Huang Hsin-Hui, Lee Tzu-Ying, Lin Xin-Ting, Duan Hui-Ying
Department of Infant and Child Care, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taipei 112303, Taiwan.
School of Nursing, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taipei 112303, Taiwan.
Healthcare (Basel). 2022 May 10;10(5):878. doi: 10.3390/healthcare10050878.
The adjustment process to becoming a mother is affected by culture. However, earlier studies have not clarified the relationship between parenting stress, social support, and maternal confidence in non-Western women. This study examined the associations between different types and sources of social support, maternal confidence, and parenting stress experienced by first-time mothers. The sample consisted of first-time mothers with a child under one year of age in northern Taiwan, and a total of 205 valid questionnaires were collected. The results supported the stress-buffering hypothesis, which suggests that social support reduces the adverse effect of stress on maternal confidence. Although previous studies have suggested that spouses and maternal relatives are critical in supporting first-time mothers' transition into their new roles, each source did not show a mediator effect in our study. The beneficial effect of social support was found only when all social network members collectively participated. Regarding the types of social support, only appraisal support had a significant mediator effect; no effect was found for emotional, instrumental, or informational support. These findings add to our understanding of how different types and sources of social support play a role in helping first-time mothers adapt.
成为母亲的适应过程会受到文化的影响。然而，早期研究并未阐明非西方女性的育儿压力、社会支持与母性自信之间的关系。本研究考察了首次生育母亲所经历的不同类型和来源的社会支持、母性自信与育儿压力之间的关联。样本包括台湾北部有一岁以下孩子的首次生育母亲，共收集到205份有效问卷。结果支持了压力缓冲假说，该假说认为社会支持可减轻压力对母性自信的不利影响。尽管先前研究表明配偶和母亲的亲属在支持首次生育母亲过渡到新角色方面至关重要，但在我们的研究中，每个来源均未显示出中介作用。只有当所有社会网络成员共同参与时，才发现社会支持具有有益效果。关于社会支持的类型，只有评价性支持具有显著的中介作用；情感支持、工具性支持或信息性支持均未显示出作用。这些发现增进了我们对不同类型和来源的社会支持如何在帮助首次生育母亲适应方面发挥作用的理解。
