The Loss of Self: The Effect of Miscarriage, Stillbirth, and Child Death on Maternal Self-Esteem

• In Event: 447 - Section on Social Psychology Roundtable Session (co-sponsored with Section on Sociology of Emotions)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 05. Self-Efficacy and Self-Esteem

Abstract

The death of child has many long lasting negative social and psychological consequences. In particular, a child’s death augments how many grieving parents view the world, the family, and the self. In a nationally representative sample of women ages 25-45 who have ever given birth, we assessed whether miscarriage, stillbirth, and child death impact self-esteem and whether this loss is moderated by maternal identity (importance of motherhood and presence of living children). We found that stillbirth and child death, but not miscarriage, negatively impacted self-esteem. For those who experienced a loss, the impact on self-esteem was moderated by the importance of motherhood as an identity and the presence of living children. Women who experienced a stillbirth were the only group who had lower self-esteem after controlling for background characteristics and maternal identity variables. Clinical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Authors

• Trish Wonch Hill, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

• Joanne Cacciatore, Arizona State University

• Karina M. Shreffler, Oklahoma State University

• Kayla Pritchard, University of Nebraska-Lincoln