Conditions Affecting Perceived Coping for New Mothers: Analysis of a pilot study, Sydney, Australia.

Publisher:
Clifford Beers Foundation
Publication Type:
Journal Article
Citation:
The International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 2008, 10 (3), pp. 34 - 41
Issue Date:
2008-01
Full metadata record
Much of the existing research on women's mental health has not clarified the nature of the coping experience, nor taken a grounded theory approach using the participant's own words and meanings to describe the experience. Nine mothers ( age = 34.2 years), working full-time at home with an average of 2 children ( age = 21.5 months or 1 ¾ years), identifying as well participated in a series of two unstructured, in-depth interviews to help uncover their perceived coping experiences. For the mothers in this study, coping includes efforts to manage stressful, challenging or difficult events, however is affected by lifestyle changes experienced since the birth of a child, general difficulty of the mothering role and social pressures to succeed in that role. The longer you have been a mother, persistence, and lack of stressors encountered in the home setting ('context') were all nominated as conditions affecting perceptions of coping.
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