Well-Being and Personal Growth in Emerging Motherhood: And What About Meaning?

Ben‐Ari, Orit Taubman –

doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-0308-5_21

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 107 publications

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“…Regarding personal meanings, the findings add to the current understanding of personal growth among mothers with substance abuse problems from a meaning-making perspective. These findings appear to be consistent with other studies on personal growth among women following childbirth, which found that changes in the self-perception of the mother toward her life direction are linked to increased resilience, higher levels of maturity, and greater reexamination of life philosophy, and setting of new priorities (Taubman-Ben-Ari et al, 2012 ; Taubman-Ben-Ari, 2014 ). Expanding upon the findings of Taubman-Ben-Ari ( 2014 ) and Sawyer and Ayers ( 2009 ) regarding the outcomes of personal growth, the narratives from this study suggest that the personal growth of a mother not only has a positive impact on her psychosocial functioning, but also serves as an ongoing reflective process regarding her own maternal meanings, life choices, and other parenting challenges.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…These findings appear to be consistent with other studies on personal growth among women following childbirth, which found that changes in the self-perception of the mother toward her life direction are linked to increased resilience, higher levels of maturity, and greater reexamination of life philosophy, and setting of new priorities (Taubman-Ben-Ari et al, 2012 ; Taubman-Ben-Ari, 2014 ). Expanding upon the findings of Taubman-Ben-Ari ( 2014 ) and Sawyer and Ayers ( 2009 ) regarding the outcomes of personal growth, the narratives from this study suggest that the personal growth of a mother not only has a positive impact on her psychosocial functioning, but also serves as an ongoing reflective process regarding her own maternal meanings, life choices, and other parenting challenges. Consequently, both the personal growth resulting from the meaning-making processes of a mother and the meaning-making process itself appear to have positive influences on the life and parenting outcomes of these mothers.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

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Meaning-Making of Motherhood Among Mothers With Substance Abuse Problems

Yan

Lau

2021

Front. Psychol.

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Previous literature has documented the unique challenges encountered by mothers with substance abuse problems, which may hinder the ability to fulfill parenting responsibilities. Since there is evidence suggesting the engagement in meaning-making processes can help individuals reinterpret their transitions into parenthood and cope with parental stress, this study examined the meaning-making processes of motherhood among mothers with substance abuse problems. Sixteen Hong Kong Chinese mothers with a history of substance abuse were purposively selected and invited to narrate their life and maternal experiences in individual interviews. Based on the meaning-making model in the context of stress and coping, whereby global meaning refers to orienting system of an individual and situational meaning refers to the meaning one attributes to a particular situation, the global and situational meanings of participants related to motherhood and substance use, and their reappraised meanings in response to the discrepancies between global and situational meanings were analyzed. Using thematic analysis, the results showed that when faced with an internal conflict between global and situational meanings induced by substance abuse, most participants engaged in the meaning-making process of assimilation. Rather than changing their inherent parental beliefs and values, most participants adjusted their appraisals toward the situation, and hence made changes in their cognitions or behaviors such as making efforts to quit substance use or reprioritizing their parenting responsibilities. The analysis further revealed that being a mother provided a significant source of meaning to the participants in confronting highly stressful mothering experiences induced by substance abuse. Altogether, the findings suggest that a meaning-making approach may have benefits and implications for helping this population reorganize their self-perceptions, gain a clearer sense of future direction in motherhood, and achieve more positive life and parenting outcomes.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Meaning-Making of Motherhood Among Mothers With Substance Abuse Problems

Yan

Lau

2021

Front. Psychol.

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“…Although studies conducted in recent years have examined the connections of meaning in life, and specifically personal growth, with a range of variables, including sociodemographic characteristics, personal resources, social support, and motherhood achieved through overcoming difficulties (e.g., Prati & Pietrantoni, 2009; Shenkman, 2016; Taubman - Ben-Ari, 2014), meaning in life among older fathers was scarcely explored.…”

Section: Fatherhood and Meaning In Lifementioning

confidence: 99%

Meaning in Life Among Middle-Aged and Older Gay and Heterosexual Fathers

Shenkman

Ifrah

Shmotkin

2017

Journal of Family Issues

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This study explored differences in meaning-in-life indicators, namely purpose in life and personal growth, among 76 community-dwelling middle-aged and older Israeli gay men, who had become fathers through a heterosexual relationship (mean age = 59.42, SD = 6.15, range: 50-78), 110 gay men that were not fathers (mean age = 60.37, SD = 9.69, range: 50-84), and 114 heterosexual fathers (mean age = 62.27, SD = 8.09, range: 50-87). As hypothesized, after controlling for 10 sociodemographic characteristics, personal growth was higher among middle-aged and older gay fathers compared with heterosexual fathers. No difference emerged for purpose in life. In line with a second hypothesis, both purpose in life and personal growth were higher among middle-aged and older gay fathers compared with middle-aged and older gay men that were not fathers. The ﬁndings emphasize the possible strengths, manifested by elevated levels of meaning in life, which fatherhood embodies for gay men.

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“…The transition to parenthood was found to correlate positively with meaning in life for both heterosexual men and women (Nomaguchi & Milkie, 2003) and gay men (Shenkman & Shmotkin, 2014). However, the association between self-perceived parental role and meaning in life has remained mostly unexplored, with existing research focusing mainly on mothers, and on issues relating meaning in life with relevant stressors (Taubman-Ben-Ari, 2014). In the current study, we expected to find a positive correlation between self-perceived parental role and meaning in life among all fathers, regardless of sexual orientation.…”

Section: Self-perceived Parental Role and Meaning In Lifementioning

confidence: 99%

The association between self-perceived parental role and meaning in life among gay and heterosexual fathers.

Shenkman

Shmotkin

2016

Journal of Family Psychology

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The association between self-perceived parental role and meaning in life (indicated by personal growth and purpose in life) was explored among 82 Israeli gay fathers that were individually matched with 82 heterosexual fathers. Self-perceived parental role was associated with meaning in life and this association was moderated by sexual orientation, demonstrating a significant positive association between self-perceived parental role and meaning in life among gay fathers but not among heterosexual fathers. The results are interpreted in light of the unique parental role gay fathers possibly construct in the context of intentional parenting and through possible life circumstances which appear associated with increased feelings of personal growth and purpose in life. (PsycINFO Database Record

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Well-Being and Personal Growth in Emerging Motherhood: And What About Meaning?

Cited by 10 publications

References 107 publications

Meaning-Making of Motherhood Among Mothers With Substance Abuse Problems

Meaning-Making of Motherhood Among Mothers With Substance Abuse Problems

Meaning in Life Among Middle-Aged and Older Gay and Heterosexual Fathers

The association between self-perceived parental role and meaning in life among gay and heterosexual fathers.

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