Information-seeking and maternal self-definition during the transition to motherhood.
The self-definitional processes accompanying the transition to motherhood were examined in this study. A cross-sectional sample of more than 600 women who were planning to get pregnant within 2 years, pregnant, or in the postpartum stage completed extensive questionnaires pertaining to their experiences of pregnancy and motherhood. On the basis of the assumption of the "self-socialization" perspective that individuals actively construct their identities in response to life transitions, our analyses focused on the role of information-seeking in the developing self-definitions of women becoming mothers. As predicted, (a) women actively sought information in anticipation of a first birth, (b) they used this information to construct identities incorporating motherhood, and (c) after the birth the determinants of their self-definitions shifted from indirect sources of information to direct experiences with child care. Hence, consistent with the self-socialization perspective, information-seeking did play an important role in the women's developing self-conceptions during this life transition. Mechanisms by which information gathered may alter self-conception are discussed.
Deutsch
F M
FM
Department of Psychology and Education, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts 01075.
Ruble
D N
DN
Fleming
A
A
Brooks-Gunn
J
J
Stangor
C
C
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002654:Child Care; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011247:Pregnancy; D012649:Self Concept