title: The loss of self: The effect of miscarriage, stillbirth, and child death on maternal self-esteem.
abstract: A child's death augments how grieving parents view the world, the family, and the self. Using a representative sample of women ages 25-45 who have ever given birth, we assessed whether miscarriage, stillbirth, and child death impact self-esteem and whether this loss is moderated by maternal identity. We found that stillbirth and child death, but not miscarriage, negatively impacted self-esteem. For those who experienced a loss, the impact on self-esteem was moderated by maternal identity. Women who experienced a stillbirth were the only group who had significantly lower self-esteem after controlling for background characteristics and maternal identity variables.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Sociology , University of Nebraska-Lincoln , Lincoln , Nebraska , USA.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wonch Hill
authors.affiliation: b Department of Social Work , Arizona State University , Phoenix , Arizona , USA.
authors.forename: Joanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cacciatore
authors.affiliation: c Department of Human Development and Family Science , Oklahoma State University , Tulsa , Oklahoma , USA.
authors.forename: Karina M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Shreffler
authors.affiliation: d Department of Social Sciences , South Dakota School of Mines and Technology , Rapid City , South Dakota , USA.
authors.forename: Kayla M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Pritchard
mesh_terms: D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D001293:Attitude to Death; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D012649:Self Concept; D050497:Stillbirth / Q000523:psychology*