Mothers whose lives revolve around their children are putting themselves at greater risk for mental health problems, a new study suggests.

Does being an “intense mother” make women unhappy? According to a new University of Mary Washington study, women who believe in intensive parenting are more likely to have negative mental health outcomes. The research, done by Dr. Kathryn Rizzo and colleagues, is published in the online version of the Journal of Child and Family Studies.

What exactly is Intensive Parenting? This particular style of parenting posits that mothering should be child-centred, that women are better equipped to be parents than men and that children should be considered both sacred and are fulfilling to parents.

We all know parenting can be a big task. It is challenging and requires wide-ranging skills and expertise. Some mothers may idealize parenthood as one of the most fulfilling experiences in life. But parenting research yields varied results. Some studies have suggested that parenting may be detrimental to mental health. More recent studies, however, show parents today are happier than non-parents.  There have also been suggestions that intensive parenting can result in increased stress and guilt, particularly for women. This discrepancy is known as the parenthood paradox.

Intense Is Not Always Best

Rizzo and team looked at whether intensive parenting in particular (rather than parenting per se) was linked to increased levels of stress, depression and lower life satisfaction among 181 mothers of children under 5 years old. Using an online questionnaire, the authors measured to what extent mothers endorsed intensive parenting beliefs, including:

1. Mothers are the most necessary and capable parent.
2. Parents’ happiness is derived primarily from their children.
3. Parents should always provide their children with stimulating activities that aid in their development.
4. Parenting is more difficult than working.
5. Parents should always sacrifice their needs for the needs of the child.

Overall, the women were satisfied with their lives but had moderate levels of stress and depression. Approximately 23% had symptoms of depression. Negative mental health outcomes were accounted for by women’s endorsement of intensive parenting attitudes. When the level of family support was taken into account, those mothers who believed that women are the essential parent were less satisfied with their lives; those who believed that parenting is challenging were more stressed and depressed.

“If intensive mothering is related to so many negative mental health outcomes, why do women do it? They may think that it makes them better mothers, so they are willing to sacrifice their own mental health to enhance their children’s cognitive, social and emotional outcomes. In reality, intensive parenting may have the opposite effect on children from what parents intend,” conclude the researchers.  
 

July 14, 2012
 The Healthy Mind Network
 

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Image Credit: Mikamatto

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