Mothering through and in Violence: Discourses of the ‘Good Mother’

Sociology ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 003803852096726
Author(s):  
JaneMaree Maher ◽  
Kate Fitz-Gibbon ◽  
Silke Meyer ◽  
Steven Roberts ◽  
Naomi Pfitzner
Keyword(s):  
Family Violence ◽  
Abusive Relationships ◽  
Contemporary Research ◽  
Child Relationship ◽  
Good Mother ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Mother Child Relationship ◽  
Experiences Of Women ◽  
Mother Blame ◽  
Women With Disability

Domestic and family violence research recognises mothering is impacted by and implicated in abusive relationships and increasingly attends to the negative impacts of domestic and family violence on children, whether or not they are direct targets of perpetrator abuse. Contemporary research also situates the undermining of the mother/child relationship as common in abusive relationships. Bringing together data from two projects – one investigating the experiences of women with disability, and one focused on women experiencing family violence from their adolescent children – we examine a further way in which mothering is impacted by family violence. While there were distinct challenges for each group of mothers, we argue that adaptable and damaging discourses of the ‘good mother’ impact mothers in situations of domestic and family violence. We argue that unchallenged accounts of ‘good’ mothers as fully responsible for their children animate persistent discourses of mother-blame. These discourses should be understood as a gendered driver of domestic and family violence.

scholarly journals Postpartum Depressive Disorder – Psychosomatic Aspects

2019 ◽  
Vol 79 (04) ◽  
pp. 375-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Schipper-Kochems ◽  
Tanja Fehm ◽  
Gabriele Bizjak ◽  
Ann Fleitmann ◽  
Percy Balan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protective Factor ◽  
Adequate Treatment ◽  
Treatment Approaches ◽  
Diagnostic Measures ◽  
Child Relationship ◽  
Appropriate Treatment ◽  
Mother And Child ◽  
Psychosomatic Aspects ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Mother Child Relationship

AbstractPostpartum depression (PPD) is the most common mental illness in mothers following the birth of a child. Since the symptoms of PPD are similar to the normal stress of healthy women following childbirth, it is often difficult for the attending gynaecologist or midwife to diagnose this illness in a timely manner and thus initiate adequate treatment and comprehensive support for the patient. Even if there are options for a screening using evaluated questionnaires and subsequent psychotherapy and/or drug therapy in the treatment of PPD which has proven effective, it is seen that, in most treatment approaches, little consideration is given to the affect-controlled interaction and the bonding behaviour between mother and child. This article presents diagnostic measures and current therapeutic approaches as well as their integration in practice in order to achieve awareness of this topic in everyday clinical practice and show the pathways of appropriate treatment. Specific multiprofessional treatment approaches which centre on the mother-child relationship demonstrate successes with regard to depression in the mothers and also on the development of a secure mother-child bond and are thus a protective factor in the development of the affected children. The now well-known effects of PPD on the fathers as well as the negative impacts of paternal depression on child development make it clear that the treatment should not focus solely on maternal depression, but also always on the family bond between the mother, child and father in the treatment.

Mothers’ Post-separation Experiences of Male Partner Abuse: An Exploratory Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 0192513X2110575
Author(s):  
Charisse Hay ◽  
Madalena Grobbelaar ◽  
Marika Guggisberg
Keyword(s):  
Partner Violence ◽  
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Male Partner ◽  
Abusive Relationships ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Child Relationship ◽  
Mother Child Relationship ◽  
Qualitative Exploration ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Depth Interviews

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) involves physical and sexual violence and coercive controlling behaviours to maximise power inequality in abusive relationships. Many women make the decision to exit abusive relationships due to the detrimental impact of IPV on their children. In a qualitative exploration, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 women recruited by purposive and snowballing sampling techniques. Two overarching themes of single mothers’ unique experiences of co-parenting with IPV were revealed through interpretative phenomenological analysis. The first theme was Continuous Victimisation, which indicated that post-separation victimisation was an extension of existing IPV whereby fathers used intimidation, threatening behaviours such as stalking and other monitoring tactics and the deliberate undermining of the mother–child relationship. The second theme identified was Systemic Challenges, indicating how court officials applied a ‘pro-contact’ approach and either minimised or denied mothers’ allegations of IPV and the impact on them and the children. The analysis found a persistent bias against mothers . Implications of the study are discussed before the article concludes that attitudinal change regarding IPV is required by decision makers in court processes with a recognition that abusive men may be unwilling to engage in cooperative parenting that focuses on the children’s developmental, social, emotional, psychological and physical needs.

Mātišķība mūsdienu latviešu dzejā: Inga Gaile, Anna Auziņa

2020 ◽  
pp. 135-142
Author(s):  
Elīna Erdmane
Keyword(s):  
Single Mother ◽  
Social Reality ◽  
Bodily Experience ◽  
Specific Experience ◽  
Child Relationship ◽  
Women's Lives ◽  
The Many ◽  
Mother Child Relationship ◽  
Experiences Of Women

The article “Motherhood in contemporary Latvian poetry: Inga Gaile, Anna Auziņa” brings attention to and analyses a woman’s specific experience – motherhood, the mother’s role and identity in the works of Inga Gaile and Anna Auziņa, two bright Latvian poets, revealing the characteristics of a woman in contemporary social reality. The different experiences of women, intimate and other, reflection about the topical societal and cultural problems, which influence women’s lives, as well as protests against the inherited societal stereotypes regarding different women’s roles, including the many layers of a mother’s role, are all brightly depicted by both poets. The study looks for answers to topical, meaningful questions – what is motherhood, and how is it constructed? Can motherhood be only experienced by a woman? How does the experience of motherhood in real and literary terms differ from the cultural and societal view, in which mother is a symbol of selflessness and gentle care? What are the specific criteria for a mother’s role and how does reaching or failing to reach such criteria affect a woman? The analysis of poetry works is based on the theoretical and methodological field of feministic literature and criticism. The experience of motherhood reflected by the poets is divided and reviewed in four gradations: a woman’s attitudes towards the role of the mother, the fulfillment of her duties and her relationship with that experience; bodily experience (pregnancy, process of childbirth); the mother-child relationship (upbringing, a child’s role in women’s lives); motherhood and different familial models (the experience of a single mother, etc.).

Rereading Klein’s “Some reflections on ‘The Oresteia’ ”—the evolution of the mother–daughter relationship in four generations of Chinese women

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-59
Author(s):  
Xu Jianqin
Keyword(s):  
Mutual Influence ◽  
Chinese Women ◽  
Chinese History ◽  
Developmental Context ◽  
Child Relationship ◽  
Mother Daughter Relationship ◽  
Foot Binding ◽  
Mother Child Relationship ◽  
Reform And Opening Up ◽  
Opening Up

This article analyses the evolution of the mother–daughter relationship in China, and describes the mothering characteristics of four generations of women, which in sequence includes “foot-binding mothers”, “mothers after liberation”, “mothers after reform and opening up”, and “mothers who were only daughters”. Referring to Klein’s ideas about the mother–child relationship, especially those in her paper “Some reflections on ‘The Oresteia’ ”, the author tries to understand mothers and their impact on their daughters in these various periods of Chinese history, so as to explore the mutual influence of the mother–daughter relationship in particular, and the Chinese cultural and developmental context in general.

scholarly journals Analysis of the early mother-child relationship in schizophrenic patients

2021 ◽  
pp. 002076402199118
Author(s):  
Marziyeh Khoshgoftar ◽  
Anahita Khodabakhshi-Koolaee ◽  
Mohammad Reza Sheikhi
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Phenomenological Approach ◽  
Sampling Procedure ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Step Method ◽  
Child Relationship ◽  
New Information ◽  
Data Saturation ◽  
Schizophrenic Patients ◽  
Mother Child Relationship

Background and Aim: The mother as the first caregiver plays a significant role in the formation of the child’s behavior, growth, and communication. The present study aimed to analyze the early mother-child relationship in schizophrenic patients. Materials and Methods: This qualitative study employed a descriptive phenomenological approach. The participants were male patients with schizophrenia who were hospitalized in Qazvin Bahman Psychiatric Hospital from March to September 2020 with an age range of over 18 years. Given the objective of the study, the data were collected using semi-structured interviews. The participants were selected using purposive sampling and the sampling procedure continued until data saturation as the point when no new information is observed in the data. Accordingly, the data were saturated after interviewing 15 participants. The data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s seven-step method. Results: The analysis of the data revealed four main themes including ambivalent attachment to the mother, feelings of constant fear and worry, a sense of constant care for the mother, and a cold and emotionless relationship with the child. Conclusion: The present study suggested that schizophrenia is a disorder that affects the mother-child relationship, and does the term “schizophrenic mothers” need to be reconsidered? However, the result of this research has been done according to the nature and cultural context of Iranian society.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document