Maternal ego flexibility and the process of adaptation to motherhood: Conscious and unconscious aspects.
Item
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Title
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Maternal ego flexibility and the process of adaptation to motherhood: Conscious and unconscious aspects.
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Identifier
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AAI9908326
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identifier
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9908326
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Creator
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Hermelin-Kuttner, Hila.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Arietta Slade
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Date
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1998
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Clinical | Psychology, Developmental | Women's Studies
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Abstract
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The relationship between ego flexibility during first-time pregnancy and mothers' later ability to adapt to the maternal role was studied. It was hypothesized that the capacity for Adaptive Regression during pregnancy will be positively related to a balanced and convincing representation of positive and negative feelings in the relationship to the child, and to the overall quality of maternal representations. 30 first-time mothers were administered the Rorschach test during their last trimester of pregnancy, and were seen again for an interview when their children were ten months old. Bolt's (1956, 1977) Manual for Assessing Primary Process Manifestations in Rorschach Responses was used to assess the prenatal capacity for Adaptive Regression. The Parent Development Interview (Aber, Slade, Berger, Bregsi & Kaplan, 1985) examined maternal representations of their relationship to the child. Results indicate an unexpected, inverse relationship between Adaptive Regression in pregnancy and maternal anger, and a positive relationship between Adaptive Regression and maternal separation distress. Results also indicate a positive relationship between ego flexibility in pregnancy and the quality of maternal representations. It is concluded that high ego flexibility in pregnancy facilitates maternal adaptation by making mothers more sensitive to their children's developmental needs. With ten-month-old infants this entails defending against one's anger, being well in touch with one's separation distress, and representing the relationship to the child in a vivid, coherent and rich manner.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
