2006 Volume 9 Issue 2 Pages 164-177
The present study investigates the extent to which mothers have emotions of guilt(Mothers’ Guilt; MOG) in relation to their children’s ages what situations induce MOG and, how the situation is affected by their use of social support resources. Thirty-five mothers having children of preschoolers, fifty-seven mothers of junior high school students, and forty-one mothers of college students were given a questionnaire regarding the degree of MOG, the situations inducing MOG, and social support resources for child-rearing. The results indicated that mothers of preschoolers and junior high school students felt MOG significantly more than mothers of college students. The MOG was experienced especially when they felt their care for preschoolers and junior high school students was inadequate, and when they felt their failure to provide mental support for junior high school students and college students. Moreover, the higher the MOG was, the more frequently social support resources were used. The mothers with high MOG for the preschoolers and junior high school students tended to exclusively rely on instrumental support resources and informational support. The mothers with high MOG for the college students tended to exclusively rely on intimate interaction. These results were discussed in terms of what kinds of social support resources should be offered to mothers with high MOG.
