Unmarried Adult Mothers: A Study of the Parenthood Transition from Late Pregnancy to Two Months Postpartum, 1978-1980

This exploratory study was undertaken to investigate the factors affecting adaptation to motherhood among single new mothers. The aim of this study was to identify the social and psychological factors which contribute to positive adaptation to motherhood within a population of white, middle-class, adult women. Twenty unmarried White women who were at least 23 years old and pregnant with their first child were recruited, primarily through the offices of obstetricians in private practice in the Boston area. Data were collected on the socioeconomic resources expected during the first year of parenting, degree of involvement with the baby's father, decision making regarding pregnancy, capacity for nurturance, visualization of self as mother, feminine body image (gender identity), prepartum anxiety, prepartum depression, and maternal role adaptation at two months postpartum. The follow-up study, 15-18 months after the birth of the participant's baby, included three measures: a one-page questionnaire; the State-Trait Anxiety Index measure, used also in the initial data collection; and a taped interview on reactions to motherhood, attitudes towards the baby, changes in feeding, the baby's development, child-rearing practices, and involvement with and support from the baby's father. The Murray Archive holds additional analogue materials for this study [written responses to questions about finances and child-care resources, a clinical interview (tape-recorded and transcribed), a projective drawing task, and responses to the A-State Scale (anxiety) and the Pitt Scale (depression)]. If you would like to access this material, please apply to use the data.