Maternal Accounts of Negative Feelings toward Their Children : A Longitudinal Study

Abstract

Parent-child relations comprise a dynamic process characterized by conflict and affiliation. Based on this perspective, 24 mothers were interviewed about times when they felt negatively toward their children, from the time of the child's birth through age two. Narrative accounts were analyzed for mothers who developed negative feelings during this period. Mothers' perspectives were based on the conflict between their children's development, their principles of childrearing, and their own resources. Two different processes were notable in relation to child development. At first, mothers did not understand their children's behavior well. But when the children were a year old, mothers treated them as children with personalities. In addition, the mothers were protective of their children during the first year, whereas in the second year they began to consider it their responsibility to be socialization agents of their children.