The relationship between self-esteem, age and socioeconomic status with maternal role attainment among primiparas

Abstract

Primiparas following delivery have difficulty adjusting to motherhood. For a mother with low self-esteem, who is young or who belongs to a lower socioeconomic status, maternal role attainment is further reduced. A convenience sample of 52 healthy mother-infant dyads (test1), and 23 of the same mothers (test2) who returned the second questionnaires was used in this study. A descriptive correlational design explored the relationship between self-esteem, age, and socioeconomic status with maternal role attainment among primiparas. Significant relationships (r = .501, p < .05) for test1 and (r = .481, p < .05) for test2 were found between the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Pharis Self-Confidence Scale. There was also a significant relationship (r = .363, p < .05) between the Hollingshead Four Factor Index and the Pharis Self-Confidence Scale for test2 only. The findings of this study suggest that enhancing the postpartum mothers' self-esteem will improve their self-confidence in the care of their newborn infants.