Intensive parenting: Falling short of the new modern parenting

• In Event: Poster Session 08
  In Poster Session: PS 08 Topic - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Abstract

Intensive mothering ideologies have permeated the culture within the United States over the last few decades. Initially proposed by Hays (1996), this term describes mothers who are always present, putting her children’s needs above her own. Internalizing such ideologies has promoted the “good mother stereotype”, where one must be ever sacrificing for her children with all of her time devoted to their development, and if not, she is seen as a “bad mother”. Such ideologies and schemas have been found to negatively impact women, leading to higher rates of anxiety, maternal guilt, parental stress, parental burnout, and self-criticism (Berry & Jones, 1995; Roskam, et al., 2018; Liss, et al., 2012; Padoa, et al., 2018). Social comparison via social media may actually strengthen intensive mothering attitudes and increase parental self-criticism (Chae, 2015; Padoa, et al., 2018).

Hays (1996) did not address the impact that maternal personalities play in experiences of intensive parenting. Thus, an underexplored area is the experience of introverted mothers, and how they manage the intensive mothering expectations within our culture. These two constructs appear to be at odds with one another at a basic level (i.e. spending ones’ time focusing on one’s children, without a break to take care of one’s self versus needing time for one’s self to be able to recharge in order to spend time with others). Introversion, at a basic level, is defined by a need to seek solitude in order to increase one’s energy both mentally and physically, while extroverts may in fact be rewarded via increases in dopamine from interacting with others (Wilkowski & Ferguson, 2014).

Thus, this conflict leads to the question: Is intensive mothering leading to detrimental outcomes, and are those experiences different based on personality type? Therefore hypotheses for the current study are twofold. 1) Mothers’ adherence to intensive parenting attitudes will predict higher rates of parental burnt out, stress, parental self-criticism, and social comparison. 2) Introversion will predict higher levels of parental stress and burnout, and lower levels of online and social support. Data collection is ongoing. Currently, 92 mothers have completed a Qualtrics survey assessing the following counterbalanced, psychometrically sound measures: intensive parenting attitudes, parental stress, burnout and perfectionism, social comparison, social support and levels of introversion. Participants were recruited using a snowballing technique via social media, and through Prolific in order to garner a representative sample. Data collection and multiple regression analysis will be complete by the end of 2020. Additional, post hoc analysis will be utilized to highlight key findings, and their implications in the context of development.

Introverted mothers likely feel a struggle to meet the expectations of what it means to live up to the “Good Mother Stereotype” (Dillaway & Pare´, 2008). Thus, the field of child development needs to recognize the diverse strengths introverted mothers provide their children, and begin to normalize an identity that does not meet cultural standards of motherhood. The implication of the results on a parental-level, a broad based societal-level, and child development will be discussed.

Authors

• Chelsie Amber Hess, Colorado Mesa University
  Presenting Author

• K. Nicole Jones, Colorado Mesa University
  Non-Presenting Author