Influence of trauma on parenting style and motherhood role salience
Abstract
The present study examined the relationship between past trauma experiences and its effects on mother's parenting styles with their young children (18 to 30 months). Participants (N=105) were grouped by trauma experience (No Trauma, Non-Interpersonal Trauma, Interpersonal Trauma, and Sexual Interpersonal Trauma) and were compared using orthogonal contrasts, t-tests, and ANOVA's. Significant differences were found between these groups, and were clarified by post hoc analyses. Significant findings were that mothers with traumatic experiences scored higher on Authoritarian parenting practices, particularly in the areas of verbal hostility and physical coercion. Traumatized mothers also scored significantly lower than non-traumatized mothers on their practices involving warmth and connection. Motherhood role salience, or the importance with which a mother holds her parenting role, was significantly lower among women with trauma histories, particularly those with non-interpersonal trauma experiences. Given these findings, it was concluded that clinical attention should be given to providing traumatized women with special attention, as well as interventions that encourage warm connection with their children through positive disciplinepractices.
Collections
- OSU Theses [15752]