Off-campus UMass Amherst users: To download campus access dissertations, please use the following link to log into our proxy server with your UMass Amherst user name and password.
Non-UMass Amherst users: Please talk to your librarian about requesting this dissertation through interlibrary loan.
Dissertations that have an embargo placed on them will not be available to anyone until the embargo expires.
Document Type
Campus-Only Access for Five (5) Years
Embargo Period
2-1-2021
Degree Program
Psychology
Degree Type
Master of Science (M.S.)
Year Degree Awarded
2016
Month Degree Awarded
February
Abstract
The present investigation examined the role of low-wage work in the lives of employed, low-income mothers across the transition to parenthood. Specifically, the current study analyzed the extent to which workplace conditions predicted the quality of mothers’ parenting at one-year postpartum, and the potential mediating role of mothers’ psychological distress. It was hypothesized that demanding work conditions would interfere with mothers’ ability to provide sensitive care for their infants via the process of increased depression and anxiety, and that supportive work conditions would mitigate the negative effects of demanding work conditions on mothers’ mental health and parenting. Partial support was found for these hypotheses. Mothers who found their post-childbirth work experiences to be more engaging and self-directed were less distressed and, in turn, more responsive when interacting with their babies. In contrast, workplace urgency—when predictive of anxiety and depression—had a deleterious effect on future parenting quality. Contrary to hypotheses, supervisor support did not moderate the negative effects of workplace demands on mothers’ distress. Results indicate that the conditions associated with low-wage employment are variable and have a meaningful effect on mothers’ mental health and capacity to engage in sensitive parenting during the transition to parenthood
First Advisor
Maureen Perry-Jenkins
Recommended Citation
Herman, Rachel J., "Workplace Conditions and Maternal Sensitivity in Low-Income Families" (2016). Masters Theses. 324.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/masters_theses_2/324