-and 12-month child mental or psychomotor development or on family cohesion, adaptability, or satisfaction. Maternal employment attitude/behavior consistency was a significant predictor of psychomotor development. Choice in the employment decision at 3 months was positively related to both mental and psychomotor development at 9 and 12 months for nonemployed mothers.The decade of the 1980s witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of employed mothers with young children. Indeed, nearly 50% of married women with children under 3 years old are employed (Shank, 1988). Although some researchers believe that maternal employment is a stressful situation for children (Barglow, Vaughn, & Molitor, 1987;Belsky & Eggebeen, 1991), the effects of this potential stressor with children born prematurely have not been studied. Research with healthy children may not be applicable to prematurely born children for several reasons. First, preterm infants are at increased risk for developmental delay and may be more sensitive to stressful environmental conditions than healthy children (Tobey & Schraeder, 1990). Second, family environments for preterm infants may be different than those for full-term infants because of increased caretaking demands and stressors. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of maternal employment on the family and on the mental and motor development of preterm infants at 9 and 12 months of age.Because of concern for the development and wellbeing of the child with an employed mother, a significant amount of research regarding the impact of maternal employment for healthy children has been conducted; however, the results are conflicting. Some investigators report negative effects of maternal employment on attachment (Barglow et al., 1987;Belsky & Rovine, 1988;Schwarz, 1983), mother-child interaction (Cohen, 1978;Field, Stoller, Vega-Lahr, Scafidi, & Goldstein, 1986), and cognitive development (Cohen, 1978;Schacter, 1981). Others report either no effects or positive effects on attachment (Easterbrooks & Goldberg, 1985;Hock, 1980;Owen, Easterbrooks, Chase-Lansdale, & Goldberg, 1984), mother-child interaction (Schubert, Bradley-Johnson, & Nuttal, 1980) (Doyle, 1975;Hock, 1980;Stith & Davis, 1984). These conflicting results suggest that the mechanism by which maternal employment may affect the child is complex, and may be influenced by other variables.Two factors that may affect the relationship between maternal employment and child outcomes have been identified: timing of the mother's return to employment (Benn, 1986) and attitudes of the mother that conflict with her employment status (Hock, DeMeis, & McBride, 1987). Popular belief places importance on the mother's staying home w...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Maternal employment, family functioning, and preterm infant development at 9 and 12 months

Youngblut¹,

Loveland-Cherry²,

Horan³

1993

Research in Nursing & Health

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“…These parents have described feelings of guilt, sorrow, anxiety, helplessness, and hopelessness. The high demands and low control associated with caring for an ill child may lead to parental depression (Banez & Compas, 1990;Breslau, Staruch, & Mortime, 1982;Walker, Ortiz-Valdes, & Newbrough, 1988). Yet mental health clinicians often do not have time to help families' process their concerns.…”

Section: Illness-related Concerns In Caregivers Of Psychiatrically Homentioning

confidence: 99%

Illness-Related Concerns in Caregivers of Psychiatrically Hospitalized Children with Depression

Snell

Marcus

et al. 2010

Residential Treatment For Children & Youth

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“…(2) The findings are based on maternal report and may therefore be subject to the biases inherent in that relationship (Caplan, Cogill, Alexandra, Robson, Katz & Kumar, 1989;Cox, Puckering, Pound & Mills, 1987;Lancaster, Prior & Adler, 1989;Walker, Ortiz-Valdes & Newbrough, 1989;Watson, 1986).…”

Section: E -Group and C -Groupmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diabetes: Its differential impact on child and family

Chisholm¹,

Bloomfield²,

Atkinson³

1994

British Journal of Medical Psychology

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We argue that there are two groups of diabetic children who cope differently with the treatment regimen, (a) those who maximize their metabolic control and whose difficulties are associated with better control, and (b) those who maintain control less tightly and whose difficulties are associated with poorer control. This hypothesis was investigated with a sample of 47 diabetic children and their mothers. Analyses confirmed the hypothesis, indicating two distinct groups based on the type of symptom (emotional versus conduct) the child exhibited. Symptom type was associated with mother's knowledge of diabetes, diabetic control, scores received on a standardized measure of psychological disturbance and diabetes-specific concerns. The comparison of these two diabetic groups proved more sensitive to differences in diabetic adjustment than did comparisons made on the basis of psychiatric disturbance.

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The Role of Maternal Employment and Depression in the Psychological Adjustment of Chronically Ill, Mentally Retarded, and Well Children

Cited by 75 publications

References 27 publications

Maternal employment, family functioning, and preterm infant development at 9 and 12 months

Maternal employment, family functioning, and preterm infant development at 9 and 12 months

Illness-Related Concerns in Caregivers of Psychiatrically Hospitalized Children with Depression

Diabetes: Its differential impact on child and family

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