MATERNAL EMPLOYMENT AND ITS IMPACT ON CHILDMOTHER RELATIONSHIP
Biran Mertan Eastern Mediterranean University Northern Cyprus
XIIIth European Conference on Developmental Psychology University of Jena, 21-25 August 2007
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ABSTRACT
Maternal employment and the psychological consequences due to institutionalised child-care has been the topic of continuous controversy in the industialised countries for many decades. Recent rapid socioeconomic and cultural changes in North Cyprus have led to changes in family structure, with a decrease in the number of children and increase in the number of working mothers. As a result, more collective day care centers/day nurseries and other related services have been created for preschool children while their parents are away at work. However, the traditional form of care for under two years old is more like parent care than professional collective care. Different societies often have different perceptions about children, childhood and the purpose of early child care. In this current research the following questions will be explored.
Do childrens differing experiences of early childhood care affect child-mother relationships? Do childrens differing experiences of early childhood care affect their social and emotional development? How does maternal anxiety influence child development?
The participants were mothers of 192 children whose ages varied between 12-64 months with a mean of 39.43 and a Standard deviation of 12.58 months. Mothers were selected and recruited by using the snowball technique. The mothers were given the self-administered questionnaire comprised of demographic information, child rearing practices, living arrangements, social environment, Babys Test and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The sample was divided into two subgroups according to early childhood care during the first 18 months of life: familial care (by the mother and by matenal or paternal grandparents) and non-familial care (by a nanny/babysitter or day care center).
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Overview
Studies on child rearing practices and nonparental care mainly from the Western industrialized countries.
Outcome
Maternal employment Non-parental child care Poor quality of day-care center Poor quality of family day-care Attachment profile of the child The age at which non-parental care starts The time spent per week in nonparental care
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Popularized Hypotheses
Early experience has long-lasting effects that are nearly impossible to overcome. Quality of non-parental care was the most influential variable of social development.
How about other societies?
elsewhere, in North Cyprus, the effect of maternal employment on child development is becoming an intriguing question
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Like
The goal of the present study is twofold:
to establish whether the Turkish Cypriot family environment encourages different child-care practices. to explore whether maternal employment status, familial support, and the mother's related behavior towards the child influences the child's development in a Turkish Cypriot sample
Do childrens differing experiences of early childhood care affect child-mother relationships? Do childrens differing experiences of early childhood care affect their social and emotional development? How does maternal anxiety influence child development?
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Questions
Participants
Demographic Information
The participants were mothers of 192 toddlers whose ages varied between 12 and 64 months with a mean of 39.40 and a standard deviation of 12.58 months. The average age of mothers was 30.64 ranging from 20 to 46 years (SD = 4.32). The average age for fathers was 34.55 ranging from 25 to 51 years (SD = 5.09).
Both groups of employed mothers and mothers at home group have equal years of formal schooling. In the same way the fathers education does not differ according to mothers employement status. Both the mothers at home and the employed mothers were married at the same age (mean 23 years SD=4.43). All children were born to term without serious medical complications, and were two-parent traditional nuclear families in types.
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The critical variables were
Test Instrument
The questionnaire was designed in three sections:
the employment status of the mother the daily social interaction with grand-parents the stability of the child care the anxiety level of the mother
The demographic information section, The Babys Day Test (Le
test de la journe de bb, Balleyguier, 1979), which was previously adapted for the Turkish Cypriot sample, The STAI-The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Section.
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Procedure
Mothers were selected and recruited by using the snowball technique. Two meetings with mothers were scheduled approximately within a week after the initial meeting. After a brief overview of the study the mothers were initially given the self-administered part of the Babys Test with 139 structured questions and the STAI Inventory. These parts could be completed at the mothers convenience.
Babys Day Test
Results and Discussion
To address the first question raised in the current study, that is, to explore whether the Turkish Cypriot family environment encourages differential childcare practices, data was submitted to the following analyses:
In the first instance of the profile of the sample in relation to the daily social interaction with grand-parents indicated that there is no significant difference in relation to mothers employment status. Regardless as to whether mothers were employed or not, on a daily basis, they have social interaction with their own parents such; as having a meal together, bring/taking back the child (42.9 % of mothers at home and 47.1 % employed mothers group respectively).
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Residence
Young Turkish Cypriot parents prefer to live in a house with a garden (52.4%) rather than in an apartment. Among these young parents, the choice of living in the same building with close relatives i.e. parents, sisters, brothers is 32.3 %.
TURKISH CYPRIOT FAMILY STRUCTURE MODEL
E. FAMILY AUNT UNCLE GRANDPARENT S
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The Results Showed That...
A majority of children (58.1%), who had early familial care, were currently in nonfamilial care practices (X2 = 6.62, p <.01). In the mothers at home group, mothers were the principal care providers (69.2%), In the employed mothers group, 55.8% were cared by grandmothers, 36.6 % were provided care in a mixed style (day care centers, a relative, grandmother ...) and 7.7 % were cared by caregivers.
An Emerging Concept: stability of child care
It appears that caring for the first 18 months of the childs life is consistently within the family and shared with the mother. While in some families this trend is continues up to the 5th year of life, a new trend is also emerging where the childs care moves to a non-familial setting. The stability of child care is defined as the continuity of care shared by
mother and grandmother during the first two years of life.
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Comparison of child scales according to stability of child care
Scales AM Affect towards Mother IM Imitation of Mother AgM Aggression towards Mother SM Submission to Mother Pr Toilet Training A Autonomy Familial Care 21.57 13.78 6.79 23.88 7.77 38.37 NonFamilial Care 22.12 14.51 7.53 24.89 10.11 46.37 t .81 .89 .94 1.13 4.43 4.29
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p NS NS NS NS p<.001 p<.001
Results
As can be seen from the table, only two of the six scales reached statistical significance related with the differences between mean for the contuinity of familial care and non-familial care. The two scales that showed significant difference, were the childs autonomy and acquisition of toilet training. Children entirely brought up in their family are less autonomous and less toilet trained than those in non-familial care setting. The two scales that showed a statistical significance were the affect towards mother and submission to mother. In employed mothers group the children showed sigificantly more affection and submission than their peers in the full-time mothers group.
Mothers who left their child with non-family care showed more bond weakening and were more concerned with the education of the child.
However these mothers were also less interested in toilet training than those in the stable family care group.
The mothers affection scale showed significant differences according to maternal employment status. Employed mothers were significantly more affectionate and more sensitive than mothers at home regarding the development of their children.
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Comparison of environmental subscales according to stability of child care
Scales MA Mothers Affection MR Mother's Rigidity ME Education Given by Mother Max Mothers Anxiety MF Mothers Sensitivity RL Bond Weakening MP Toilet Training by Mother Familial Care 11.02 11.26 21.21 8.47 17.35 8.78 5.80
Non-Familial
Care 11.51 11.00 23.77 8.93 17.13 11.25 4.37
t 1.09 .39 3.16 .83 .40 4.75 2.74
p NS NS p<.002 NS NS p<.001 p<.007
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Comparison of child scales according to the maternal employment status
Scales AM Affect towards Mother IM Imitation of Mother AgM Aggression towards Mother SM Submission to Mother Pr Toilet Training A Autonomy
Employed mothers Mothers at home
t 2.08 1.20 .55 1.85 .48 .90
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p p<.03 NS NS p<.06 NS NS
22.46 14.60 7.38 25.13 8.96 42.42
21.05 13.61 6.95 23.47 9.23 43.40
Comparison of environmental scales according to the maternal employment status
Scales MA Mothers Affection MR Mother's Rigidity ME Education Given by Mother Max Mothers Anxiety MF Mothers Sensitivity RL Bond Weakening MP Toilet Training by Mother
Employed mothers Mothers at home
t 1.80 1.64 1.45 1.21 2.14 1.53 .59
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p p<.05 NS NS NS p<.03 NS NS
11.64 10.66 23.14 9.01 17.71 10.52 4.87
10.81 11.76 21.93 8.33 16.56 9.67 5.19
Conclusion
The findings, of the present research, show that
The Turkish Cypriot families with vast preference to family care indeed organize different childcare practices compared to industrialised societies in the West .
Familial Care evidently plays a significant role on
childs autonomous behavior and the acquisition of toilet training.
Children whose mothers were employed showed, higher affectionate behavior than children whose mothers were at home. Thes children were also showed more submissive behavior to the mother.
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Finally
To what extent are child rearing practices influenced by social and contextual variables? At least, for the Turkish Cypriot sample, the claim here is that continous and stable familial support enhances childs development.
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