TY - JOUR
T1 - Pre-term delivery, optimism and initial personal growth as predictors of mothers’ long-term personal growth
AU - Taubman–Ben-Ari, Orit
AU - Skvirsky, Vera
AU - Strauss, Tzipora
AU - Morag, Iris
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018, © 2018 Society for Reproductive and Infant Psychology.
PY - 2019/5/27
Y1 - 2019/5/27
N2 - Introduction: Positive outcomes in the aftermath of childbirth have increasingly been studied in the last decade. However, most of the studies concentrate on short-term outcomes. The current study examined the perceived personal growth of mothers four years after childbirth, investigating the contribution of the event characteristics (full-term/pre-term birth), internal resources (optimism, self-esteem) and personal growth as measured one year after the birth. Methods: Mothers (n=259) participated in the study by completing a set of self-report questionnaires one and four years following the birth of their child/ren. Results: Personal growth after four years was found to be higher among mothers of pre-terms than of full-terms, and higher four years after the birth than it had been three years earlier. Furthermore, regression analysis indicated the significant contributions of being a mother to pre-term baby/ies, optimism and personal growth one year after the birth to women’s personal growth three years later. Discussion: The results highlight the potential long-term effects of giving birth to a pre-term baby on personal growth, as well as the contribution of optimism as an important internal resource. They also indicate the development of personal growth over time. Explanations for the findings are offered and their practical implications are discussed.
AB - Introduction: Positive outcomes in the aftermath of childbirth have increasingly been studied in the last decade. However, most of the studies concentrate on short-term outcomes. The current study examined the perceived personal growth of mothers four years after childbirth, investigating the contribution of the event characteristics (full-term/pre-term birth), internal resources (optimism, self-esteem) and personal growth as measured one year after the birth. Methods: Mothers (n=259) participated in the study by completing a set of self-report questionnaires one and four years following the birth of their child/ren. Results: Personal growth after four years was found to be higher among mothers of pre-terms than of full-terms, and higher four years after the birth than it had been three years earlier. Furthermore, regression analysis indicated the significant contributions of being a mother to pre-term baby/ies, optimism and personal growth one year after the birth to women’s personal growth three years later. Discussion: The results highlight the potential long-term effects of giving birth to a pre-term baby on personal growth, as well as the contribution of optimism as an important internal resource. They also indicate the development of personal growth over time. Explanations for the findings are offered and their practical implications are discussed.
KW - Personal growth
KW - mothers
KW - optimism
KW - pre-terms
KW - prematurity
KW - self-esteem
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85058240015&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/02646838.2018.1554245
DO - 10.1080/02646838.2018.1554245
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C2 - 30525992
AN - SCOPUS:85058240015
SN - 0264-6838
VL - 37
SP - 277
EP - 289
JO - Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology
JF - Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology
IS - 3
ER -