Understanding mother's guilt in mothers with infants aged 6-36 months

Kadriye Özyazıcı; Emine Şentürk

Article Details

Understanding mother's guilt in mothers with infants aged 6-36 months

Authors:

Kadriye Özyazıcı | Emine Şentürk

Publisher:

Ordu University

Main Topics:

Aile ve Hanehalkı Çalışmaları

Journal:

Ordu Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Sosyal Bilimler Araştırmaları Dergisi Vol.15 Issue 2, pp.926-947

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

6/2025

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2001343374

pISSN:

1309-9302

Keywords:

Abstract:

 Feelings of guilt as a result of negative evaluations in the parenting process are quite common. Especially women evaluate themselves with the basic criteria of being a good mother. Womens self-evaluation process may involve comparison with perceived community standards. Over time, women can set ideal motherhood standards for themselves. It has been observed that there are few studies in the literature examining the feelings of guilt experienced by mothers. For this reason, it was aimed to understand the experiences of mothers with 0-3 year old babies regarding maternal delinquency. It is aimed to examine the views of mothers about when they feel guilty in their journey of parenthood that starts with having a baby, the factors that cause them to feel guilty, and how they cope with this feeling of guilt when they feel guilty. For this purpose, the study was designed in a phenomenological analysis pattern in order to investigate the experiences of the mothers directly and in-depth and to reveal the results in an explanatory way. The study group consists of mothers who have babies with normal development in the 0-3 age period and live together as parents. Its participants consisted of 10 mothers aged between 29 and 35 and of similar socioeconomic status. Participants made personal statements about their experiences, maternal guilt levels, and parenting behaviors. According to the findings of the study, it was observed that mothers felt guilty when they thought that they could not spend enough and quality time when they were away from their babies, especially when they had a baby, to take care of the baby adequately, to behave inappropriately towards the baby, and to be away from their babies when they started working life. It has been seen that the close environment and social media are an important factor in mothers feeling of guilt. It was concluded that by sharing with the baby with guilt, they used coping strategies such as the social support of the close environment and the individual well-being of the mother. The findings obtained as a result of the research were discussed within the framework of the literature.

 Feelings of guilt as a result of negative evaluations in the parenting process are quite common. Especially women evaluate themselves with the basic criteria of being a good mother. Womens self-evaluation process may involve comparison with perceived community standards. Over time, women can set ideal motherhood standards for themselves. It has been observed that there are few studies in the literature examining the feelings of guilt experienced by mothers. For this reason, it was aimed to understand the experiences of mothers with 0-3 year old babies regarding maternal delinquency. It is aimed to examine the views of mothers about when they feel guilty in their journey of parenthood that starts with having a baby, the factors that cause them to feel guilty, and how they cope with this feeling of guilt when they feel guilty. For this purpose, the study was designed in a phenomenological analysis pattern in order to investigate the experiences of the mothers directly and in-depth and to reveal the results in an explanatory way. The study group consists of mothers who have babies with normal development in the 0-3 age period and live together as parents. Its participants consisted of 10 mothers aged between 29 and 35 and of similar socioeconomic status. Participants made personal statements about their experiences, maternal guilt levels, and parenting behaviors. According to the findings of the study, it was observed that mothers felt guilty when they thought that they could not spend enough and quality time when they were away from their babies, especially when they had a baby, to take care of the baby adequately, to behave inappropriately towards the baby, and to be away from their babies when they started working life. It has been seen that the close environment and social media are an important factor in mothers feeling of guilt. It was concluded that by sharing with the baby with guilt, they used coping strategies such as the social support of the close environment and the individual well-being of the mother. The findings obtained as a result of the research were discussed within the framework of the literature.

 Feelings of guilt as a result of negative evaluations in the parenting process are quite common. Especially women evaluate themselves with the basic criteria of being a good mother. Womens self-evaluation process may involve comparison with perceived community standards. Over time, women can set ideal motherhood standards for themselves. It has been observed that there are few studies in the literature examining the feelings of guilt experienced by mothers. For this reason, it was aimed to understand the experiences of mothers with 0-3 year old babies regarding maternal delinquency. It is aimed to examine the views of mothers about when they feel guilty in their journey of parenthood that starts with having a baby, the factors that cause them to feel guilty, and how they cope with this feeling of guilt when they feel guilty. For this purpose, the study was designed in a phenomenological analysis pattern in order to investigate the experiences of the mothers directly and in-depth and to reveal the results in an explanatory way. The study group consists of mothers who have babies with normal development in the 0-3 age period and live together as parents. Its participants consisted of 10 mothers aged between 29 and 35 and of similar socioeconomic status. Participants made personal statements about their experiences, maternal guilt levels, and parenting behaviors. According to the findings of the study, it was observed that mothers felt guilty when they thought that they could not spend enough and quality time when they were away from their babies, especially when they had a baby, to take care of the baby adequately, to behave inappropriately towards the baby, and to be away from their babies when they started working life. It has been seen that the close environment and social media are an important factor in mothers feeling of guilt. It was concluded that by sharing with the baby with guilt, they used coping strategies such as the social support of the close environment and the individual well-being of the mother. The findings obtained as a result of the research were discussed within the framework of the literature.

 Ebeveynlik sürecinde olumsuz değerlendirmelerin bir sonucu olarak suçluluk duygusu oldukça yaygındır. Özellikle kadınlar kendilerini iyi anne olmanın temel ölçütleri ile değerlendirmektir. Kadınların kendini değerlendirme süreci algılanan toplum standartları ile karşılaştırılmayı içerebilmektedir. Kadınlar zamanla kendi kendine ideal annelik standartları belirleyebilmektedir. Literatürde annelerin yaşadıkları suçluluk duygusunu inceleyen az sayıda araştırma olduğu görülmüştür. Bu nedenle çalışma ile 0-3 yaş bebeği olan annelerin anne suçluluğu ilişkin deneyimlerini anlamak amaçlanmıştır. Annelerin bebek sahibi olmak ile başlayan ebeveynlik yolculuğunda suçluluk duygusunu hissettiği zamanlar, suçluluk hissetmesine neden olan faktörler, suçluluk duygusu hissettiğinde bu suçluluk duygusuyla nasıl başa çıktıklarına dair görüşlerinin incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Bu amaç doğrultusunda annelerin deneyimlerinin doğrudan, derinlemesine araştırılmasını ve sonuçlarının açıklayıcı biçimde ortaya koyulabilmek için çalışma fenomenolojik analiz desende tasarlanmıştır. Çalışma grubu 0-3 yaş döneminde normal gelişim gösteren bebeği olan ve ebeveynler olarak birlikte yaşayan anneler oluşturmaktadır. Katılımcıları 29 ila 35 yaşları arasında ve benzer sosyoekonomik düzeye sahip 10 anneden oluşmaktadır. Katılımcılar deneyimleri, annelik suçluluk düzeyleri ve ebeveynlik davranışları hakkında kişisel bildirimlerde bulunmuşlardır. Çalışmanın bulgularına göre anneler, bebek sahibi olduklarında özellikle bebeğin bakımını yeterince karşılama, bebeğe karşı uygun olmayan davranışlarda bulunma, çalışma yaşamına başladıklarında bebeklerinden uzak kaldıklarında yeterli ve kaliteli vakit geçiremediklerini düşündüklerinde suçluluk hissettikleri görülmüştür. Annelerin suçluluk hissi yaşamasında yakın çevre ve sosyal medyanın önemli bir faktör oluşturdu görülmüştür. Suçlulukla bebek ile paylaşımda bulunarak, yakın çevrenin sosyal desteği ve annenin bireysel iyi oluşu gibi baş etme stratejileri kullandıkları sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda ulaşılan bulgular literatür çerçevesinde tartışılmıştır.

Article Details

Understanding mother's guilt in mothers with infants aged 6-36 months

Authors:

Kadriye Özyazıcı | Emine Şentürk

Publisher:

Ordu University

Main Topics:

Aile ve Hanehalkı Çalışmaları

Journal:

Ordu Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Sosyal Bilimler Araştırmaları Dergisi Vol.15 Issue 2, pp.926-947

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

6/2025

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2001343374

pISSN:

1309-9302

mother

baby

guilt

phenomenological analysis

qualitative researchAnne

bebek

suçluluk

fenomenolojik analiz

nitel araştırma

Issues

Article Details

Authors: Kadriye Özyazıcı | Emine Şentürk

Publisher: Ordu University

Main Topics: Aile ve Hanehalkı Çalışmaları

Journal: Ordu Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Sosyal Bilimler Araştırmaları Dergisi Vol.15 Issue 2, pp.926-947

Document Type: Article

Publication Date: 6/2025

Document Language: English

Document ID (Org No.): 2001343374

pISSN: 1309-9302

Issues

Authors:

Kadriye Özyazıcı | Emine Şentürk

Publisher:

Ordu University

Main Topics:

Aile ve Hanehalkı Çalışmaları

Journal:

Ordu Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Sosyal Bilimler Araştırmaları Dergisi Vol.15 Issue 2, pp.926-947

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

6/2025

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2001343374

pISSN:

1309-9302